Secret Shopper Scams! http://www.secretshopperscam.net Uncovering mystery shopper scams one by one Mon, 27 Jun 2011 20:35:28 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 enWikiMystery Shopper Wiki will go here!


My podcast]]>http://www.secretshopperscam.net/wiki/ Mystery Shopper ScamsWelcome to one of the very few websites on the internet dedicated to the “Secret Shopper” scam job that has become so prevalent in todays online society. Now, don’t get us wrong, let us state this very clearly. LEGITIMATE SECRET SHOPPER jobs do exist! We’ll list out those companies that do pay for your participation. However, on the opposite side of the spectrum are those advertisements that you do want to avoid.

Let’s take Arizona for example and what happened out there recently.

Arizona shoppers were warned about a new scam involving phony advertisements for employment as a secret shopper, mystery shopper, or investigative shopper. Whether or not you live in Arizona, the gist of the story applies to anyone who ever wants to figure out whether a mystery shopper job is for them. This notice could save you money now and a ton of heart ache later on too.

Note: The following came from another website. But the story and scam are important enough to repeat.

secret shopper

The scam might work this way: People respond to an ad looking for a mystery shopper or a secret shopper. When they contact the company about the position, they are told they can earn money by purchasing items at different stores or dining at different restaurants. The company then sends an employment packet. The packet includes business evaluation forms, a training assignment, and a cashier’s check, often ranging between $2,000 and $4,000.

This is where sometimes reality butts up against fantasy. With some mystery shopper programs, the legitimate companies WILL do this for you. So apparently, the next part is where people are getting hooked on the scam -

The training assignment is to cash the check, pose as a customer, and wire the money to an address in Canada. The scam is that the check is fake.

Note to self: Never, EVER cash a check for any job that requires you to CASH A CHECK FOR THAT JOB! I can’t stress that enough. What happens next is..the check bounces after the person wires the money, leaving the person liable for the fake check. People who apply for the secret shopper or mystery shopper jobs are told by the company that they have only 48 hours to complete the assignment or they will lose the job.

Arizona’s Attorney General says, “Consumers need to know that a legitimate company will never send you a cashier’s check out of the blue or require you to send money to someone you have never met. The scam artists use realistic looking documents, the ‘secret’ nature of the job, and the 48-hour deadline to pressure consumers into cashing the check and wiring the money quickly before the bank or the consumer can determine it was a fake check. By then, it’s too late.”

There are legitimate mystery shopper jobs. So how do you tell if the one you are looking at is real or a scam? The Attorney General’s Office advises that you should be skeptical of any secret shopper, mystery shopper, or investigative shopper companies that:

  • Advertise jobs for shoppers on the radio, in a newspaper’s classified or “help wanted” section or through unsolicited email. Legitimate secret shopper companies generally do not advertise for jobs in this manner.
  • “Guarantee” a job as a mystery, secret, or investigative shopper.
  • Charge a fee just for applying or charge a fee for access to secret shopping job opportunities. You should not pay any fee to apply or to obtain job information.
  • Appear to be located in places outside the country, such as Canada. If the company does not have an established office nearby that you can visit in person, be very cautious.
  • It is always a good idea to check with the Better Business Bureau and investigate any business offering this sort of employment.

Fake cashiers check scams come in many forms. Generally,

  • Do not depend on the funds from a cashier’s check from a source you do not know.
  • There is usually no legitimate reason for someone who is giving you money to ask for money to be wired back or wired to a third party. Don’t do it.
  • Do not rely on the fact that the check was accepted for deposit by their financial institution as evidence of the check’s authenticity. It can take up to a week or much longer for a financial institution to determine whether a check is good, especially if the check is from an institution located outside the United States.
  • Consumers are responsible for the deposited fake check, even if it was a cashier’s check. When the check bounces, the bank deducts from the consumer’s account the amount that was credited with the fake check–often with charges added. The bank will not take the loss.

One word of caution. Because we are a website dedicated to openly talking, showing legitimate AND scam companies, you may see advertisements for either. Do your homework and research, research and more research. Only then will you get a feel for who is real and who is a fraud. And remember:

Never, EVER cash a check for any job that requires you to CASH A CHECK FOR THAT JOB!


My podcast]]>http://www.secretshopperscam.net/ More ScamsA man from Santa Ynez California has been sentenced to serve six years in federal prison for operating a scam falsely promising bartending and mystery shopper jobs. Approximately 87,400 victims across the United States were defrauded by the scheme, which ran from 2001 through 2004 and caused nearly $6.2 million in losses.

Stevan P. Todorovic, 40, was sentenced by United States District Judge Terry J. Hatter Jr. In sentencing Todorovic, Judge Hatter noted that, in addition to taking money from victims, Todorovic caused a “loss of hope, a loss of opportunity.”

Last July, a federal jury convicted Todorovic of seven counts of wire fraud and three counts of mail fraud for making false promises to people seeking work.

 

According to Federal investigators, Todorovic set up two companies—American Bartending Institute and Consumer Response Group—to sell bogus training programs and job referrals. Todorovic placed advertisements in newspapers across the country offering bartending and mystery shopper jobs. Those who responded to the ads were misled into beliveing they had to purchase Todorovic’s certification programs in order to receive referrals to businesses that wanted to hire bartenders or mystery shoppers. The certifications, however, were not recognized by legitimate mystery shopping companies or other businesses, and Todorovic had no jobs to offer.

Before paying for any training or service, ask questions. Who is behind the offer? What is their experience or what credentials do they have? Who recognizes a certification? Watch for someone who is making promises they can not keep, such as promising jobs or income.

Although this one scammer is off the streets, there are still hundreds out there, trying to get your money. Exercise caution when you are working with an unfamiliar person or organization. Check them out carefully.

 


My podcast]]>http://www.secretshopperscam.net/more-scam/ ScamsThe people running mystery shopper scams are getting more sophisticated. Because more people are becoming aware of the scams, some of the scammers are making an attempt to look more like legitimate mystery shopping companies, and that can include putting up a web site with a professional appearance.

I was recently contacted by a shopper who got a mystery shopper job offer that just didn’t look right. I looked at the web site of the company that wanted to hire scam him, and I saw several things right away that made me think this was not legitimate.

Here is what you can do to check out a mystery shopping company’s web site. Although seeing one bad sign doesn’t mean that you are dealing with a mystery shopping scam, it could. Several red flags should send you running in the other direction, as fast as you can.

Do a Google search. The secret shopper who contacted me had already done this, and couldn’t find any information on them. The only results were their own web site and a few job listings they had posted on online job sites. That is a bad sign, and one of the things that caused the shopper to wonder if the company was legitimate.

Does the information match?Some scammers have used the names and web site addresses of legitimate mystery shopping companies in their mail and email solicitations of shoppers. However, the mailing address and phone numbers given were not those of the legitimate company. Compare the information on the web site to the information in the letter or email you received.

Search for the address given. It may not be their actual location, but it could provide insight. A quick search for the address given to the shopper turned up several company names at that address involved in a variety of scams. In other cases, you may find that the address does not exist, or that it is the address of someone other than the alleged “mystery shopping company.”

Find out how long their domain name has been registered. Go to a site such ashttp://whois.domaintools.com/ and enter the domain name (e.g., NameOfSite.com). Under Registry Data, one entry is Created. That tells you when the domain name was first registered. If it was within the last few weeks or months, I would be concerned.(Note: It is possible that a legitimate company would have a recent registration. They may be a new company, or they may have changed their domain name due to a change in their business. Likewise, it is possible that a scammer is using a web site that has been around for years. This is just one thing you should look at.)

Determine if the site is plagiarized. Many of the fake sites I have run across take their text from a legitimate mystery shopping company site, or use the same text over several different sites. Run a couple of pages through the free checker athttp://Copyscape.com/ to see if the same text can be found on other sites. (Note: There are reasons that the same text might appear on more than one site. For example, they may have written articles that appear in multiple locations. No problem there. And there are some companies that, although legitimate, think it is acceptable to copy from other web sites. Not scammers, but not very ethical, either.)

How do they handle shopper applications and assignments? Many legitimate mystery shopping companies use one of the well-known systems developed for the mystery shopping industry, such as SASSIE, Prophet, ShopMetrics or ClientSmart. If they are using one of these systems, they are most likely legitimate. Not using them does not mean they are running a scam. They may use a “home grown” system they developed in-house or some other system. The company the mystery shopper contacted me about had no online system at all, not even an online application.

Is there information about the company and its principals? Most companies include biographies or the owner/founder or executives of the company. They do this to let potential clients know about the expertise of their team. If there are no bios or other information about the management, that is a bad sign.

Does the site say anything about paying you to complete “offers”? This usually means that you are going to be asked to sign up for trial memberships and similar programs. There may be little or no expense to you for signing up, but if you do not read the fine print and cancel the trial you will get hit with charges to your credit card every month, often $49.95 or more per “offer.”

Does the company display logos saying they are members of the Mystery Shopping Providers Association, the Better Business Bureau or other associations? That is a good sign, but do not assume that they are actually members. Ccheck them out. After all, if they would scam people out of money, they would lie about their affiliations. You can search the MSPA member data base or BBB web site for information about member companies. Most other associations also allow searches of their member data bases.

Although this is not an exhaustive list, this checklist should give you a good idea of whether or not a company is legitimate based on its web site.

 


My podcast]]>http://www.secretshopperscam.net/scams/ Mystery Shopper Companies“Make Money Eating Out!” “Get Paid to Shop!” “Get Rich Without Effort!” These ads pop-up and blink all over the Internet, full of fantastic claims and “true” stories. They will tell you about the woman who makes $10,000 a month—just for shopping. This man retired a millionaire after a short time as a mystery shopper. Sounds great. Then you read the fine print. Just send in $29 for the mystery shopper kit, and you, too, will be on your way to riches in this lucrative field! “Well,” you say, “$29 is such a small amount of money, it can’t be a scam.”

If you respond to such an ad, you are likely to receive outdated information and access to a poorly designed, difficult to navigate website. You will likely be redirected to other places to find out about mystery shopper jobs available. There will be no customer service and no refunds. Chances are, no one will ever even respond to your phone calls or emails. You have been the victim of a mystery shopper scam.

As in any other home business or work-at-home venture, you should beware of anyone asking for money to help you become a mystery shopper. No legitimate shopper opportunity will require you to pay a fee or buy a kit. The mystery shopper scam preys on our desire to get rich quick. It also exploits a stay-at-home mom’s need to contribute to the family’s income.

Another red flag that you might be facing a mystery shopper scam is promises of riches. No one should promise that you could get wealthy being a mystery shopper. Mystery shopping itself will not make you rich. It is a very low-paying job. It is actually better to think of it as a hobby with perks, especially in the beginning.

With careful research, it is possible to find paying jobs as a mystery shopper. While it probably will not make you rich, you just might make some extra money doing something you enjoy. What could be better?

So who are the legitimate companies that WON”T SCAM you out of money?

 

 


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