Wow, I am glad I decided to investigate this mystery shopping company that I had inquired about online. I was not completely sure I wanted to be a mystery shopper but before I knew it, I also received a check in the mail for $3830 with instructions to visit and buy small supplies at Staples and/or Office Depot stores near me for $50 with the pretense of checking out the level of customer service. However, there was no store address or location,,,,,I could just go into any store. That sounded odd.
I was instructed to deposit the check I received in my bank, spend $50 in Staples, take $400 for my fee/salary and then go to a Western Union store and to a MoneyGram store and wire $1650 at each store to another person who was also located in the Phiilippines. Supposedly I was also "shopping" by using the money transfer services and determining the level of customer service. My story is almost exactly the same as the reports I have read online here today.
The instruction letter that I received was 2-pages typed but the type was sometimes in small letters and sometimes in caps. There was no letterhead and no address on the letter and the letter was not signed. The check that came with the letter was drawn on Credit Union of Texas, with a PO Box number in Dallas. the Remitter name at the bottom of the check was typed....Sara Hughes. Since I never deposited the check, I do not know if it was legitimate or not.
Further, I began to get e-mails every day from someone named David Bruce who was supposedly a supervisor at the Mystery-Shopping Providers Association (MSPA) asking me when I was going to complete the shopping. Since I began to suspect something was not right and it all looked suspicious, I finally called the phone number from which I received the original call from David Bruce. When I dialed the number, "Mr. Bruce" answered the phone by saying "hello"....no company name.
I told him I had changed my mind and was sending the check back. He tried to convince me that the shopping would only take two hours and he really needed me to go my bank and deposit the check. He kept talking and I finally hung up on him. Lastly, he, too, was clearly a foreigner who spoke with a heavy accent.
So, beware of mystery shopping offers from anyone at the Mystery-Shopping Provider's Association.
Mystery-Shopping Provider's Association Reviews
Wow, I am glad I decided to investigate this mystery shopping company that I had inquired about online. I was not completely sure I wanted to be a mystery shopper but before I knew it, I also received a check in the mail for $3830 with instructions to visit and buy small supplies at Staples and/or Office Depot stores near me for $50 with the pretense of checking out the level of customer service. However, there was no store address or location,,,,,I could just go into any store. That sounded odd.
I was instructed to deposit the check I received in my bank, spend $50 in Staples, take $400 for my fee/salary and then go to a Western Union store and to a MoneyGram store and wire $1650 at each store to another person who was also located in the Phiilippines. Supposedly I was also "shopping" by using the money transfer services and determining the level of customer service. My story is almost exactly the same as the reports I have read online here today.
The instruction letter that I received was 2-pages typed but the type was sometimes in small letters and sometimes in caps. There was no letterhead and no address on the letter and the letter was not signed. The check that came with the letter was drawn on Credit Union of Texas, with a PO Box number in Dallas. the Remitter name at the bottom of the check was typed....Sara Hughes. Since I never deposited the check, I do not know if it was legitimate or not.
Further, I began to get e-mails every day from someone named David Bruce who was supposedly a supervisor at the Mystery-Shopping Providers Association (MSPA) asking me when I was going to complete the shopping. Since I began to suspect something was not right and it all looked suspicious, I finally called the phone number from which I received the original call from David Bruce. When I dialed the number, "Mr. Bruce" answered the phone by saying "hello"....no company name.
I told him I had changed my mind and was sending the check back. He tried to convince me that the shopping would only take two hours and he really needed me to go my bank and deposit the check. He kept talking and I finally hung up on him. Lastly, he, too, was clearly a foreigner who spoke with a heavy accent.
So, beware of mystery shopping offers from anyone at the Mystery-Shopping Provider's Association.