You’ve been invited to check out one of your favorite retailers to secretly shop their store and eval-uate the quality of service and product availability. The best part? You get to keep the items plus earn a paycheck as a mystery shopper.
If this sounds too good to be true, it very well could be. Many mystery shopper opportunities are scams. Here’s how to tell a real gig from this common con.
How the scam works
You receive an offer via email, text or a social media network to become a secret shopper. In other cases, you may apply to a secret shopper job advertised online. Either way, the company offers you the job right away. You are so perfect for the position, they claim, you don’t even need to interview.
In the most common version of this scam, the company mails you a check to cover your secret shopper purchases. You are asked to buy a few things and send back the remaining money. Unfortunately, the check is a fake. It will bounce, and you’ll be left footing the full bill and the bank fees associated with it.
However, scammers are getting creative with secret shopper cons. Be on the lookout for twists.
For example, one victim told BBB Scam Tracker: “I saw a job posting on Linked-
In for a secret shopper position. I applied and shortly afterward received a check in the mail. The check was for $2,470 and the business…
