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Mystery shopper scam offers jobs for a fee, but you’ll likely end up with nothing
The idea of doing a little bit of work in exchange for a lot of money is something that appeals to a lot of people. It only makes sense that in order to take advantage of people, scammers simply need to promise to deliver a job that offers just that. One scam that has been alive and well for years is that of the “mystery shopper.” Companies that deal with the public often hire research firms to send anonymous buyers to their stores in order to evaluate the company’s service. The shopper interacts with a salesperson, pays for the product or service, and then files a report outlining their experience. The company can assess the report made by the anonymous buyer and decide if their employees are doing an adequate job.
Such jobs really exist; they are usually available in legitimate ads in the newspaper or online. The problem is that there are also many scams out there, perpetuated by people who know that the public can’t resist something for nothing. These ads usually promise, for a fee, a listing of available jobs, training or “certification” or an actual job itself. In one case we heard of, the ad asked interested parties to call a phone number. That phone number was one that included a fee of several dollars per minute in order to listen to a lengthy pre-recorded message.
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