Finding Legitimate Mystery Shop Programs

Becoming a mystery or secret shopper is a great way to get free stuff and earn a little bit of extra income. Granted you will earn only a small amount of money, but there are additional benefits. Shop assignments are chosen by you and are not randomly assigned, meaning you have control. You can fit shops around your schedule, and possibly when you are already out running errands. For example, on a typical day off I usually choose one or two shops if they are appealing to me - meaning they are for items I was already going to purchase. I fit them into my errand route, keeping a printout of the assignment in my car. When I complete the assignment I go through the questions, mark the answers and make comments, and continue on my route. However, there is one pitfall that is always encountered when you become a shopper for a company - how do you identify the legitimate companies from the scams? I am not going to hand over the sites that I work for, but I can give you the tools to identify the legitimate opportunities from the scams.

Check their Reputation
Usually every legitimate mystery shopping site or company is registered with the Better Business Bureau and has the logo visible on their site. There are exceptions but this is the norm that I have encountered. Do your research by looking up the site on the BBB site, and run it through a search engine. Once you perform these two tasks the scam mystery shopping sites will stand out, and most have a very bad reputation.

Asking for Money Up-Front
No legitimate mystery shopping site will ask for money - ever. If they ask for money they are a scam. Secret shopping companies are looking to pay individuals to perform shops, not buy their program. However, you will have to occasionally spend some money upfront to complete the shop - but you will be reimbursed for your expenses in addition to receiving shopper's pay

Personal Information
When you register with a site they are going to ask a number of questions, and ask for some personal information. Legitimate sites may ask for your social security number for tax purposes, since you will have to pay taxes on the money you earn on amounts that are $600 and over. Either way, the mystery shopping site has to provide the IRS with tax information. On a side note: make sure to know the laws according to your state in regards to taxes. Also they will ask for your Paypal address if you choose that method of payment, or you can be paid via check for your shops. Read through their FAQ in regards to payment policies since each site is different. They will not ask you for any bank account information such as your account or routing number. If a company asks for this, do not provide it. Please note: Paypal will ask for your banking information in order to transfer funds to you. But never provide it directly to a secret shopping site.

Beware of Large Payouts
Secret shopping usually pays in small amounts of money. The average pay range is $5 to $20 dollars. There are some exceptions but they are rare. If a company is stating they will pay a large amount of money ask questions before you invest your time and possible spending money. Also there are scams that will take advantage of a person's desire to make extra money. For example, a friend signed up with a mystery shop program and a few weeks later received a check for almost $5,000 stating it was for a mystery shop. She knew I had performed shops in the past and showed the enclosed information to me and I knew instantly it was a scam. It stated she was to perform multiple shops, but only gave her one sheet of questions to answer for all the shops. The questions and format did not look "right" and she stated that she even suspected it was a scam before she brought it to me.

Do a Test Run
I always do a test run with every mystery shop company I work for. What does this mean? I complete one and only one shop for the company and observe what occurs next. I want to make sure I am going to be reimbursed for my expenses and paid for the shop I am performing. After a successful test run I will accept and perform multiple shops for a company or site.

Follow your Instinct
If a mystery shopping company doesn't "feel" legitimate chances are your instincts are correct. But as long as you research the mystery shopping site, and do your work to become a shopper it should be a successful experience