Warning from FTC about mystery shopping, (fake) checks & gift cards

If you’re looking for a new job, getting paid to shop might sound like a dream.

But the Federal Trade Commission warns that while some companies do hire mystery shoppers, many such “job offers” are actually not legitimate. So how do you spot the scams?

In many mystery shopping scams, a scammer pretending to be from a well-known company “hires” you to be a mystery shopper.

A legit mystery shopper job is supposed to include trying products or services and sharing experiences about things like buying or returning something, or your overall customer experience.

But with the scams, instead, they send you a check (it’s fake) and say to deposit it to buy gift cards from the store and keep the rest as pay. Then, they ask you to give them the numbers on the back of the cards.

But it’s all a scam! The scammer gets the money you put on the gift card — and you’re left to pay back whatever you spent to the bank from cashing the fake check.

If you’re considering a mystery shopping job, here are ways to spot and avoid scams:

• Research the job first. Search online for the name of the company or person who’s hiring you, plus words like “review,” “complaint,” or “scam.” See what others are saying.

• Never agree to deposit a check to buy gift cards and send the numbers back as part of a mystery shopper job — or any job. Only scammers will say to do that. It can take weeks for a bank to figure out that the check is fake. By that time, you’re stuck repaying the money to the bank.

• Don’t believe guarantees that you’ll make lots of money. Only scammers make these guarantees. Mystery shopping jobs are usually part-time or occasional work — not something to replace a full-time job.

Learn more about mystery shopping scams and other job scams at ftc.gov/jobscams. If you spot a scam, tell the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.