If It Looks Too Good To Be True Then It Probably Is
There is negative side of this profession also. I have had heard incidents where friends of my colleagues have been duped and pushed into being indebted for no fault of theirs.
Real Secret shopping companies exist but they pay aren’t very lucrative. A typical secret shopper makes USD10 to USD20 an hour and does not get free shopping sprees. Meanwhile, a fake secret shopping companies offers USD200 per outing and lets you keep hundreds or thousands of merchandise, or so they say.
If you are sent a cheque and asked to send a part of it back to the Company – it’s a SCAM.
Keep These Tips in Mind In Weeding Out Fake Companies
A company is fake when
- You receive a cheque with the job offer;
- You notice poor grammar in the correspondence;
- You are asked to send money via money transfer or money order;
- You receive a letter saying you are pre-approved before any work is done;
- The e-mail from the company is sent from webmail ids such as Yahoo, Gmail, MSN, AOL, etc.
So Where Do You Go For A Legitimate Secret Shopper Offer
Well, start by going to Mystery Shopping Providers Association website. The mystery shopping providers association will give you information on how to join a legitimate secret shopper club and how to work with retailers that have actually signed up to participate. Before responding to jobs online, be sure to check the consumer complaints about the company on Scam Book or Mystery Shopping Providers Association website, and do help in spreading the word.
So all you big spenders, there is someone out there looking for people like you.
