Although the majority of mystery shopper companies in existence are reputable and honest, some are not. As customer demand has increased, the number of mystery shopper companies has skyrocketed. Today, you will find more than 400 just in the United States. A quality company will have the customer, as well as shopper at the forefront of concern, working hard to provide services that will improve customer satisfaction, reduce liability, and increase profit. To show the huge growth, from 2003 to 2004, mystery shopper companies increased by more than 11%. It is estimated that more than eight million shops were performed in the year 2004 alone, making this an industry with a value around $600 million.

Most people have a good idea of what to look for in good mystery shopper companies but we wanted to dedicate an article about the specific things you should avoid. Unfortunately, some people become greedy, always looking for ways of making money but without putting in the time and effort to do it the right, or even legal way. This means that customers are ripped off, often for large sums of money, and shoppers are paid with bogus cashiers or standard checks. You need to all you can to protect yourself when making a decision about mystery shopper companies.

Of all known issues that relate to mystery shopper companies, fraud with bad checks or other payment means is by far the most serious and prevalent. In this case, consumers are being sent letters or finding classified advertisements that promise a way of earning quick cash or gifts by performing mystery shops and/or service evaluations. One scheme in particular involves so-called mystery shopper companies, asking shoppers to cash checks, followed by wiring the money back to a certain address, most often to a foreign country.

The way that these mystery shopper companies get you to cash the checks involves telling you that you get a percentage of what the check is worth. However you will usually find that a couple of days after you have cashed the check, you will get confirmation from your bank that the check bounced and you will owe them quite a lot of money – usually thousands of dollars. If you take a look on one of the top mystery shopping companies known as GFK, you will see that they are trying to let people know about this type of crime as they want to ensure that people know that they can be trusted.

While there are some bad companies out there, there are many more great ones to consider partnering with. The true dedication of the best mystery shopper companies is to provide the highest quality customer service and the most valuable information for the clients that are served.

Some of the tips provided by the executive director of MSPA include never paying a fee, even a small one, to become a mystery shopper. If you are asked for anything more than $10, red flags should be raised. The real, mystery shopper companies are happy to hire on quality shoppers free. Additionally, mystery shopping companies that make a promise to pay for services using money transfer or some type of check cashing service, run! As with GFK, the professionals at MSPA have worked diligently in building their 200-member base company, servicing the world and they will work just as hard to stop fraudulent attempts on customers and shoppers alike.