It is very difficult to know where to start when first deciding to mystery shop. There is an abundance of scams both online and in print and other media. As an industry, we try to keep each other informed by posting on blogs or forums and including the information in resource and networking groups. Companies also try to post on their home page or blog when they become aware of a scam currently plaguing the industry or utilizing their company name in an attempt to gain the trust of that company's associates for the purposes of fraud. One of the most widely known scams in the industry right now is a check cashing scam. In this case, an unsuspecting mystery shopper receives a check in the mail for a large sum of money and instructions to purchase a money gram, open a checking account, or wire the majority of the money to the sender or third party. The sender claims that the assignment is to evaluate the facilities and personnel performing these transactions and that the remainder of the money, usually several hundred dollars or more, is the mystery shopper's fee. In every case I've observed, the check is counterfeit, and the company is illegitimate or has had complaints regarding fraudulent activity. I received several of these checks several months ago, as had several of my colleagues. After calling banks and federal law enforcement agencies, it was discovered that this was in fact the case. No legitimate mystery shopping or support company will ever send you a check unless it's for an assignment you have already completed, and support companies in the industry have no reason to send a check to a mystery shopper. If you receive a check from a company, even if it is claiming to be from a company that you know to be legitimate, do not cash it. Destroy it or turn it over to law enforcement agencies. You should never pay for a list of companies or access to the "best" jobs. I have researched several sites claiming to be a mystery shopping service or support company that are actually nothing more than an unethical case of entrepreneurship. For the most part, once a company posts an assignment on a forum, blog, or other public resource, it becomes public information. What I have repeatedly found is that sites are taking those postings, packaging them up, and selling either the postings themselves or access to the postings for a monthly fee of up to $30. While some would argue that this is an enterprising endeavor, what makes it unethical is that in every case I’ve seen, postings have been created for assignments that don’t exist, or a real posting has been altered to include a location for which the company has no assignment. I have even seen cases of Integrity Consultants postings being altered and our headlines and titles being replaced with terribly misleading and fraudulent information. I’ve seen shop fees changed and titles such as, “Easy Shop” placed on a post for a specialized project that has a 3-hour time commitment and strict requirements. To add insult to injury, more often than not the postings are outdated. I’ve received emails with altered copies of postings from a project that was done 6 months prior. I have attempted to contact such companies and ask for a scheduler’s account from which to post my own shops to ensure their accuracy, as that is what legitimate support companies for the industry do. I’ve never once been successful in achieving that goal, leading me to believe that there is no desire whatsoever to work with industry providers or within the confines of ethical business practices.

There are a number of free resources available to you that will allow you to access the information you need. What's even better is that these free resources are some of the places where we as companies go first, so the information shouldn't be outdated or inaccurate like it is elsewhere. There is only one site that charges a small fee that I would recommend, and the fee is for their service, not the information. This was the only time I ever spent money as a shopper and got what I paid for. Shadow Shopper will allow you to search the job board, which contains up to 400,000 assignments or more at any given

time, and will also send you emails of new assignments in your area as they become available. Shadow shopper is one of the first places most companies post their shops, and there are even some companies who do not post anywhere else. Schedulers can also contact you directly from this site with opportunities, making it a great resource for companies, as well. It can be extremely time consuming to log in to the individual job boards of up to a hundred companies or more to see what’s available and a challenge to request the assignment before someone else does in such a competitive industry. Shadow Shopper assists with these challenges by offering the service of sending this information directly to your inbox as soon as it's posted. A number of factors can determine which assignments are available to a specific shopper at any given time, including location and other demographic requirements, shop guidelines, and rotation schedules. Depending on how much time you plan to devote to mystery shopping, utilizing this service may or may not be the best choice for you.

It’s important to understand that new and seasoned mystery shoppers can find the information needed with entirely free resources, including: Volition, Market Research Pros on XING or Facebook, Premier Shoppers, the Independent Mystery Shoppers Coalition (IMSC) and many Yahoo groups, blogs, and forums that are specific to mystery shopping. Using these free resources, as well as the job boards and resources of the companies you register with, you can find a multitude of great information, including available assignments, tips, articles, discussion, and networking with companies and shoppers. Market Research Pros is working to develop extensive resource lists for the community, and Integrity Consultants is just one of the many companies who will assist you with getting started and maintaining success. When getting started, it is best to register with as many legitimate companies as possible. You can find some of them listed in the directory on Volition.com. You can also check the validity of a company or find lists of member companies by visiting websites for industry organizations, such as the International Association of Service Evaluators (IASE), National Association for Retail Marketing Services (NARMS) or the Mystery Shopping Providers Association (MSPA), and of course, it's always a good idea to check the Better Business Bureau for accredited businesses. While not every legitimate company is a member of one or more of these organizations, they are a good place to start.

http://www.iasemysteryshop.com/ http://www.narms.com/ http://www.bbb.org/ http://www.mysteryshop.org/ http://www.shadowshopper.com/ http://www.premiershoppers.com/ http://www.volition.com/ http://www.imscnews.com/ http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=118302991638 https://www.xing.com/net/marketresearchpros/