'Mystery Shopper Market Research' Scam

Due to these harsh economic times, people are especially vulnerable to scams offering easy money or opportunities at good employment. The 'Mystery Shopper Market Research' scam is designed to target computer users with the promise of an attractive job in order to steal their personal information for marketing and criminal activities. The career path of 'mystery shopper' is particularly attractive due to the fact that people are basically paid to go shopping in order to evaluate stores. However, getting one of these positions can be quite difficult and making a living from it can be even more difficult. Because of this, what the 'Mystery Shopper Market Research' scam promises is easy money, and as we've observed time and time again, promises of easy money are usually telltale signs of scams. ESG security analysts have observed that the 'Mystery Shopper Market Research' scam is often promoted with the help of pop-up advertisements, spam email campaigns and browser hijackers directing computer users to websites containing malicious content. All of these tactics are dangerous to your computer's security and signify that preventive action should be taken to avoid falling for the 'Mystery Shopper Market Research' scam.

Evaluating the 'Mystery Shopper Market Research' Scam's Claims

Basically, the 'Mystery Shopper Market Research' scam is part of a larger-scale scam aimed at trying to lure computer users with the hook of a job that pays $200 USD per week for shopping at select stores. This is, in fact, a very common scam due to the attractive position 'Mystery Shopper Market Research' scam advertises. However, the 'Mystery Shopper Market Research' scam will not result in actual employment – much less in a two hundred dollar paycheck. What 'Mystery Shopper Market Research' scam will result in is in your private information falling into the hands of unscrupulous criminals. Variants of the 'Mystery Shopper Market Research' scam will usually have the following warning signs:

1. Variants of the 'Mystery Shopper Market Research' scam will usually try to get your personal information by having you fill out a form or answer a survey. This information may include your credit card number, your address, telephone number, name, and email.
2. Many fake mystery shopper companies carrying out the 'Mystery Shopper Market Research' scam will claim that they are certified and will often claim to provide exclusive lists of mystery shopping companies that are hiring. There is no such certification for mystery shopper companies and these lists can be obtained with a simple Google search.
3. One particular red flag that you should look out for is if the mystery shopping company claims that you must spend money up front so you can be hired as a mystery shopper. Always check the company's credentials online, although you should be wary about mystery shopping companies that use SEO techniques to ensure that positive reviews for their company are pushed near the top of search engine results.