Shopper News

Mystery Shopping Shopper News, Tips, Resources and Articles of Interest

AVOID MYSTERY SHOPPING JOB SCAMS!

• NEVER pay a fee to anyone to sign up, purchase a book or list of names
• NEVER pay a “membership fee”
• NEVER accept an assignment which requires you to deposit a check or money order before doing your “shop”
• NEVER accept an assignment which requires you to do a wire transfer

No legitimate mystery shopping company will charge you money to register on their site. One should never apply for a job where the company asks for money up front so you can start work.

• Companies that promise high paying assignments, “lots of assignments” in your area or other “too good to be true” offers to entice you to register should be investigated further before registering.
• Legitimate mystery shopping companies NEVER send checks or wire funds to anyone until AFTER they have successfully completed an assignment and it has been accepted.
• NEVER send personal information via email
• Get a valid web site and look for the MSPA logo on that site (see below)
• NEVER go to a website through a link sent to you in an email. Go to the website independently of any link that might be sent to you. Scammers often copy websites so they look real.
• Register only on a legitimate, verified web site. If you do not find the MSPA logo, move on. And even if you do, verify, verify, verify! Scammers can easily steal the MSPA logo to make themselves look legitimate.

The best way to be sure you’ve reached a legitimate MSPA member company is from the MSPA website. You can find mystery shopping company names, phone numbers and websites at no cost on the MSPA site HERE.

MSPA does not engage mystery shoppers.

One such scammer has recently used the name John Edwardson and gives an email address of mspa@live.com. He claims to represent MSPA. He does not. He is trying to trap shoppers into letting their guards down by claiming to be from a legitimate organization, but he IS NOT. Other scammers use the MSPA logo on websites or in emails. They are trying to clothe themselves in legitimacy; don’t buy it! If you receive an email invitation to become a mystery shopper for MSPA, don’t believe it! We don’t engage mystery shoppers; only our member companies do. Always look at the email addresses and web addresses these scammers use. They are seldom the “real” addresses of a legitimate company. If a shopper has any question about whether an email is legitimate or not, check it out thoroughly before sharing your personal information and NEVER cash a check sent to you in advance of an assignment. That’s a sure sign the deal is a scam.

Beware of Fake Check Scams!

Susan Grant of the Consumer Federation of America discusses the results of the group’s survey of fake-check scams. She said most people “don’t understand that they will be held liable” when a check turns out to be fake. Click HERE for more info.

Beware of Letters Offering Quick Returns for Cashing a Check

Our company rarely, if ever, conducts mystery shops involving check cashing or money transfers. We never ask shoppers to send us money. If someone posing as a representative of our company ever contacts you with a cashier’s check, call us before you try to cash the check… it may be a scam! Click HERE for more info.

Shopper Tip Corner ~ From Shopper to Shopper

A helpful article excerpted from our shopper newsletter “MSPA Shopper Minute.” To view the full newsletter online, click here. This issue’s tip…

How to Complete a Shop

Unfortunately there are many things in life to do everyday and it is easy to rush through them. Breakfast, brushing your teeth, homework with your kids, etc. But as we all know when we do that, so much can get lost in the mix. Not only do we lose out on the fun stuff but we ultimately hurt ourselves/others by doing the minimum and rushing through. Life is all about the details and so is mystery shopping. Two key elements to successful mystery shopping are taking your time and attention to detail. It’s important to respect the time given for each assignment. I usually look at this as a minimum, not a maximum time frame, and I allow enough personal leeway in case it goes a little over. I don’t want my shop being dictated by my watch. It’s the freedom of mystery shopping and the pride in my work, those are the reasons why I chose this type of independent work. Secondly, and even more importantly, is the attention to detail. It is imperative to notice all of the little nuances and quirks that the average person would never pick up on. That is what separates us from average “joes”. Whether it is physical attributes or what an employee said or did not say, these bits of information add up to a story that the client wants to hear. As I leave, here’s just a few ideas I have used in the past, maybe these will help you in your quest to pay attention to detail:

• if the contact or “target” is out of earshot (as well as other store staff), call and leave a message for yourself at home, for ex.: hair color, eye color, name
• you can also send a text or write a note in your cell phone, not as suspicious as openly writing notes, although I just use the following step
• grab a sale ad when walking in (for ex. a Staples) face the contact and ask questions, write down physical description or detail of interaction but they think you are writing down price info, etc.
• to remember a long interview, like a bank job, I will get into my car, drive around the corner, park, or go get a pop/coffee and write it all down for a few minutes while it is fresh in my mind, even a n hour I will lose some information
• in order to keep things interesting, I make every shop apply to my own life/situations, for ex.: talked to the contact about the best aquarium for a small fish; I usually learn something, the time goes by fast and I have more fun