Distinguishing Secret Shopping Scams

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Secret shopping scams are nothing new to the world of web. Businesses who have browsed the net for hidden shoppers have often encountered such fake sites. The sites have thrown a rather shady impression of secretive shopping, especially for those who have not tried these services before. Due to the alarming increase in the number of such scams, the first timers prefer to think twice before hiring detectives for quality monitoring.

But, the answer to forged sites is not to avoid the services altogether. The best way to fight such scams is to be equipped with tactics that can keep you miles away from tricksters. Nothing disarms swindlers more than smart strategies that keep people from falling in their traps.

Wolf In Skin of Sheep

Secret shopping scams are targeted generally at shoppers, who are on the lookout for joining secretive services. It starts with an anonymous call that talks about the requirement for freelance shoppers. The naïve shoppers, not aware of the trap, take the call seriously and accept the offer. Such sites then provide training material to the prospects, along with a check. They are required to wire the check to some unknown destination. However, the check turns out to be forged and the poor shopper becomes liable for the penalty.

Its not that easy to recognize secret shopping scams . The sites look so genuine that only an experienced eye can catch the fakeness in it. All the training documents are done in a professional manner. The check provided, too, looks absolutely legitimate, as if it were from a real bank. These people are really tricksters. They display a toll-free number for further queries. This leaves no doubt about genuineness in the minds of the browser.

Tips To Catch The Wolf

One of the smart ways to catch fake sites is through the advertisement that they do. Real sites need no advertisements. You will not find them in Help Wanted columns or Classifieds. Nor would they appear on radio or TV. And if they do, they are scams.

Another way to distinguish fake sites from real ones is through the amount they charge from shoppers. Genuine sites never charge even a penny from anybody. In fact, they reimburse their hidden shoppers and pay them for their services, not mentioning the intense training they provide. Shopping scams do not do all this. They are just interested in extorting money from their prey and vanishing, leaving their victims in a lurch.

Besides, unfamiliar services located abroad should not be trusted easily. Hidden shoppers need to discuss their quality checking strategies with a real person and also carry out follow-ups. So, there has to a brick and mortar office of such services. A site displaying hidden shoppers wanted with no physical address is hogwash.

While hunting for good quality services for secretive shopping, keep in mind that there is an association for such kind of services. All legitimate sites are registered under this association.  Moreover, simply getting listed is not enough the site should have a clean record too. This can be known by contacting Better Business Bureau. All sorts of complaints as well as compliments from customers are recorded here.

Although shopping scams are booming, there are still ways to bog them down. Use these ways to your advantage. One last word here – genuine sites provide secure remote access to their discreet shoppers. This means you can check your data whenever you like. If the site has no such provision, it is a sure-shot scam.

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Disclamer: This entry is intended to promote our partner StorageMart and some or all participants received compensation.