Some time ago a forum member mentioned having performed a shop where it entailed going to locations to verify that pay per view events had not been paid for. Was that you? What did you think about doing them?

I did one for Audit Masters last year and would not do them again (not that they will ask me to again). I spent a couple of hours bar hopping and found 1 location. It would help if you had legal or law enforcement background as I found the forms and documents confusing and did not understand them (I do not understand legal documents easily). Additionally you have to have your form notarized. I did everything asked, sent it in, and then they came back with questions and then changes that needed to be made to the form (and then notarized again). I was in the middle of a 5 week non-stop route when they requested the changes and honestly didn't even respond as I had no time to find a notary on the road with a tight schedule. I had already spent way more time that I would have doing 2 new home shops making the same amount of money.

I will say that it was an interesting experience and I'm glad I did it. Wouldn't bother doing it again.

Edited to add: In no way were their questions and change requests unreasonable in the least bit. The changes were my mistakes definitely.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/27/2015 02:19AM by bgriffin.

There is a company that does these kinds of shops....fairly new company....I almost did one a year and a half ago but decided not to because they wanted to send me to a place where I didn't feel comfortable going to or went to that often. Now I've noticed when they are looking for people that they mention what kinds of facilities that you might go to and they also are looking for certain people to do these shops so one doesn't stick out.

If I can find one reasonably close to my area and its a place I feel comfortable going into, I may try one.

@petrohd wrote:

There is a company that does these kinds of shops....fairly new company....I almost did one a year and a half ago but decided not to because they wanted to send me to a place where I didn't feel comfortable going to or went to that often. Now I've noticed when they are looking for people that they mention what kinds of facilities that you might go to and they also are looking for certain people to do these shops so one doesn't stick out.

If I can find one reasonably close to my area and its a place I feel comfortable going into, I may try one.

There is a company that has one in Gary, IN petrohd if you are interested.

Depends on where in Gary....and if I would fit the profile....

Has the actual client been named??
if not, I can name the two MSC that do this.

One of them sends you on a fishing expedition.
They send you a pocket remote and tell you to just randomly go into bars, restaurants and clubs and try and ask the bartender to change the channel to PPV or a sport cannels. If they refuse you use your secret remote and video tape/ take a pic the screen..


They give you a list of verified establishments to broadcast and YOU have to figure out on your own, WITH NO ASSISTANCE the unauthorized establishments
Its a pure fishing expedition
Pays around $500 for each successful. NO PAY if your not successful

They "CLAIM" people make over a 100,000 a year doing this.

I find that HARD to believe .
I did the training once but never ventured out.

I dont think it is the same client. The one I heard from pays $250 and you can record using your cell phone camera/video. The instructions were very clear, go to a place that in the past has not paid for a pay per view event see if they are watching the event if they are record for one minute, get a count of the people and later in the week take photos when the location is closed. They are very upfront letting you know that you may get to the location and if at the last minute the event has been purchased you will not be paid.

Yea its the same client I think...I see the additional requirement for the pictures was never there.

They also mention that you should blend in so you don't stick out...depending on where this particular shop is, I would definitely stick out.

There is an outfit called Edlund that also does these shops which might have been posted on this site.

Thanks for the postings above, NO thanks on ever doing these assignments which really should be left to
licensed private investigators.

I believe Edlund is a scheduler and not an MSC as they also advertise other kinds of shops too....

Not much of a bar person so I'd be very selective about where I'd go with this kind of shop.

This shop is not worth the fee as you can be drawn into a legal battle if the establishment challenges "the client." Also your anonymity is blown since you must provide a notarized document describing the programming being viewed. The fines these bars/restaurants will incur can be quite large, as in six figures.

I wrote the article on this type of shop in Mystery Shopper Magazine. I have completed several for Taylor and Associates. I've never had a problem being paid. Here's the link to that article: [www.mysteryshoppermagazine.com]

ETA: Although cell phone video is acceptable, I use my PV500 running with the date/time/frame count showing. As Robroy mentioned, the fines can be up to $250,000. I don't know what kind of fine the establishments end up paying but, since three head counts are required, along with a count of the total number of TV's showing the PPV, I suspect the first offence is a low enough figure that they will settle out of court, knowing that, if they do it a second time, they face the full fine.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/27/2015 02:48PM by James Bond 007.5.

Signal Auditing is the one I trained with but never moved forward.
Seemed the risk was to high for the reward and they had NO INTEREST in trying to steer you in the right direction

I had the same experience with Signal Auditing...they gave you an area, but it was up to you to try and find the leads.

You need to be very careful. In states that require a PI license, you have to be a PI to do these types of shops. Regardless, you will be spending time and gas for nothing. I get these offers all the time due to my being a licensed private investigator, as well as my colleagues. There are no PI's that I know of who will touch these types f shops because your chances of finding a violator is probably one in a thousand. Not saying not to do these, but if investigators who do this for a living turn these down, that may be a clue.

Taylor and Associates did not have any work in my area when inquired.

The other issue about Signal Auditing that turned me off was they wanted me to report in locations that WERE NOT in violation and NOT on the "legal list" . ( they were not showing the event)
The shopper would NOT be paid or reimbursed for non violations.
Only for violations.

I was not comfortable supplying them with "useful" information about non violations and NOT being compensated for that.

Finding violators is not difficult; it just requires an elementary knowledge of legal programming for commercial establishments. It is better to be employed by the programming provider (cable, satellite...) or to have a complete, focused deal with the MSP (verifying legal establishments and ferreting out violators). The money is there to be made and it is not difficult finding the violators. However you are out in the open (notarized statement), they know who you are. The small fines to these bars/restaurants run about $10,000 depending on the programming that is stolen. Fines can run into hundreds of thousands of dollars, enough to shut down a bar/restaurant. Also the installer, if caught on more than one occassion, will be fined and possibly prosecuted. Naturally the bar/restaurant owners are not going to acknowledge their piracy, instead you will be blamed for their "misfortune" when they have to fork out that cash.

EDS has been contracted by both Taylor and Associates and JRE to post and recruit for Pay-Per-View piracy jobs.

If the companies you did the job for required you to do your own research, then it sounds like the company that contracted you was unprofessional. You do not just show up at a random venue to see if maybe there is some fraud going on. The companies actually do the research beforehand, and on the day of the fight, when they receive the final list of paid customers from the PPV people, they (or I, depending on the time constraints) will let you know whether or not you should go. At that point, it means you are 100% guaranteed that you will get to watch a PPV event that was not purchased for commercial use. After that, like any other shop, payment is contingent upon you following the guidelines. The fee is a flat $250 for the job. Both companies reimburse cover charges and drinks if they are mandatory in order to watch the event.

The reason the fee is so high is because of the last-minute possibility that the job may be cancelled. You are taking a small chance. But the places they send you to have a history of not paying. They will not send you to a place they know pays for the PPV events.

The downside is, you will have no guarantee of having a valid location until about one hour prior to the event on Saturday. This means if they go legal (ie pay) in the last hour, you will have cleared your schedule but will not get any money. There is NO payment for anyone if they go legal.

You do NOT have to worry about scouting out locations, going from bar to bar or getting into awkward conversations with the bartenders about whether or not the fight is on TV.

Now, with that said, if you had a bad experience while driving a Ford, would you hold it against Chevrolet? It's the same thing here. You had a bad experience with one company and I am sorry you did, but please do not hold it against another company. THe companies I work with are reputable outfits and they have been dealing with PPV Audits for several years each.

For this particular one, the job is for May 2, 2015 in the evening.

On May 1, 2015 and twice on May 2, 2015, they will receive a list of businesses who have legally paid to show the Pay-per-View event.

The job itself requires taking one (1) minute of video (with a cell phone is OK), getting an amazing description of the place including: all televisions, how many people (estimating is fine as long as you're close), and at least six (6) exterior photos (which can be done at any time in the following week during non business hours).

The following day, using your notes and video, you will have to fill out an affidavit. Your affidavits and video will be used by the client to enforce their intellectual property rights. We have never heard of anyone having to go to court, because everyone settles out of court; but we cannot offer any guarantee. If you were asked to go to court to support your affidavit, you would be paid and would not incur any cost. We have NEVER had this occur to date, but it is a small chance.

Someone mentioned a fee for the place in the 6 digits. In my experience, it is more in the low 4 digits. It is pro-rated to the size of the establishment, the the number of people at the time the event was on.

This is not a job for everyone. Sometimes, the client will require a shopper who fits a certain profile because, as some of you guys mentioned, you don't want to stick out. Also, some palces may be in undesireable neighborhoods, and there is no obligation to go in if you feel unccomfortable. I would prefer that you tell me upfront whether or not you feel comfortable going in. Before the event (as in a few hours aafter being scheduled), you get a name for the place you're going, an address, etc. If it is an establishment you would noramlly not frequent, or don't want to frequent, let me know and I will reschedule. No harm done.

Last thing (sorry about the book I just wrote!), payment with one is within a 15 days after your affidvait is received. The other is within 30 days.

If you are interested in the job, or have any questions at all, you can email me at recruiter@edlunddataservices.com.

There are still over 60 locations available! ;-)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/29/2015 03:44AM by EDS - Edlund Data Services.

One more thing!

Regarding the private investigator aspect: each audit you submit goes to the companies. They, themselves, have been hired by a Private Investigator member of a law firm, and they take 100% responsiblity for your findings. It's very much like mystery shopping in NV, where each company has a PI under whose name all shops go. Same here. Each Law Firm has a PI under whom the companies work. Then the companies schedule the work, and for larger events, like the one coming up, they sub-contract the scheduling to me.

Hope that helps!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/29/2015 03:45AM by EDS - Edlund Data Services.

Recruiter@Edlund- If the location has a C-Band dish they can pick up the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight through an unscrambled feed broadcast by Televisa and Azteca. Since the feed is unscrambled, and the location does not pay a residential fee or have a bootleg digital descrambler then the bar/restaurant is off the hook in terms of piracy. The location fights the charges and the auditor has been outed, since they signed the notarized statement. dcrector is correct that in terms of piracy, unless you work for the programming provider, most states require a PI license for this type of sting, and that PI licensed umbrella you speak of has to be in the state/commonwealth of the suspected piracy and the auditor must be an employee of the PI agency. The fines are much larger than four figures for a small first time offender. After the auditor has been outed who protects the auditor from an angry bar owner that could be fined large sums of money or the state licensing board?

This does smell a lot like something that they should be hiring licensed PIs to do. It's way outside of what I'd consider MSing for several reasons. One, they don't care about the receipt, or even that one has bought anything at all. Two, there's no pay without a "hit." These "shops" should pay some nominal amount for time even if there's no "hit" if they want to use ICs from the nominal MS "pool." I know a licensed PI would charge them something to go to the location and check them out.

@Robroy wrote:

Recruiter@Edlund- If the location has a C-Band dish they can pick up the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight through an unscrambled feed broadcast by Televisa and Azteca. Since the feed is unscrambled, and the location does not pay a residential fee or have a bootleg digital descrambler then the bar/restaurant is off the hook in terms of piracy.

That is absolutely correct. Which is why the company will instruct you to only report locations that show the event with a clear PPV logo at the bottom of the screen. I have to say I've never had this problem here in Minnesota, but it could certainly happen anywhere.

I understand the hesitation surrounding this type of project. I was wondering about the legalities involved as well. Which is why I did not accept my first shop without having done some research.

Not every job will be for everyone. I agree that it is outside of the "normal range" for mystery shops.

But then again, so is cleaning grave sites, going to the doctor's and grading a Pastor's homily. Yet all those are real-life shops. ;-)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/29/2015 03:45AM by EDS - Edlund Data Services.

Do your shops require you to have a legal degree in order to understand all the legal mumbo jumbo on the form that has to be notarized? If so then a Ford is still a Ford.

@bgriffin wrote:

Do your shops require you to have a legal degree in order to understand all the legal mumbo jumbo on the form that has to be notarized? If so then a Ford is still a Ford.

bgriffin, the form you have notarized is a simple one-page affidavit saying that you observed what you observed. It does not ask you to notarize that the transmission was illegal, or any kind of legal mumbo-jumbo.

(Edited to fix typos because, apparently, I can't type.)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/27/2015 11:10PM by EDS - Edlund Data Services.

And also, the forms are reviewed BEFORE you get them notarized, to avoid being in the situation you described above, bgriffin.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/29/2015 03:46AM by EDS - Edlund Data Services.

Are there a multitude of questions about who was wearing what color trunks, what kind of logo was on the 4th chair from the left on the 5th row, and many other things that you just really wanna reply watch the darn video to?

LOL bgriffin! The video is strictly of the TV screen. There is a description of the surroundings, to make sure you are in the right location (where was the bar located for example, and if there are pool tables/dart boards, etc).

As to "watch the darn video", oh my goodness do I want to say that sometimes! Even (moreso?) when I'm the one editing the video!.

Sounds much easier than the one I've done before.

I sounds like the job you did was nothing short of a nightmare! I can't even start to imagine how overwhelming it must have been, not only to have to find your own leads, but then to have to do everything by yourself. Including notarizing a complex form. Twice! Yuck. I certainly don't blame you for being skeptical! But I promise you, I would not be scheduling for a job I would not do myself. Not sure if it helps you to know that or not, but it's a fact.

I only notarized it once, lol.
I didn't even know where to find a notary. It was painful.
Plus I know nothing about boxing and had NO CLUE who was in what color shorts.
Sorry, the who was in what color shorts thing really got to me. THEY'RE THE BOXING EXPERTS NOT ME!