Flash,
Thanks for the info about my question regarding social security numbers. I have signed up with a few companies that I found on the Mystery Shoppers Providers Assoc. I trust that they are reputable as they belong to this association. They are Coast to Coast International, Jancyn, and I am looking to also sign up with Market Force..they are the ones that asked for my social security number.
I just didnt feel comfortable giving it in my application to be a mystery shopper on their website. If you know of these companies any info would be helpful to me. I am just starting out in this mystery shopper community and am a little nervous about giving out private sensitive info. I also signed up with a compnay called AboutFace...they also seem reputable.
Again thanks for your info and any more info you can provide would be helpful.
I noticed you have alot of posts and you seem very knowledgeable so I value your opinion.

You are welcome.

Yes, the MSPA website is a place to find legitimate companies who are members of the MSPA. There are a number of legitimate companies who are NOT members of the MSPA as well. That is why you need to look at lists from other sources as well. These are available here, for example, in the very first post of this thread. There is a mostly similar list at Volition.com.

A legitimate company is merely a real company as opposed to the scammers. A typical characteristic of the legitimate companies is that you go to them to apply for work rather than them soliciting you and asking for your personal data by email. (Though companies that use the Prophet4 system sometimes send emails to shoppers signed up with Prophet4 inviting them to their website to sign up.)

Being 'legitimate' is not the same as being good to work for/with. As with anything else in life, the universe of mystery shopping companies includes the good, the bad and the ugly. Hopefully reading this and other forums will help you sort those out for yourself.

As far as social security numbers. A few years ago the SSN was optional to be accepted as a shopper. Few of the websites had security and it was disconcerting to be sending that particular data over the internet unsecured. In some cases you could put in a fake SSN, such as 000-00-0000 and supply the data later if/when you were actually working with the company. With more and more companies providing secure websites you are likely to find that 000-00-0000 does not work or returns that "you have signed up already" because someone else used the number. This is a business of mutual trust, so if you see a secured website, I would encourage you to use your correct SSN. Some companies will not accept you as a shopper without it while others are not likely to allow you to work for/with them without your number on file.

Market Force is a legitimate company. It has 3 branches, each requiring a separate sign up. The green 'portal' I have not seen work on in quite some time, though they may have some tax shops these days. The purple 'portal' mostly does theater checks and merchandising. They are still referred to as "Certified" and there are several threads here about them. The 'blue' portal mostly does fast food and other small shops. These days they are loaded with tax shops. Most of the discussions here about the 'blue' portal just refer to them as Market Force or MFI.

Coast to Coast, with whom you have signed up, is mostly or entirely a scheduling company. This means that they are trying to find shoppers for jobs for other companies rather than generating work on their own.

We have to assume that our information will be kept secure and confidential by the companies with whom we sign up, though unfortunately that does not happen 100% of the time. You know that old saying that, "The exceptions prove the rule?" There generally is enough shopper yelling when personal information has been compromised that you know it doesn't happen often due to the relative silence. But compromises of data can happen anywhere, any time. A friend is currently battling with the banks because his wife recently died. Suddenly her credit card number was being used for charges worldwide. The police expect that someone in the information chain starting at the funeral home, compromised and sold the information. (For a death certificate you are providing that critical information--social security number, date of birth, place of birth, parents names including mother's maiden name, etc.)

I am looking for pizza shops and fast food resturant shopping.

Last I looked, Corporate Research International had pizza shops and Market Force had fast food. There are other providers of these not-so-gourmet treats :) As you sign up with a variety of companies you will undoubtedly see them.

This is a great list. One change that could be made. ShopNCheck is now www.marketforce.com

Are there any "Online Mystery Shops", I have been assigned jobs to evaluate on line.
They work out great from home..
Thanks
Lila

Does anyone have shop experience with Insula?

dgambrel Wrote:
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> Does anyone have shop experience with Insula?


If you use the Search feature, you'll see fairly recent posts concerning this MSP.

Thanks for the listing!!

I have not paid for one company to Mystery Shop in. I learned that from reading this wonderful forum. So far I'm getting jobs on a regular basis without paying and I like that.

I want to say thank you to you all for the information you put out here. I've been reading it all for the past few weeks, and basically I feel like it's been a training ground for me. I've learned a lot from you all.

Is Shadow Shopper one that you have to pay for?

i use amber arch in england but i might be moving to the us in the future, so this has given me something to mull over

www.amberarch.com

LoveToMysteryShop Wrote:
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> I have not paid for one company to Mystery Shop
> in. I learned that from reading this wonderful
> forum. So far I'm getting jobs on a regular basis
> without paying and I like that.
>
> I want to say thank you to you all for the
> information you put out here. I've been reading
> it all for the past few weeks, and basically I
> feel like it's been a training ground for me.
> I've learned a lot from you all.
>
> Is Shadow Shopper one that you have to pay for?

I used the Search feature and found one recent thread of discussion. [www.mysteryshopforum.com] There's more to read, if you Search!