Mystery shopping seems like a perfect fit for members of the felon community as they don’t need to worry about background checks and the like. Have you cone across as felons during your mystery shopping work?

Nope, at least not any known to be convicted felons.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/29/2024 11:27PM by walesmaven.

I rarely meet other shoppers. When I do meet people I don't ask if they have a criminal record.

Strange assumption.

Not sure how you came to this conclusion. I always thought other mystery shoppers were more the stay home home moms and wives, like myself.

I worked at a correctional facility for years, It was a community correctional facility so after so long being locked up if they had good behavior the inmates would start to look for employment and many of them were in fact self employed. Most of the people on my caseload were either self employed or worked in the trades although I saw all kinds of types of employment and many employers worked with us to give them a chance at least with the non violent offenders. I did not know of any of them being mystery shoppers, though. I myself was not even aware of mystery shopping at the time so I wasn’t a shopper myself. I’ve actually thought that it would be great with them as some of them did struggle to find stable work/income but my brain just goes there and thinks of these things since I have worked in this field my whole life. Interesting someone else thought of this lol.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/01/2024 12:53AM by Lissymaree.

Trendsource requires that shoppers pay for a criminal background check before being approved for shops. Fee is not reimbursed so no thanks to that. I have no criminal background as well as no desire to pay to prove it to anyone.

All Nevada shoppers have to go through a BG check as well, and cannot have a criminal record...so you know those of us who ever took Vegas shops are not felons!

Those of us badged for airports are likewise required to pass a background check.

I see OP's point. MS is definitely a good option for people who might not be hired for other work because of a record. Outside of NV and a very few MSCs, most MSCs don't care about your history, as long as you complete the shops correctly. It would not surprise me at all if the Walmart-style MSC actually goes to jails to recruit those soon to be released. From the little I've heard, those on the inside are already used to working for next to nothing. Yeah, a little snark there but not totally wrong!

Mystery shopping it a good way to avoid debt collectors. They cannot garnish your wages. Most of our pay is from different states. Our checks are so small they are not worth going after for a debt collector. In Calif the first $2085 in your savings or checking is protected from debt collectors. In New York it's higher.

Really reaching again. Huh?

OldmanJames 100 2yNew
Trendsource requires that shoppers pay for a criminal background check before being approved for shops. Fee is not reimbursed

Since when?

@Rho* wrote:

OldmanJames 100 2yNew
Trendsource requires that shoppers pay for a criminal background check before being approved for shops. Fee is not reimbursed

Since when?

Only for the onsite inspection shops.

@SteveSoCal wrote:

All Nevada shoppers have to go through a BG check as well, and cannot have a criminal record...so you know those of us who ever took Vegas shops are not felons!

One of the shoppers who applied with me in NV (same time, no relation) had a felony and was denied. Arson. He did not think it was a big deal. LOL

i am currently mentoring an inmate 1x per week. This inmate has not gone to trial yet. It was been more than 1 year. Maybe if/when this person gets out, i should recommend they start mystery shopping (convicted or not) :-P

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/01/2024 08:41AM by hbbigdaddy.

@hbbigdaddy wrote:

i am currently mentoring an inmate 1x per week. This inmate has not gone to trial yet. It was been more than 1 year. Maybe if/when this person gets out, i should recommend they start mystery shopping (convicted or not) :-P

Great! Another villain mystery shopping!

The Felon Community and Mystery Shopping.............Perhaps this website should create a new forum with the title,"The Felon Community" because they are so prevalent in mystery shopping?????

@ServiceAward wrote:

@Book wrote:

@hbbigdaddy wrote:

i am currently mentoring an inmate 1x per week. This inmate has not gone to trial yet. It was been more than 1 year. Maybe if/when this person gets out, i should recommend they start mystery shopping (convicted or not) :-P

Great! Another villain mystery shopping!

Not all felons are villans. Statistically speaking, you have committed multiple felonies, possibly without even knowing, and never been caught.

Whenever one points the finger at someone else, it always points back at you....eventually.

@hbbigdaddy - God bless you for the work you are doing.

Statistically speaking, convicted felons are not people you want to be associating with unless you are of that ilk.

Many MSC's do not require a background check, but do ask if you have been convicted of a misdemeanor or felon when applying.

Some MSC'S bury in the IC agreement, Market Force comes to mind - the verbaige is along the lines of: IC' agrees to notify MFI if you have, or in the future, are convicted of a misdemeanor or felony, including being named as a defendant in a lawsuit naming fraud or misrepresentation, all of which at the sole discretion of MFI, be grounds to disqualify you immediately or otherwise from receiving assignments hereunder.

Generally misdemeanors are more forgiving than a felony whether as employment or as contractors, but it all depends on the policy established by each company.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/02/2024 06:26AM by Zek.

@ServiceAward wrote:

@Book wrote:

@ServiceAward wrote:

@Book wrote:

@hbbigdaddy wrote:

i am currently mentoring an inmate 1x per week. This inmate has not gone to trial yet. It was been more than 1 year. Maybe if/when this person gets out, i should recommend they start mystery shopping (convicted or not) :-P

Great! Another villain mystery shopping!

Not all felons are villans. Statistically speaking, you have committed multiple felonies, possibly without even knowing, and never been caught.

Whenever one points the finger at someone else, it always points back at you....eventually.

@hbbigdaddy - God bless you for the work you are doing.

Statistically speaking, convicted felons are not people you want to be associating with unless you are of that ilk.

We're not talking about associating. Almost everybody, at some point in their life, has committed a felony. I know people who have never been charged much less convicted of a crime, yet they are terrible people who lie and would steal from their grandmother if they could get away with it. A ding on somebody's record in no way defines that person, nor should it. Are there people who have long criminal histories that should not be on the streets? Absolutely. They need to be eliminated from society, they are menace who have no desire to contribute and work hard. As far as I am concerned, the death penalty should be used more frequently and swiftly for those people. But the person who makes an isolated mistake and gets caught, no, they deserve a 2nd chance if they are willing to learn from their mistake and go about things the right way.

Many truckers are felons. Without them, goods would not get across the country. Many people who do hard labor work, constructing homes, plumbing, tree removal, are felons. The person that made your last fast food meal, very easily could have been a felon.

I'm sure if I saw every thing you have ever done or every thing you have ever thought, I wouldn't give you the time of day and associate with you. Felony or not.

And, if not felons, undocumented immigrants, without whom, this country would grind to a halt.

“And, if not felons, undocumented immigrants, without whom, this country would grind to a halt.’

Illegal immigrants just keep wages down. If the illegals disappeared, companies would have to pay living wages to get workers. And people wouldn’t have to scratch a living by getting the pitiful offering of mystery shopping conpanies.

I’ve worked on a handful of projects that required deep background checks, drug tests, and credit checks.

Speaking directly to project managers over the years, I’ve learned that there are a LOT of felons, sexual offenders, and addicts doing mystery shopping. It all turns up when they’re out trying to fill electronics store audits, or luxury car shops, or video casino work.

It’s difficult to find mystery shoppers who have clean criminal records, aren’t on the RSO list, and can pass a drug screening. Even more difficult to find shoppers with a 720+ credit score.

There are a lot of shoppers doing this because they are basically unemployable due to terrible life choices. Once I heard about some of my “colleagues,” I became a lot more careful when attending conferences and video certification classes. Spooky folks out there.

Thanks ColoKate for saying it as it is!

@Book wrote:

Thanks ColoKate for saying it as it is!

I 110% disagree with the post you made right above regarding “illegals.” You know what happens when asylum-seekers and migrants aren’t allowed to work?

The work just doesn’t get done.

Roofs don’t get installed, hotel rooms only get cleaned once a week, restaurants close down, crops lay rotting in the fields.

Immigrants do the jobs that long-time residents don’t want to do. And, because they cannot get a SSN or EIN until they go through Immigration Enforcement courts, and the system is broken, they aren’t the ones taking the $10 gas station jobs. So thank an immigrant today for that, eh?

The illegals are getting bankrolled by certain governors with free apartments and credit cards. I don’t think they will be doing any cheap labor soon!

I guess I am living in a different world than the rest of you , or at least the two who made the two statements below...
I would like to know exactly which felonies "almost everybody" at some point committed. I do not think i actually know any of those people. And am I to believe that the majority of shoppers on this forum do not have clean criminal records? I am not talking about minor things like perhaps a parking ticket . I do not consider those people to be criminals unless it is a constant issue for them.
If I had a list of the most common felonies almost everybody commits without getting caught I might agree...lying to your mon? does that count. Not doing your homework, crossing against the light? I have never held anyone up at gunpoint. But I suppose there have been a few times when I was not charged for something in a restaurant and did not fess up. Is that theft? A free soda?

Speaking directly to project managers over the years, I’ve learned that there are a LOT of felons, sexual offenders, and addicts doing mystery shopping. It all turns up when they’re out trying to fill electronics store audits, or luxury car shops, or video casino work.

It’s difficult to find mystery shoppers who have clean criminal records, aren’t on the RSO list, and can pass a drug screening. Even more difficult to find shoppers with a 720+ credit score.

Almost everybody, at some point in their life, has committed a felony.