Here is a dumb question.

And I don't mean to say I'm going to do this or think you should try to do this.

But given the anonymous nature of mystery shopping, the anonymous nature of PayPal, the anonymous nature of electronically withdrawing and sending funds....

Does anyone "get around" the rotations for mystery shops by having multiple accounts with the same mystery shopping companies? I don't know why you would for numerous reasons. First, if you are doing this to get around a rotation, you're doing shops pretty regularly--this wouldn't be "newbie" move. Secondly because I'm sure you'd be deleted from their system if the MSC found out and you'd lose the revenue you tried to expand. And lastly, because I guess it would be a form tax evasion if done on a scale--you'd need a different SSN from someone or a different TAX ID number.

But I was curious if anyone was doing this...because I could think of some reasons why you would as well.

The reason I ask was because there was a story done on internet message boards a few months back. The report stated that there was one guy (a Trump fan) admitted posting under 12 different names to make support look bigger than it was on that board. I imagine this happens quite a bit on these message boards and it would have to be allowed by the powers that be. It would seem (that in an extreme case perhaps) that as long as the shops were getting done and the companies that were being shopped saw that it was a different shopper doing them...perhaps they too would look the other way. It would raise the completion % of the company.

Anyway, sorry if this a taboo topic.

I once was criticised by a Mystery Shop Company for standing in front of the grocery cart instead of behind it. That's the day I accepted that I'm pretty much always on camera.
I wouldn't do what you're suggesting anyway, but that's a reason not to.

There are some MSCs (like Market Force) that track IP addresses and have been known to remove both shoppers (for instance, husband and wife) because they suspected that it was one person with two accounts. The MSCs match names to SSN (required by the IRS, I believe), so even with MSCs that do not track IP addresses, you would need to "borrow" the name and SSN from someone, and have a separate email address. If getting paid through PayPal, you would need a verified PayPal address that matches the email of the other person. If the MSC pays by check, you would need a matching bank account. This gets more and more complicated.

There are some MSCs that permit two shoppers in the same household to do shops that effectively break rotation, but there are indeed two real people involved. Since receipts are required, be sure that the name on the credit card matches (if the shop requires that you use a credit card). If it is a take-out from a place like Five Guys or Texas Roadhouse, you need two separate accounts with the restaurant and be careful if using just one PC since there is a tendency for accounts to autofill information.

@myst4au wrote:

There are some MSCs (like Market Force) that track IP addresses and have been known to remove both shoppers (for instance, husband and wife) because they suspected that it was one person with two accounts. The MSCs match names to SSN (required by the IRS, I believe), so even with MSCs that do not track IP addresses, you would need to "borrow" the name and SSN from someone, and have a separate email address. If getting paid through PayPal, you would need a verified PayPal address that matches the email of the other person. If the MSC pays by check, you would need a matching bank account. This gets more and more complicated.

There are some MSCs that permit two shoppers in the same household to do shops that effectively break rotation, but there are indeed two real people involved. Since receipts are required, be sure that the name on the credit card matches (if the shop requires that you use a credit card). If it is a take-out from a place like Five Guys or Texas Roadhouse, you need two separate accounts with the restaurant and be careful if using just one PC since there is a tendency for accounts to autofill information.

Quick question...how do you get that little message at the bottom of your posts about the areas where you shop?

That line is considered a "Signature". You need to edit your profile and then edit your signature. You can put anything that you want there.

I got to my profile by clicking on the drop-down for my name at the top of this page and then selecting "Control Center"

@condorchristi wrote:

Quick question...how do you get that little message at the bottom of your posts about the areas where you shop?

Guess Im slow in over 20 years, this has never entered my mind pertaining to mystery shopping.

Eventually they would probably discover you were doing shops under two names - cameras, client disputing a report, or whatever - and then you would be blackballed, not only from that MSC but likely most others as well. Not a good value proposition, in my view.

If you notice that a shop for which you are out of rotation is staying unfilled, I suggest that you email the scheduler and ask if the rotation requirement can be waived. They will probably have to consult someone else before replying, but it is always worth a try. Could make you a hero in that scheduler's mind, lol.

Actually, this is a good topic. It is in the direction of double dipping and triple dipping. There have been discussions in the forum where people describe how they legitimately, or with integrity, have managed to complete one or more shops at the same location on the same day and for different MSC's. The integrity way is to follow walesmaven's instructions and obtain permission from each MSC. Never presume that they will not notice or will not mind if you willfully or inadvertently violate anyone's rotation rules.

We have had shoppers do this. There are a lot of ways for us to tell (I'm not going to list them since we don't want people to start thinking of ways to get around them). They get deactivated. There are also schedulers/MSCs who communicate with each other when something like this happens, so a shopper who does this may get deactivated by more than one MSC.

I agree with walesmaven above. It's worth reaching out to a scheduler to see if rotations/requirements can be waived. The worst they can say is no.

@Shop-et-al wrote:

Actually, this is a good topic. It is in the direction of double dipping and triple dipping. There have been discussions in the forum where people describe how they legitimately, or with integrity, have managed to complete one or more shops at the same location on the same day and for different MSC's. The integrity way is to follow walesmaven's instructions and obtain permission from each MSC. Never presume that they will not notice or will not mind if you willfully or inadvertently violate anyone's rotation rules.

It's nothing like double dipping. It's fraudulently creating aliases which would require false/purchased SSNs.

@ShoppersViewChristine wrote:

We have had shoppers do this. There are a lot of ways for us to tell (I'm not going to list them since we don't want people to start thinking of ways to get around them). They get deactivated. There are also schedulers/MSCs who communicate with each other when something like this happens, so a shopper who does this may get deactivated by more than one MSC.

I agree with walesmaven above. It's worth reaching out to a scheduler to see if rotations/requirements can be waived. The worst they can say is no.

I'm glad to hear that. I think (and I knew this was going to happen) that people read my post as if I were writing from the position of 'can I get away with this' when in reality I was writing it from the position of "Is this common practice and I am just too straight-laced to do it?". I'll state again that my premise was that such a maneuver would be a short-term, low-percentage ploy at best because the only reason I could fathom to attempt it was to break a rotation block on a small number of shops. The upside is minuscule vs the wrath that would be visited upon the perpetrator.

I'm especially glad to hear it from the POV of a scheduler (if that is your actual title) and that it isn't just a matter of getting the shops off of your ledger by any means available.

Agree with the others! I tried to maximize routes and benefit from trying to get as many shops in a certain area at the same time as possible. My husband and I both shop, but we are cautious of the rotations. When we need to break a rotation, we ask permission. Most of the time, if it's a hard to fill location The scheduler is willing to consider. I would not jeopardize my name or my ability to shop to break a rotation or to try and get around the guidelines without asking first.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/12/2022 02:48AM by foodluvr.

I think the time could be better spent doing shops instead of using your brain to figure out ways to circumvent the rules.