Hi all mystery shoppers
Happy Holiday!!!!!!!!

I have been a shopper for about a little over three years, and have earn much with various company. But! I would like to warn my mystery shopper friends to be aware of illegal mystery assignment.

My story: I received an email saying that I was excepted for a mystery assignment, which seem legal. I reply back to them asking for information about their company to make sure that they were legal. I did not received a reply, but received two money orders in the mail by fed express, which followed another email explaining the assigement. I will explain just a little of the assignment, which entailed me picking up another package by western union, and so and so on. First let me mention that the money order was for $977.77, and I never received a reply about the company.Therefore, I decided to return the money order to where it came from. In doing so, I located the fedexpress package in which the money order came in and noticed that another money order was in the package for the same amount, so we talking about $1955.54. Again,such a large amount should b questionable

In final, my mystery shopper be aware of illegal mystery shops, and don't get excited over large sums, because they are usually illegal and a scam. again, my mystery friend, we AWARE!!!! and happy mystery shopping in 2010.

I wish I could get someone to send me 1955.54

I will BigGeorge. Just send me your address... NOT

Hi,I also have recieved a check from fed-Ex it was in the end of November 2009. I called the bank of which the account was drawn from, bank stated that the check would not clear if posted.At that point I turned the check over to the local P`D.

WHILAME,WERE THOSE MONEY ORDERS GOOD?-----AND WHAT WAS THE ASSIGNMENT?----R.

Of course they weren't they were a scam.

HI all I agree with RICCI, they were scams. They were both month orders for 977.71 for a total of over $1900.00, what kind of assigment would pay such a large amount of money for one day. It was were I had to pick up a package (western union ) and on.

Know one would pay you that kind of money,not especially for a mystery shop for one day. we have to use wisdom.

Correct on last response: They were money orders for 977.71.

hi i just received a check for $1250 via UPS and well judging from what I've just read, it seems as though this is a scam too. I was told to cash the check, take my pay of $150, and then use $50 from it to shop at a particular store (the items i'm allowed to keep), then i was told to go to western union and send the remainder of the money to a given address... which i think is a bit strange... why would anyone trust a complete stranger to send such a large some of money and be honest about it??? would any of you guys go through with this?

NO. Scam is written all over this.

You are asking the absolute correct question: "why would anyone trust a complete stranger to send such a large some of money and be honest about it???"

It is the appearance of trust on their part that you will 'do the right thing' that causes folks to fall for the trap. The check will end up being fraudulent. So don't even think about cashing it. Rather turn it over to your police department along with the UPS envelope, etc. Perhaps they can follow the UPS tracking back to the sender (unless they paid for it with a stolen credit card) and put the scammers in jail.

You can also report this as an internet based crime to www.ic3.gov. The is the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center.

Hi and thank you all for your information, you have been a help to me and others who may get caught in these scams. Remember- what always seem to be good is sometimes not always what it is! Do your homework!!!!!!!!!

This is a good site, love it!!!!!!!!!!

Hi I also receive a check regular mail from us bank of 3893.89$ and same thei said about to do misteri shopper and send some amount to western union or money gram and I get happi and I went to aravec store and cache the chek with no problem and I kipp the money. And spend all the money alrredi because I wass calling after I cash the chek to see wath. Thei wan mi to do because I can do nat untherstend tha leter because my inglish is not to god now the iknow I am scare wat shul I do now?

If you sent your money, you are out the money. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but that is the situation. Your bank is going to take the money for their check out of your account. Contact the police and and FBI ****NOW*****, It probably is, unfortunately, too late, but just in case it is not, DO NOT DELAY. Report it.

I got a check like this via regular mail. It looked legit, but it was from a company I had never signed up to mystery shop for.

The check was drawn on a midwest bank and listed a hotel as the payor, not the mystery shop company. The MS company said I was to cash the check and wire most of the money to Canada.

I tossed the check away. Why would a company I had never registered with send me a check for work? This is truly one of those too good to be true situations.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/03/2010 05:46AM by rockrains123.

Are these ALL scam? I'm a single Mom and don't have time for this CRAP.

Sandra, why not stop and read the forum for NEW MYSTERY SHOPPERS? I know that I don't have time to help those that cannot help themselves, most certainly when they come here and yell at us.

sandracmyers Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Are these ALL scam? I'm a single Mom and don't
> have time for this CRAP.

If you are referring to the checks and money orders sent to people in advance of shops, yes they are all scams. Many have posted regarding this over the years, which has hopefully educated and prevented readers from becoming victims of fraud.

Be very careful if people contact you, especially if they send money, if you have not signed up with them first. The reputable mystery shop companies all have a process in which you sign up with them, provide your personal and contact information, and sometimes submit a writing sample. Then you get access to their job board to look for jobs. Or, sometimes, they will contact you with jobs. But beware if someone just contacts you or sends you money when you have no business relationship with them.

THANK YOU!

It's funny to see how many of you have been subject to this well known scam. I wonder how they got your names and addresses? Being that you guys are mystery shoppers, it has to come from some of the companies you signed up with. Strange.

I rather suspect it is not coming from the companies we sign up with but rather in the preliminary stumblings around that folks do before actually finding legitimate shopping companies to work with.

For a number of years I have been getting emails in my regular email account that seem to pass even Gmail's spam scrutiny that indicate they have seen my resume on the internet and have a responsible job I seem qualified for. If I had ever posted my resume on the internet I would be reasonably likely to respond because the jobs sound legitimate. But if you Google the companies you quickly come up with lots of complaints about folks being sucked into get rich quick schemes by these companies who make money by selling you your "samples" or "programs" or "leads". As soon as you respond to one of those you hit the sucker list. There has, however, been some concern that one of the pay to shop outfits wittingly or unwittingly has had their subscribers land on sucker lists. After all, if you sucker into one "too good to be true" deal you are an excellent candidate for a second swipe at your pocketbook.

No legitimate company that I have ever heard of pays you upfront. That is a red flag right there.

The problem is that under some conditions, some legitimate companies with whom you have an outstanding reputation may indeed provide some upfront funding in one form or another. Rare, but it has been known to happen. But as a general rule this does not happen, so your statement is mostly true and definitely true for companies with whom you have no track record.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/04/2010 08:49PM by Flash.

I will take the advice to Sandra and read the forum for NEW MYSTERY SHOPPERS first, so I can understand what you are discussing. Thanks

-----Original Message-----
From: BESTMARK [mailto:info@bestmark.com]
Sent: 28 January 2010 09:43
Subject: (Mystery Shopper) Acknowledge this email and send your application
to Joyce Spring.

BESTMARKR is presently recruiting a "limited" number of MYSTERY SHOPPERS.
POSITION TITLE: Regional Mystery Shopper
AVAILABILITY: Open
START DATE: Immediate
COMMISSION: $200 Per Survey


Attention: Esteemed Customer,


Following the successful assessment of your application, you have been
selected as a Secret Shopper for your region. We strongly believe you have
got what it takes to carry out the various surveys in your regions and hope
we would not be disappointed. A cheque will be deivered to you in place of
the Credit card details as earlier requested. You are expected to re-confirm
the below applicatin for us to proceed.

YOUR IMMEDIATE RESPONSIBILITY:

To conduct a hidden survey on the nearest MONEY GRAM outlet in your location
by forwarding a fixed amount from the cheque that will be issued to you in
another 3-5 days to a mystery consumer in another region who is conducting
the same survey at the "RECIPIENT" end.


A cashier's check of $2500.00 will be issued and should get delivered to you
via regular mail within the next 3-5 days.
Your income is 200 on the check.
You're to deduct another $45.00 to cover the Money Transfer Charges at the
MONEY GRAM location to the Mystery Consumer.


RATINGS OF THE MONEY GRAM OUTLETS SERVICE:

You are to simply rate the MONEY GRAM outlets service on a scale of POOR,
FAIR, GOOD and EXCELLENT by simply observing and recording the parameters
below:

Service:
Friendliness:
Efficiency:

You are to simply send us an e-mail with your rating of the store /depot
under the parameters above with the reference number of the funds sent.

NOTE: ITS OF UTMOST IMPORTANCE YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THE RECEIPT OF THIS EMAIL IF
YOU TOTALLY UNDERSTAND THIS PROCEDURE AND WILL BE AVAILABLE TO ACCEPT THIS
PAYMENT.


First Name:
Middle Name:
Last Name:
Address Line 1:
City:
State:
Zip Code:
Age:
Home Phone Number:
Cell / Mobile Phone Number:
E-mail:


Re-submit the above application to this email address and call this number
for confirmation:
Tel: (914) 930 0439
Email: joyce@mail2recruiter.com


Warmest Regards,
Joyce A. Spring.
BESTMARKR
5605 Green Circle Drive,
Suite #200, Minnetonka,
MN 55343-9602
Website: www.bestmark.com
Email: applications@mail2recruiter.com
BESTMARKR "THE LEADER IN CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE INNOVATION"



I was told that this email is also a scam!! Please be careful and do not fall for these tricks. If its too good to be true, then it probably is.

Oh yeah, scam-o-rama time! It will be a cold day in hades when Bestmark sends out an advance check :^) Plus these guys are trying to avoid trouble by making themselves BESTMARKR while spoofing a Bestmark email address so that your spam filters kick it out entirely.

This is so well known now. I think just about every legitimate company has this on their home page as a warning.

Where are these scammers getting people's contact information, particularly their addresses?