As I said before,I am brand new at mystery shopping. I have just begun to start signing up for companies and I'm not compfortable providing my SSN on line. Any experiences or suggestions on this would be greatly appreciated. six
You should be sure you are dealing with a reputable mystery shopping company (there is a list on this forum of MSPs) before providing any personal data. You will be required, by most MSPs, to provide your SS# before you will be assigned any shops. This is because they are required to keep records of who performs their shops, and, if you exceed $600, you will be sent a 1099 which will also be sent to IRS.
Also watch the URL of the websites you are dealing with. If you know that the company is legitimate and you arrived there on your own steam (not by a link in an email) using a list such as the one here, still look to make sure that the website starts off https:// on the registration pages. That assures you that you are working on a secured website so your social security number is not wafting out there on the internet breezes. By now most legitimate companies do provide you with a secured website for your personal information. A few do not and sometimes you just need to grit your teeth and put it out there. Very few companies will allow you to work for/with them anymore without providing your social security number.
You might want to stick with those companies that belong to mspa.org. You're odds are better that that info will be used properly and stay confidential.
walesmaven Wrote:
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> Companies are now being required to validate SSNs,
> so it's maybe not so good to use a fake number.
Agreed. What I use to do was back in the day . . .