Does anyone do this for extra income?

I'm always leary of this, though I know there ARE reputable companies that are out there.

What are some basic scams to watch out for when researching a company to do mystery shopping?

My brother recently answered an ad for mystery shoppers. They called him and set up employment.

They sent him a check for almost $4K. He deposited it and the check was supposed to clear as of yesterday. From that check, he keeps $300 right off the top. That is his salary. Then he takes $200 of that and is supposed to go shopping at the store they suggested, which happened to be JCPenny. He gets to keep what he buys. He just has to take the receipts, and the remaining money and send it ALL back to the company via western union.
We discussed this over the weekend, and I was really leary. I mean WHY would they send him THAT much money? The way he put it, what does he have to lose? If the check doesn't clear, then it doesn't clear and thats thier problem. Otherwise, he gets about $500 from it and all he has to do is go shopping. They did not ask him to spend his own money, nor did they ask for any upfront.

What do you think?

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~Missy~Mommy
Meghan9.Samantha7,Cameron5

New England Mommysavers Social Group, Join us!http://mommysavers.com/boards/group.php?groupid=10

That's a very well-known scam. The check he deposited will NOT CLEAR (even if it initially appears to do so) so he SHOULD NOT send anyone any money. Scammers are using the name of real companies to do this scam.

Mystery shopping is very legitimate but it doesn't work that way at all. I don't know how so many people end up getting scammed.

Mystery shopping generally involves visiting an establishment, making observations and often making a small purchase, submitting a report and the receipts, and a few weeks later receiving a small payment and possibly reimbursement for your purchase. Something like a JcPenny shop may offer a $10.00 fee and a $15.00 reimbursement, or something like that. Get a list of companies with mystery shopping opportunities, for free, at Volition.com. There is also a message board with more information. There ARE awesome shops (like spa visits and upscale restaurants) but you don't start out getting those shops!

Wow that is quite scary! The person he spoke with DID tell him the check would clear on monday, though I havn't spoke with him to find out if it did. He did say he would NOT do anything until he knew for sure the check was cleared. But how can the check appear to clear, then not?? That is a scary perspective! There is about $3400 that he is supposed to send back to them western union!

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~Missy~Mommy
Meghan9.Samantha7,Cameron5

New England Mommysavers Social Group, Join us!http://mommysavers.com/boards/group.php?groupid=10

The company he is working with is called GapBusters. I just looked them up online and there IS a valid website. How do I find info about this company?

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~Missy~Mommy
Meghan9.Samantha7,Cameron5

New England Mommysavers Social Group, Join us!http://mommysavers.com/boards/group.php?groupid=10

I am a mystery shopper as well and this sounds like a good old fashion scam to me. RUN RUN RUN away from this. Do NOT send them any money back. They will make 3400$ off your brother and he will be out the other money as well because that check will NOT clear.

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Mabennett - Proud Mommy to a Yankee, a Tarheel, and a cheerleader

The mystery shopping scam that could cost you a fortune. | Wise Bread

I found this link. It doesn't sound like a very good idea to me.

Contact the local Better Business Bureau about this immediately@

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Mabennett - Proud Mommy to a Yankee, a Tarheel, and a cheerleader

He should contact Gapbuster as well. Mystery Shopping, Customer Service Evaluation, Customer Experience Management, Secret Shopper - GAPbuster Worldwide I can guarantee that someone is using their name illegally and they can post a warning on their website so other shoppers know about it. This has been going on for awhile now. The same thing happened to the company I work for.

WOW thanks for the input. I know about this scam with ebay and craig's list, and my red flag warning was going up, but it just seemed harder to detect with this company. I saw the 'official' looking letter they sent him, read it myself. I told him to do some googling about this just to check on it, but he just kept saying "I have nothing to lose", "I have no money, they can't get anything from me" Meaning if the check didn't clear, it was no big deal, he was out.

I just called him and left a message, and told him to call me back. I did say to NOT touch any of that money, it was a scam and to call me back asap.

__________________
~Missy~Mommy
Meghan9.Samantha7,Cameron5

New England Mommysavers Social Group, Join us!http://mommysavers.com/boards/group.php?groupid=10