Corporate drama and intrigue are not things that one normally associates with the condiment aisle at the grocery store, but that’s what has been happening since Hampton Creek’s eggless product Just Mayo hit the market back in 2014. Now there’s a new accusation against the company: that it dispatched undercover agents to retail stores to buy up mayonnaise and ask stores to carry it, increasing sales and buzz. [More]
mystery shoppers
Reminder: Don’t Fall For The Walmart Mystery Shopper Scam
By 6.11.15
Almost exactly four years ago, we first warned you about the Walmart Mystery Shopper Scam, in which con artists offer their potential victims employment as undercover quality assurance inspectors who get paid to shop. Yet scammers continue to try running this ruse, so we figured it was a good time for a reminder. [More]
Consumer Reports Looking For Mystery Shoppers In New York State
By 11.15.11
Once again, our cohorts at Consumer Reports are looking to recruit new freelance mystery shoppers to make undercover purchases for the magazine, all while getting paid to shop. [More]
Con Man Victimizes Jobless Guy With Mystery Shopper Offer
By 6.27.11
You should always look at work-from-home and mystery shopper offers with heavy skepticism. Take it from a man who fell victim to a scam involving the latter that robbed him of $4,000. [More]
Feds To Use Mystery Shoppers To Investigate State Of Health Care
By 6.27.11
Looks like our research-relishing relatives at Consumer Reports aren’t the only ones using mystery shoppers to help with their investigations. A new report says the federal government is bringing on a team of undercover operatives to see how hard it is just to get an appointment with a doctor. [More]
Victim Of Mystery Shopper Scam Arrested, Spends Night In Jail
By 7.27.09
Here’s one more reason to avoid mystery shopping scams: you could be the one who ends up in jail. A woman in Minnesota answered a “mystery shopper” email (that she found in her spam folder, sigh) and signed up. It turned out to be the old check fraud scam—they sent her a $2700 check and told her to deposit it and keep $300 a payment, then use the rest to make mystery shopper purchases. She took the check to her bank, and her bank called the police.
Get A Real Mystery Shopping Gig With Consumer Reports
By 4.3.09
Hey Consumer Reports is hiring actual mystery shoppers to do actual mystery shopping. You can earn some coin, help out other consumers at the same time, and help with the results that end up in the Consumer Reports magazine. Pretty swell. The job posting is inside.
Here's What A Mystery Shopper Scam Looks Like
By 3.23.09
Want to see what a secret shopper scam actually looks like? Tracey sent us scans of the one that arrived in her mailbox today. It included a letter printed on cut-and-paste letterhead, a form, and a check for $4,200. The idea behind this sort of scam—also called an advance fee fraud or wire transfer scam—is to get the victim to deposit the check, wait for it to clear, then wire back the bulk of the money. Weeks or months later, the check will turn out to be fake, and by law the victim owes the bank for the full amount of the check.
By 12.4.07
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GfK Mystery Shopping has issued a warning to be on the lookout for a mystery shopper scam making the rounds. Here are 12 warning signs to look out for. [Earthtimes.org]
