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:
In this video, Elaine discusses her journey as a business owner whose company identity was used by a scammer to try to lure consumers. She discusses how the scam was discovered and what business owners should do when their hard-earned good reputations at put at stake by scam artists.
If you have fallen victim to this scam, or if you have been contacted by any of these scammers, please file a complaint with the
Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
What can consumers do to steer clear of this?
- Only sign up to mystery shop with reputable firms. All members of the Mystery Shopping Providers Association have agreed to honor a code of ethics.
- Reputable firms are not likely to ask for your name, address and other contact info via email. Sign up with firms that offer a secure website for sign ups.
- Never pay to be accepted as a shopper. Reputable firms pay YOU to mystery shop and charge you NOTHING to sign up.