Mystery Secret Shopper Scam

Almost anyone would want to earn a living by visiting stores and making free purchases and scammers want to take full advantage of that fact. One should beware of mystery shopping ads that come in the form of unsolicited mails, especially those that involves wire transfer of money.

For instance, a shopper may be told to evaluate a bank or a financial service. The scammers will give genuine looking counterfeit cashier's check(s) to the victim. The victim will then be told to cash the check and wire transfer the money. They will also tell the shopper to complete to assignment as soon as possible or else he/she will not be paid for the service or hired again. In some cases the shopper will be told to cash the check, keep a certain amount for himself as reward and transfer the rest. Since the scammers will put pressure on the victim to get the job done within a day or two, the victim may end up sending his/her own money to the scammer in the hope of cashing the check later on. By the time the victim realizes about the scam, it is already too late. Even banks take time to detect forgeries. Also, consumers are responsible for the deposited fake check, even if it was a cashier's check. When the check bounces, the bank deducts the amount that was credited with the fake check from the consumer's account. The victim may have to pay other charges/fees as well.

Earn money online without investment

Related Information

What is mystery shopping?

A "Mystery Shopper" or "Secret Shopper" is someone who is hired by an organization or an individual to pose as a customer or a client to evaluate a service or perform other tasks. The shopper has to then report back the findings to the person/business that hired him/her. The shopper is then paid for the assignment. The rewards may not always be in cash, sometimes it may be in the form merchandise or a meal at a high-end restaurant, etc.