Mystery shopping scam

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Consumer Action has heard from a consumer who was scammed when she accepted a "mystery shopping assignment" from a company that asked her to cash a large check, which turned out to be bogus. The consumer wrote to us:

I was hired for this company for 12 hours a week. On my first assignment I was asked to cash a cashier's check for $2,790 and send $2,500 to a Mandy Rivera in NYC through a MoneyGram store at 4830 Third Street, because they said they had a lot of complaints from this location. I was assigned to grade the MoneyGram store and to call the company that hired me once the assignment was completed. Well, not even two weeks later my bank calls me and tells me that the cashier's check I was given was counterfeit and that I was responsible to pay this amount back in a four month period or my accounts will be closed. I am telling my story because I want to keep someone else from being a victim.

Consumer Action did some digging and discovered that this is a common scam. The Mystery Shopping Providers Association (MSPA), a trade association that works to improve customer service through the use of mystery shoppers, put out an alert last year about mystery shopping scams that offer consumers the opportunity to make “easy money” by cashing a large-sum cashier’s check and evaluating the service they receive. The MSPA advised the public to disregard letters or classified ads that promise fast cash and free gifts by performing mystery shopping and service evaluations.

The scam asks the consumer to cash a cashier’s check and wire the money back to a specified address, sometimes outside the country. The “reward” to consumers is that they keep a percentage of the original cashier’s check as payment. In these scams, the cashier’s check bounces several days later and the consumer is held liable for the entire amount of the money they wired to the international address – typically between $2,500 and $3,500.

“Mystery shopping is a valuable customer service tool that has gained widespread acceptance in the retail, financial services and restaurant industries...but it's not a quick and easy way to make a large sum of money and receive numerous freebies,” said John Swinburn, Mystery Shopping Providers Association (MSPA) Executive Director. “Mystery shoppers typically are paid modest amounts and on some occasions may receive reimbursement for required purchases,” Swinburn said. “Legitimate mystery shopping companies will never promise large sums of fast cash or require consumers to pay an up-front fee to become a mystery shopper.”

Prospective shoppers looking for legitimate mystery shopping companies can visit the MSPA web site to find information on how to register to be a shopper with an MSPA member company, what jobs are available in their region, and additional information on the mystery shopping industry.

The following tips are provided for those interested in becoming a mystery shopper:

• Respond directly to the companies that post the assignments on the MSPA web site.
• Sign up with as many companies as you can. If a company asks you to pay, decline and move on to the next company.
• Be patient. It takes time, sometimes months or even longer, to be contacted with an offer to conduct a shopping assignment.
• Once assigned a shop, ensure it is completed according to the guidelines set forth by the mystery shopping client. Shoppers who do a good job have a much higher likelihood of being invited back for future assignments.
• Prospective shoppers never need to pay a fee to become a mystery shopper. If a shopper receives an email or visits a web site that asks for a fee, leave the site immediately.