I applied for an "Admin/Personal Assistant" posting on CL to "dandaniworld@aol.com." This was the email response that I got:



Dear Applicant,

Your application has been received .We have so many agent all over the states and in other countries who conduct surveys and evaluate other companies. We get hired to go to other peoples companies and act like customers in order to know how the staffs are handling their services in relation to their customers. once we have a contract to do so, you would be directed to the company or outlet, and you would be given the funds you need to do the job ( either purchase things or require services), after which you would write a comment on the staffs activities and give a detailed record of your experience.

EXAMPLES OF DETAILS TO TAKE NOT AT THE POINT OF EVALUATION

1) How long it took you to get services.
2) Smartness of the attendant
3)Customer service professionalism
4)Sometimes you might be required to upset the attendant, to see how they react to
clients whey they get tensed.

EVALUATION PROCESS

We turn the information over to the company executives and they would carry out their own duties in improving there services. Most companies employ our assistance when people give complains about their services, or when they feel there are needs for them to improve their customer service. your Identity would
be kept confidential as the job states (secret shopper) you would be paid $300 for every duty you carry out, and bonus on your transportation allowance, and
funds would be given to you if you have to dine as part of the duty. Your job will be to evaluate and comment on customer service in a wide variety of shops,
stores, restaurant and services in your area.No commitment is made on this job, and you would have flexible hours as it suits you. If you are interested do send in your full name contact address and telephone number, so we can look at your distance from the locations which you have to put your service into, and your address would also be need for your payments. I would have to put you down on our file as one of our agents,and a formal letter would be sent out to you,which you would sign. And you would be covering your area,and some close cities around you, you would find this job interesting.

ASSIGNMENTS

The necessary funds for your assignment will be sent to the name and address you submitted in your first email with Fed ex or Ups note that the funds might be money orders , cashiers check or certified checks .Please reply this e mail with your full mailing details and contact telephone number as a reconfirmation .


Full Name (As Should Appear on Payment )
Address ( Fed ex and ups do not deliver to a P.O. Box address ) send a physical address
City
State
Zip/Postal code
Home phone
Cell phone
Email:

If you are interested do send the above information, so we can look at your distance from the locations which you have to put your service into, and your address would also be needed for your payments .I would have to put you down on our file as one of our agents.You would be covering your area,and some close cities around you, you would find this job interesting.

Michael Hamilton
Hiring Manager
Modern mystery shoppers
Director ( Human Resources & STAFFING)
Tel: (239) 603-7493 / Fax ; 972) 468-8664






I did not know it would be a mystery shopper position. As I stated, I thought it was an administrative position. I immediately figured it would be a scam. The e-mail has so many spelling/grammatical errors and I tried the phone number to see if they worked, and of course they don't. Please don't be fooled by these people!

Hello dianejpark:

There are currently dozens of mystery shopping scams afloat, imitating legitimate mystery shopping companies. These scams usually request
fees from shoppers signing up. But there are ways for shoppers to protect themselves. Only sign up for companies registered on the Mystery Shopping
Providers Association Web site, Mystery Shopping Providers Association. The No. 1 rule: if asked for money, walk away. You should never have to pay any money at all to be a mystery shopper.

I also received a letter similar to the one that you received. The following is the second letter I received. It seems that if you are paid up front and you have no out of pocket costs, then it is less likely that you are being scammed. So, I will try it and report back. (To be continued)
_________________________________________________
Dear wk4coffee:

The necessary funds for your assignment has been approved and has been sent to you via Fedex .There are 3 money orders in the envelop .(please confirm).On receiving the money orders ,you are to cash the money orders in your Bank because money orders are equivalent to money , once you have them cashed you will deduct your pay for the assignment which is $300. and you will be left with the difference which is what would be used to evaluate the closest Speedy Cash location to you . Please do not forget that you have to be observant and email us back with your observations as described earlier. This is the first assignment and it is like a test to see how fast you will be and a golden chance to be one of the best shoppers , You will be evaluating other stores like Best buy , Walmart , Office max , Restaurant , Banks and good Hotels around you .

VENUE FOR THE ASSIGNMENT.

*The venue for your first assignment would be .... Any close Speedy Cash to you .
*Ask if you don't have any Speedy Cash location close to you to evaluate .

EVALUATION PROCESS

*You are to ensure that you observe the following.

1)The name of the cashier that attended to you.
2)Your time of arrival at the venue.
3)Your time of departure.
3)How long the transaction took.
4)What you feel about the customer service
5)Any other area you think western union should improve on.
All this should be kept unknown from the cashier.
You,l be sending the funds to our other mystery shopper .

You will be sending the funds from the balance after deducting your $300 to the below information. Pls note that there would be charges for sending Speedy Cash, and this would be deducted from the funds Speedy Cash should send in money in minutes.

The funds would be sent to.....

ANGEL FREEMAN
BOISE ID 83701

You are to email me the money transfer control number (mtcn) it is always a 10 digit pin number with the amount sent . A swift reply of this email is needed .

Michael Hamilton
Hiring Manager
Modern mystery shoppers
Director ( Human Resources & STAFFING)
Tel: (239) 603-7493 / Fax ; 972) 468-8664
__________________________________________________ _

Learn more about current trends in mystery shopping by reading the following article: http://www.napsnet.com/pdf_archive/18/71765.pdf

More to come...

Press Release

Title: Dealing with Fake Check Scams
Date Published: 12/01/2009
Author: John Swinburn
Publication: MSPA Website

It's truly unfortunate that there are people who have absolutely no scruples; if they can get their hands on somebody else's money, they will. And if getting somebody else's money means hurting you, they don't care. During an economic recession, especially during the holidays, scammers are especially brutal in their activities that damage other people and businesses financially.

Because mystery shopping is an attractive way to make a little extra money, some scammers are using mystery shopping as a lure to draw in unsuspecting people. Scammers present themselves as representatives of legitimate mystery shopping companies and attempt to lure their potential victims into a scam. The victims (contacted by email, regular mail, or both) are asked to accept a check (either business check or cashier's check) that supposedly is for a mystery shopping assignment, depositing it into the victim's bank, withdrawing an amount equal to or nearly equal to the deposit, and using a money wiring service to wire the bulk of the money to someone else, possibly another "mystery shopper" who is involved in evaluating the money wire service. It is a complete and total scam. Legitimate mystery shopping firms do not operate that way. Do not get suckered into the deal!

It's a dead giveaway if the "company" representative does not have a corporate email address (for example, the person may send you an email from "VeryGoodShoppingCompany@hotmail.com"). The website the scammer refers you to may be laced with typographical errors or it may be for a company name that is not quite the same as the company the scammer is ostensibly representing. Be on the lookout for clues that it's not legitmate. Again, receiving a large check from someone you don't know is a very strong indicator that it's fake.

If you have already been victimized by this scam, you need to contact the local police, FBI, Federal Trade Commission, and anyone else who will listen...including your bank. Your money is gone, but you may be able to help catch the criminal who did this to you. You can report the crime online or by telephone in many cases; see the list of contacts below to begin making your contacts to report the crime.

If you have not yet cashed the check, DON'T! Instead, immediately contact the organizations listed below, whether you were victimized by it or were simply a target.

* Fax a copy of the check and any other materials you received from the scammers to MSPA at 972-755-2561

* Call police (they may not be able to do anything, but filing a police report can help if discover later if the scammers are caught)

* File report with your state’s Attorney General

* File and report with Welcome to PhoneBusters

* File a report with the Internet Crime Complaint Center Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) | Home

* File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission by telephone at 1-877-FTC-HELP

* If the package with the check came by U.S. mail, contact your local post office and ask for the Postal Inspector (be sure to take a copy of the stamped envelope and its contents)

A useful resource about avoiding mystery shopping scams and finding legitimate mystery shopping opportunities may be found on the Federal Trade Commission's website.

About the MSPA

With more than 275 member companies worldwide, the MSPA has a diverse membership, including marketing research and merchandising companies, private investigation firms, training organizations and companies that specialize in providing mystery shopping services. Its goals are to establish professional standards and ethics for the industry, educate providers, clients and shoppers to improve quality of service, improve the image of the industry and promote the membership to other industry associations and prospective clients.
___________________________________________

Thanks to your posting, I took the time to do a little more research before accepting the assignment and now I too am convinced that this is a scam. However, for those who would like to become mystery shoppers, I believe that the Mystery Shopping Providers Association is a good resource to check out valid opportunities. Mystery Shopping Providers Association

Thanks again! Your tip prevented me from losing money! You Rock!