Beware, there is a new scam being circulated on the internet and it has to do with the popular mystery shopper programs.
Mystery shopping is a term used where a company hires contractors to go to a business and evaluate certain set criteria. The company whom hires these mystery shoppers usually pays them a small fee to do the evaluation and report back the results. To become a mystery shopper you need to fill out an application and in some cases a small evaluation of your writing and grammar skills. These legitimate companies never ask for or require a fee be paid by the person applying for an assignment.
Being a mystery shopper is a good way to earn some extra cash, you sometimes get free food and products and you don’t have to except an assignment if you are not interested. Best of all you get paid to check out restaurants, retail stores and gas stations. Places you probably visit regularly anyway.
At the end of this article is a link to The Mystery Shoppers Providers Association (MSPA) which lists the top mystery shopping companies doing business in your area. From there you will be able to see what shopping is available and apply to become a mystery shopper for one or more of these companies.
Back to the scams: I recently received an email from a person who claims to be Brian Heather a recruiter for Market Force Information a highly respected and legitimate mystery shopping company. This dirtball states that he is looking for a mystery shopper in my area and promises $400 per week, upfront expense money and pre-arranged assignments. All he wanted was my personal information. (Yeah right!)
I am already a mystery shopper for Market Force and knew immediately this was a scam. Market Force does not recruit; they do not guarantee a set amount of money weekly; they do not pay you any upfront cash expense money and to become a member you need to apply on their web site only.
To make this scam appear genuine this scammer included the link to the actual Market Force website and represented himself as being an employee of theirs. However, his email address was an AOL email thus anyone would know that any actual employee of a company would be using the company’s email address and not one from AOL.
Here is the actual email scam I was sent:
{Attn: Esteemed Mystery Shopper,
My Name is Brian Heather, I am seeking mystery shoppers in your locality. Henceforth you will be working with me on the completion of your Mystery Shopper’s Position application.
Like you already know, your weekly wage is $400:00 Flat for working with us and will come in twice a week with payments of $200 each.
PAYMENT TERMS:
Your payment would be sent weekly ($400) weekly, Also the company is in charge of providing you with all expense money for the shopping and other expenses incurred during the course of your assignment. All the tools you will needing would be provided to you with details every week you have an assignment.
JOB DESCRIPTION :
1. When an assignment is given to you, You would be provided with details to execute the assignment in a timely fashion.
2. You would be asked to visit a company or store in your area and they are mostly our competitors as a secret shopper and shop with them to know more about their sales and stock, cost sales and more details as provided by the company then report back to us with details of whatever transpired at the store. But anything you buy at the shop belongs to you, all we want is an effective/quick job and reports.
ASSIGNMENT PACKET :
Before any assignment we would provide you with the resources needed {cash} Mostly our company would send you a check which you can cash and use for the assignment. Included with the check would be your assignment packet. Then we would be providing you details on here. But you follow every single information given to you as a secret shopper .
KINDLY SEND YOUR INFORMATION BELOW TO PROCEED ON FIRST ASSIGNMENT TO (brianheather001@aol.com)
Full Legal Name :
Address ( NO PO BOX ):
City :
State :
Zip code :
Country :
Age:
Nationality :
Home and Cell # :
Present Occupation:
Email:
I will await your prompt response.
Regards .
Brian Heather
Market Force Information®
www.marketforceinfo.com}
I replied back to this knucklehead but received no response.
If you are interested in joining a mystery shopping company click here (MSPA) and check it out. Remember that becoming a mystery shopper is always free and has no pre-obligations. It is a good way to make some extra cash and can be fun as well. All companies on the MSPA web site are very legitimate and are safe to join.
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