The secret mystery shoppers industry attracts a large amount of people. With all the glamour and hype of dining at fancy restaurants at no cost, getting free goodies, shopping for new clothes, or even enjoying a fun-filled trip with your family somewhere you haven't been- who wouldn't want to be a mystery shopper?! Unfortunately mystery shoppers also attract a surprising amount of mystery shopper scams. It's easier to scam or trick someone without having any face to face interactions. The scam artist can smoothly prove their legitimacy online, which is the reason why there are more scams via internet than anywhere else. These days anyone can create a mystery shoppers survey website, also known as a "paid surveys" website in a matter of a few hours effortlessly.
Frauds will use the gimmick of "paid surveys" to attract mystery shoppers victims in paying a fee to join their website or organization and then not fulfilling their promise of reimbursement of the money they have already spent. An example of what a mystery shopper scam website will do is-charge you a $25-100 fee for information and access to their directories of "high paying" survey sources. But in reality most of these websites provide you nothing but outdated directories and resources with links, phone numbers, and email addresses that no longer work. There are even sites that require no fee for joining, but they also don't pay any money either. Instead they ask for your email address then deluge your email with spam.
Another example of what some disreputable companies that scam shoppers will do is- send a large advance cashier check. The shopper is told to send a MoneyGram or Western Union to a person in Canada, keeping part of the check for themselves. However, the check is not legitimate and bounces, leaving the shopper without any money to cover the MoneyGram. Beware of these tricks when looking for a business or organization to mystery shop for. Daniel Torstenson from Michigan a watchdog of scams suggests the following:
Look out for poorly designed sites with confusing navigation systems and information. (some certifications can be counterfeited)
Avoid surveys that pay little or no money at all.
Check for outdated directories and resources. Make sure the links, phone numbers and email addresses are legit.