Scam Alerts
There are numerous different scams people use to make easy money, and it would be impossible to list them all here as they change often. But below are a few that have come to our attention. Click here for more information from the MSPA (Mystery Shopping Professionals Association) on scams and what to do if you are a victim. You can contact the MSPA at 502-574-9033 or www.mspa.americas.org for more information and a list of certified Service Providers. Additional resources can be found at the bottom of this page as well.
“Better Business Bureau study” – excellent, very thorough article to teach you how to recognize a scam, fake checks, etc.
1) Beware of Letters or E-mails Offering Quick Returns for Cashing a Check! Our company rarely, if ever, conducts mystery shops involving check cashing or money transfers or sending part back through a Western Union transaction. We also do not ask for shoppers to purchase multiple gift cards, then ask for the numbers on the back of those gift cards. This IS NOT the way a legitimate company conducts business. If someone posing as a representative of our company ever contacts you with a cashier’s check, call us at 1-800-259-8551 before you try to cash or deposit the check… it may be a scam! Many people have been taken advantage of with this tactic.
2) Beware of e-mails from someone showing a website of www.theshoppersinc.com, www.mysteryshoppersinc.com, or some other website with “shoppersinc” in it. This e-mail is NOT from us at Shoppers, Inc., but some kind of scam to get your personal information. They have set up a fake website to look like ours; they are NOT legitimate and NOT affiliated with the Mystery Shopping Professionals Association. They are displaying the MSPA logo illegally.
3) Beware of text messages that claim to be from a mystery shopper website saying payment was sent to you for your first assignment and that you should check your e-mail for instructions. We never send advance payment. Payment is sent after you complete your assignment.
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If anyone contacts you by e-mail, claiming to be representing our company, check out their email address. If it’s a gmail.com address, a hotmail.com address, or any other address that does not look like a legitimate business address, contact US before falling for a scam! Look at our URL addresses: www.ShopperJobs.com, www.ShopperComments.com, www.shprsinc.com or www.InsightYouCanUse.com. Legitimate emails from us will come from these addresses and, more importantly, if you hit “reply,” it will go BACK to this address. Be careful. Don’t get scammed!
Five ways to recognize a reputable, legitimate mystery shopping company.
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Contact Shoppers, Inc.: 918-251-0154/800-259-8551
MSPA: www.mspa-americas.org
National Consumers League: www.fraud.org
Federal Trade Commission: www.ftc.gov
FBI: www.ic3.gov
