Scams
Many people are looking to generate additional income either out of necessity to make ends meet or out of choice to pay off bills or save for vacation. During the last decade, home-based businesses have become a popular way to do this, especially with stay-at-home moms and workers who have lost their jobs.
This trend has attracted scammers to focus on home-based business “opportunities”, and the growing interest in mystery shopping has now made those seeking information on how to break into the mystery shopping field their targets.
Use caution when considering a mystery shopping opportunity and deal only with legitimate mystery shopping companies. Here are some points to keep in mind.
- You do not have to pay for a list of mystery shopping companies (see Companies under Resources).
- You do not have to pay to be hired by a mystery shopping company. Legitimate companies never require a fee to apply.
- You do not have to pay to have your name registered in a mystery shopper database. You can join NCPMS and be entered in their database free.
- You do not have to be certified to be a mystery shopper. Certification is not required by any company to apply.
- You do not have to be trained to be a mystery shopper. Training is not required by any company to apply.
Here are some consumer alerts to help you avoid scams.
Snopes.com Urban Legends Reference Pages:
Secret Shopper Scams (Updated 9/11/06)
FTC Consumer Alert:
The Secrets of Mystery Shopping Revealed (July 2005)
Better Business Bureau:
Shop, Dine AND Get Paid? (6/22/2003)
