I am new to the whole mystery shopper thing and I recently emailed and asked for some information from a shop n chek email that I had received. Well, noone called me or emailed me back with info but I did receive a $980 money order in the mail with instructions to go to a western union bank and evaluate its service and such but all I wanted was info. Im sure its a scam, I have an evaluation agent in china supposedly and this is not what I wanted to sign up for. Anyone with experience? Where do I go from here? This is obviously a scam.

Thank you!

It is a well known scam.

DCRector is the owner of one of the MSPs we work with and the companies are concerned about the bad reputation this business gets due to scammers. He posted some suggestions at [www.mysteryshopforum.com] that seem to be quite reasonable.

Flash Wrote:
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> DCRector is the owner of one of the MSPs we work
> with and the companies are concerned about the bad
> reputation this business gets due to scammers. He
> posted some suggestions at
> [www.mysteryshopforum.com]
> #msg-88458 that seem to be quite reasonable.


Ok to try to clarify are you saying that shop n check is complicit in this or a victim? They have been in business for a long time and thought they were legit. I get these all the time. BBB?
cynb

No, I think Shop N Chek is a legit company but I think people run fraudulent activity under it's name. I followed the advice and reported all activity to the Federal Trade Commission and turned the package and money order into the USPS. They will take it from here and use it to investigate. So glad I did not get sucked into this. So many red flags. Too bad that it takes away from the legitimate mystery shopping companies.

Thank you all for your responses. I think I will probably throw the towel in on the whole "mystery shopping" thing. Such a bad experience right out the door...

Don't quit just because of that incident. If you have other more compelling reasons, go ahead. I got two scam letters when I started back in November. I didn't know about the forum. I deposited the check in my account. I waited for it to clear and of course, it didn't. No money spent, no loss.
I kept on shopping and found the forums. Everything is going fine. Just stay away from the scammers. You have the forum to help you. The scammers have left me alone since then. I am happily shopping!

cynb Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Flash Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > DCRector is the owner of one of the MSPs we
> work
> > with and the companies are concerned about the
> bad
> > reputation this business gets due to scammers.
> He
> > posted some suggestions at
> >
> [www.mysteryshopforum.com]
>
> > #msg-88458 that seem to be quite reasonable.
>
>
> Ok to try to clarify are you saying that shop n
> check is complicit in this or a victim? They have
> been in business for a long time and thought they
> were legit. I get these all the time. BBB?
> cynb

No. The poster was asking "Where do I go from here?" and acknowledged that they recognized a scam. DCRector had information about what to do with scam materials received and where to send them. That was the link that was offered for the OP's convenience. Shop 'n Chek was a legitimate company that was purchased by Market Force, where it is now identified as their Blue Portal. They no longer identify themselves as Shop 'n Chek in any emails or other materials that I see from them. I am very confident that the scams that are perpetrated using the names of legitimate companies are onerous to the companies and you will find on the front pages of the websites of most of the larger companies (and some smaller) warnings about big checks sent unsolicited because it is not how they do business and likely to be a scam.

@Pobo35 - how did you find companies that were legitimate? I am new to all of this and don't want to give up but find it so hard to actually find legitimate work. I know a scam when I see one, but most of these advertisers are so good at making their scam appear legitimate until you actually receive the work (then I know it's bogus).

I know there are good companies out there, so how do I find them?

Ateachout, read the forums here. Also, below, you'll see a link to a list of mystery shopping companies. It contains links to forum discussions about each one, if available, so you can read what other shoppers have said about working with them.

ateachout Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> @Pobo35 - how did you find companies that were
> legitimate? I am new to all of this and don't want
> to give up but find it so hard to actually find
> legitimate work. I know a scam when I see one,
> but most of these advertisers are so good at
> making their scam appear legitimate until you
> actually receive the work (then I know it's
> bogus).
>
> I know there are good companies out there, so how
> do I find them?

Thanks so much for the advice-glad we can all help each other

ateachout Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> No, I think Shop N Chek is a legit company but I
> think people run fraudulent activity under it's
> name. I followed the advice and reported all
> activity to the Federal Trade Commission and
> turned the package and money order into the USPS.
> They will take it from here and use it to
> investigate. So glad I did not get sucked into
> this. So many red flags. Too bad that it takes
> away from the legitimate mystery shopping
> companies.
>
> Thank you all for your responses. I think I will
> probably throw the towel in on the whole "mystery
> shopping" thing. Such a bad experience right out
> the door...

I AGREE YOU should stay in the game and you can make decent Xtra $ doing this. We all do and are actual real humans and not bots. It takes a while to get going.

I am still getting harassing emails from these people telling me they know what I am up to and I shouldn't have signed up if I wasn't ready to work the job and that they are going to turn me over to the FBI. Ridiculous. I turned that entire package over to the USPS for investigation and I'm forwarding all emails to the spam inbox at Federal Trade Commission - how do I get rid of these people?!

Mark their e-mails "Junk" so they will start to go to your junk folder - that usually works for me.

These people must sit in an office somewhere and send out mass amts of emails an not care who they are sending them to. I'm not going to respond but it's still a scary thought to think of someone coming after me and my family. That's probably how they get people to get back to them. I'm never providing information for mystery shopping again until I ask you all!

I'll try the junk mail - their emails are all from a different address anyway

Another thought, I'm sure I'm not the only one who has signed up for the scam and received emails from this company even after turning them in. They are threatening that I will be visited by someone an pay the penalty- that freaks me out, so do I need to report that to anyone?

Threats are much more reportable to local authorities. I would print out the emails that show the threats and take them my local police station. If they are received through gmail, hit the "show details" in blue at the top of the email so that the address of the sender is shown prior to printing. While 'crimes against property' get short shrift by many law enforcement agencies, they are much less likely to ignore threats against persons.

Yeah they are threatening the FBI will show up against me, which is bogus. But they have my information so it concerns me.

I have completed jobs for Shop-N-Chek in the past and they pay. They are a legit company that is being messed up by unscrupulous people who have nothing better to do in life but screw with honest folks. Dont give up on Shop-N-Chek. Although I think they should change their name to something else to get away from the bad publicity.