Mystery Shopping Scams on the Rise

Trade body the Mystery Shopping Providers Association (MSPA) has alerted consumers to a number of new scams across the US, offering a quick profit in return for evaluating service received when cashing checks and wiring funds.

The scams, a new MR-oriented variation on a fairly familiar theme, ask consumers to cash a large sum cashier's check and then wire the money to another location, typically outside the country. In exchange for evaluating the service received, punters are offered a percentage of the original cashier's check which, however, bounces a few days later leaving the consumer liable for the entire amount wired to the international address – typically between $1,000 and $5,000.

Consumers may have slightly more excuse for falling for these scams than for most as – according to MSPA Executive Director John Swinburn - scammers frequently using the names of legitimate mystery shopping companies in the introductory letter. In addition, 'the cashier's check contains the name of a real bank and looks real.' His advice however is common with that given to all potential scam victims: 'if the offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is.'

The MSPA emphasises that mystery shopping 'is not a quick and easy way to make a large sum of money and receive numerous freebies... a typical mystery shopping evaluation will earn about $10 to $20'. It asks all those receiving a suspected scam offer to contact authorities, including the local police, the FBI, and the Federal Trade Commission. If the offer is received via mail, consumers should also contact the U.S. Postal Service.

The Association is online at www.mysteryshop.org .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.