Finding the Perfect Mystery Shopping Job-Watch Out For Scams
Today, more and more people spend hours a week trying to find the perfect work from
home job, so that they can spend more time with their families, pursue other interests, get
away from their boss, etc.
Unfortunately, there are many scammers out there just waiting
to take advantage of your desire to work from home, anyway they can. You hear so much
about scams, particularly online, that it can be difficult to determine whether or not an
offer is legitimate or not, so many people lose out on potentially great jobs because they
are afraid to take the chance, and understandably so. However, there are some common
scams, and things that you can look for that might help you decide whether or not an
opportunity is for real or not.
Mystery shoppers often get scammed in this way. There is one scam going around where
a company advises you to shop all you want, wherever you want, and they will pay you
for your time, as well as reimburse you for all of the purchases that you make. Well, first
of all, you should be thinking this sounds like it is too good to be true, and when in the
world of online jobs, if it sounds too good to be true, it most likely is a scam, so you
should already be seeing a red flag. So, if you don’t see a red flag, you go out and spend a
lot of money, thinking it is okay, because you will get it back, and guess what? That’s
right, you never see a dime, not one red cent!
These companies make money off of these scams, because they require you to pay some
sort of fee when you sign up for the offer, either for processing, information,
membership, etc. They will often advertise “specials”, stating that their fee is normally X
amount, but for this special offer, it is now X. They try to make it sound like a really
great deal, thinking that more people will send them their money. If they get one person
to fall for their scam, then they have made a profit. Some of them promise to send you
information, and in some cases they do, but it is usually stuff that you could find online
yourself, or information that is so out of date that you can’t benefit from it in any manner.
If someone requires you to pay for a job, chances are, it is a scam!
But, if you do fall for it and give them your money, some of them will send you
something in the mail, stating that your first assignment is ready for you, offering you a
lot of money for the completed work. They may even include a check in the mail, for
prepayment, requiring you to cash the check at your bank, and then do a “shop” on the
service you receive while at the bank. When you cash or deposit this check, which was
written for more than the amount of money you were promised, you are required to send
the balance back to the sender, usually via wire transfer, such as Western Union. While
you may think that you have found a great and easy way to make some extra cash you
have unknowingly been taken, and in a major way. You will receive a call or letter from
your bank shortly, notifying you that the check or money order that you deposited or
cashed has been returned as a bad check, and that you now owe the bank, not only the
amount of the check, but returned check fees as well. If you had written checks out of the
account that had not cleared, you also have to deal with those as well.
So, to protect yourself from being scammed, remember that no one is going to pay you an
insane amount of money for just a few minutes of work, and that if it sounds too good, it
likely is. Don’t send in money for information offered on the internet, no matter how
good it is proposed to be. Don’t fall for these common scams, just because you so desire
to work from home!
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