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Mystery Shopping Scams, Website Service Scams
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Published: February 1, 2007
It may be a fantasy for shopping enthusiasts to think that a person could get paid large sums of money to shop in his or her free time. Most online mystery shopping companies advertise not only this, but also flexible hours, freebies, and a fun work environment. Does this sound too good to be true? The truth is it probably is.
Mystery shopping is a market research method originating in the 1940s, in which companies hire people to shop anonymously to gain customer insight as to how well the company is providing customer service. Mystery shoppers are given scripted questions, scripted complaints and/or specific purchases to make in order to evaluate a store or service.
Mystery shopping is done not only in retail stores, but also in restaurants in which the food, staff behavior and cleanliness are evaluated. A report is completed after the work is done that serves as a measure of the quality of customer service. In exchange, the mystery shopper usually receives any combination of cash, store credit, discounts, or goods or services purchased. The U.S. mystery shopping industry is currently estimated at nearly $600 million, according to a 2005 report commissioned by the Mystery Shopping Providers Association or MSPA.
What are the mystery shopping scams? The majority of mystery shopping websites are not legitimate. These websites charge a $20-$40 fee for access to their directory of mystery shopping service job sources. After collecting the initial fee, the directory provided is often outdated and filled with non-working pages. It is common that these websites offer no customer service to help find jobs and offer no refunds. In the end, the websites walk away with thousands of dollars in fees from potential mystery shoppers and do not provide anything in return.
The newest type of mystery shopping scam is one in which the most money can be lost by a want-to-be mystery shopper. Typically, a fraudulent company will send out email solicitation asking for a cashier's check to be cashed (usually around $1000 - $2000). They then ask for the money to be wired to a specific address that is usually located outside the country. Mystery shoppers are asked to evaluate the service they received and are offered a percentage of the original cashier's check as form of compensation. Days later the cashier's check bounces, leaving the mystery shopper liable for the entire sum of money.
How can scams be avoided? Scams work best on the uninformed person who wants to make loads of money easily, quickly, and with no skill necessary. Individuals interested in becoming mystery shoppers without being scammed are recommended to stay informed by researching the field adequately and remaining realistic.
According to the Federal Trade Commission, it is not necessary to pay money to anyone to get into the mystery shopper business. In fact, a list of companies that hire mystery shoppers and available jobs are free to anyone. The MSPA website is a well respected website for listing legitimate companies and providing accurate information. This organization has a database of MSPA-member companies, available jobs, and additional information on the industry in general.
Along with this legitimate market research method comes many scams appealing to people who want to make money quickly, easily, and with virtually no effort. It's important to conduct the proper research so that scams can be easily recognized. Most importantly, be patient and have realistic expectations about mystery shopping.
Sources:
Jana Conley. "Mystery Shopping Providers Association Warns Consumers: Beware of Ads Promising Quick Returns For Cashing a Check. "14 Dec. 2005. Mystery Shopping Providers Association. http://www.mysteryshop.org/
"Mystery Shopping." Wikipedia. 21 Jan. 2007. 21 Jan. 2007. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mystery_shopping
The Secrets of Mystery Shopping Revealed. July 2005. Federal Trade Commission. 21 Jan. 2007 <http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/alerts/mys teryalrt.htm>.
Mystery shopping is a market research method originating in the 1940s, in which companies hire people to shop anonymously to gain customer insight as to how well the company is providing customer service. Mystery shoppers are given scripted questions, scripted complaints and/or specific purchases to make in order to evaluate a store or service.
Mystery shopping is done not only in retail stores, but also in restaurants in which the food, staff behavior and cleanliness are evaluated. A report is completed after the work is done that serves as a measure of the quality of customer service. In exchange, the mystery shopper usually receives any combination of cash, store credit, discounts, or goods or services purchased. The U.S. mystery shopping industry is currently estimated at nearly $600 million, according to a 2005 report commissioned by the Mystery Shopping Providers Association or MSPA.
What are the mystery shopping scams? The majority of mystery shopping websites are not legitimate. These websites charge a $20-$40 fee for access to their directory of mystery shopping service job sources. After collecting the initial fee, the directory provided is often outdated and filled with non-working pages. It is common that these websites offer no customer service to help find jobs and offer no refunds. In the end, the websites walk away with thousands of dollars in fees from potential mystery shoppers and do not provide anything in return.
The newest type of mystery shopping scam is one in which the most money can be lost by a want-to-be mystery shopper. Typically, a fraudulent company will send out email solicitation asking for a cashier's check to be cashed (usually around $1000 - $2000). They then ask for the money to be wired to a specific address that is usually located outside the country. Mystery shoppers are asked to evaluate the service they received and are offered a percentage of the original cashier's check as form of compensation. Days later the cashier's check bounces, leaving the mystery shopper liable for the entire sum of money.
How can scams be avoided? Scams work best on the uninformed person who wants to make loads of money easily, quickly, and with no skill necessary. Individuals interested in becoming mystery shoppers without being scammed are recommended to stay informed by researching the field adequately and remaining realistic.
According to the Federal Trade Commission, it is not necessary to pay money to anyone to get into the mystery shopper business. In fact, a list of companies that hire mystery shoppers and available jobs are free to anyone. The MSPA website is a well respected website for listing legitimate companies and providing accurate information. This organization has a database of MSPA-member companies, available jobs, and additional information on the industry in general.
Along with this legitimate market research method comes many scams appealing to people who want to make money quickly, easily, and with virtually no effort. It's important to conduct the proper research so that scams can be easily recognized. Most importantly, be patient and have realistic expectations about mystery shopping.
Sources:
Jana Conley. "Mystery Shopping Providers Association Warns Consumers: Beware of Ads Promising Quick Returns For Cashing a Check. "14 Dec. 2005. Mystery Shopping Providers Association. http://www.mysteryshop.org/
"Mystery Shopping." Wikipedia. 21 Jan. 2007. 21 Jan. 2007. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mystery_shopping
The Secrets of Mystery Shopping Revealed. July 2005. Federal Trade Commission. 21 Jan. 2007 <http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/alerts/mys teryalrt.htm>.
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