Confero Blog

Confero and Better Business Bureau (BBB) Release Mystery Shopping Scam Video

by Confero Inc.

As a reputable company with 24 years in business, we are always concerned about scams involving mystery shopping. The scam typically plays out like this: the consumer receives a certified check from the bogus mystery shopping company, along with an "assignment" to deposit the check and then send funds via Western Union or Moneygram to a person designated on the assignment. The idea is that Western Union or Moneygram are being "mystery shopped" and the mystery shopper can keep a portion of the check amount. Usually, the certified check amounts are $900-5,000 with shoppers enticed into performing the shop by being allowed to keep anywhere from $300 to $900. Eventually, what happens is that the consumer is notified by his or her bank that the certified check was not good. The full amount of the check is then charged back to the consumer's checking account, leaving the consumer owing the money back to the bank.

Unfortunately, in many scams, the names of real, legitimate mystery shopping companies are used to entice unwitting consumers. Confero was one such legitimate company whose name was forged to be used by a scammer. Confero's President, Elaine Buxton, sat down with the Better Business Bureau of Eastern North Carolina’s Communication and Public Relations Specialist, Courtney Smith on November 18, 2009 to discuss ongoing scams in the mystery shopping industry.

In this video, Elaine discusses the most common mystery shopping scam and what consumers should know about it:

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Elaine Buxton Featured In 2010 Woman’s Advantage Calendar

by Confero Inc.

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Confero’s WayBack Machine and Life Lessons—How Small Efforts Paid off Big in the Late 80’s

by Elaine Buxton


We are preparing to celebrate Confero’s 25th year in business in 2011. Naturally, I have started to look back on our years in business. I’m often asked how we got started in the mystery shopping business. Here’s my favorite “how it all started” story. It’s the story of how our local firm became national, quickly, by doing small things right.

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