Last week we posted a story about a woman, “Jill,” who got caught up in a mystery shopping scam that left her finances in ruin.
Jill applied to be a mystery shopper online. She was sent a letter confirming that she had the job. She also received a check for $3,460 along with instructions -- to review Western Union’s customer service by wiring $2,800 to England.
Jill deposited the check in her bank account, withdrew $2,800 and wired it to the provided number. Soon, the bank discovered the check was fraudulent and closed her accounts.
Now she’s fighting to clear her name and get back control of her accounts.
There are some red flags when applying for a mystery shopper job. We checked with the mystery shopper provider association and the federal trade commission to find out what you should look out for:
- Avoid any company that sends a large amount of money. Most mystery shopper expenses are between $8 and $20. Legitimate mystery shopping companies do not send money in advance. Most shoppers will be reimbursed for their purchases.
- Legitimate mystery shopping companies will go over the specifics about what they are looking for in companies. You will be told exactly what you should find out and what the focus should be.
- You will be asked to turn in receipts for a reputable mystery shopping company.
- Look at the email addresses of the mystery shopper companies. If the email address is sent from Yahoo or Hotmail, it probably isn’t reputable.
The mystery shopper association even has a page with member companies. But be careful, they say some scammers will sometimes pose as a member company to rip you off. So you should check with the company independently before doing business as them.
Check out these links to make sure you don’t get caught in a similar scam.
http://www.mysteryshop.org
http://www.mysteryshop.org/members/
http://www.jobslinger.com/mspa/exec/sfs/jobboard/
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/alerts/alt151.shtm (Federal Trade Commission)
And if you are suspicious that a check you’ve received may be fraudulent, bank officials advise customers to talk to a bank manager.
