I worked as a secret shopper for a major security company as a "secret shopper." We were paid $15 flat to buy a fast food meal and do a report. Given a digital food thermometer out of that $15 we paid for the meal and postage to mail in report. $9.00 and a meal for about an hour and half work plus transportation. Probably averaged two to three "visits" a month with most being about a 20 minute drive from my home. Everyone who mystery shopped were well known to management and recruited for the position. $27 a month was by no means a significant part of a mystery shoppers income.
You cannot sort either kittens or puppies by cuteness. Either you'd die from cuteness overload, or you wouldn't be able to sort them, because they are all cute.
@@codmw3infomercial Doesn't work that way. When everything is cute, nothing is. It's curved so each cuteness grade has quota, and those below a particular grade get euthanized. Read the fine print.
If you ever get an email that you didn’t ask for about getting ‘easy money’ and they want you to pay them a fee, chances are it’s a scam. I’ve come close to falling for a different kind of scam before when I was much younger and more naive. You end up learning what to look out for.
I’ve had several people from the same Network Marketing company find my resumé online, and call me about a position in their company. They told me that because I have a degree in Graphic Design, that I think out of the box. I’m not going to say which company it is, but I had several people from the same Network Marketing company call me, and ask if I’d be willing to come in for an interview as one of their reps. After a number of calls from various people giving me basically the same routine, I’d stop them, and ask if they were from this particular company, and when they’d say yes, I’d tell them I’m not interested in the field this company is in, and please stop calling me.
I recently stopped a relative from falling for a similar scam. The one thing that makes me angry is that the bank will tell you the check is good. The banking industry needs to take responsibility.
My point was that they recieved the check, took it to the bank, and the bank told them yes it was good. A bank shouldnt be able to tell you a check is good, the turn around and take the money back a few days later claiming it was a bad check.
Selling a car on Kijiji a few years ago, got a call from lady wanting to buy it for "nephew" via check and would pick car up immediately (replied "cash or certified cheque only" -she hung up); very recently looking for used truck enquired about great looking, cheap pickup (too good to be true?) was given 3rd party contact to "owner" who was in military and would ship truck, sight unseen -she resisted my examining truck by saying she's overseas and truck was at airbase x... having no idea coincidentally I live 10 minutes from the airbase, which I pointed out and she hung up. They should have known my proximity but were overseas scamming. Please check twice who and what you're dealing with.
Don't deposit checks from someone into your own bank account. Go to the bank that the check is being drawn on. You will find out immediately if the account is real and if funds are available. If it's an out of state check, call the bank that the check is drawn on and ask if it's a valid account and if funds are available. *And then still be hesitant to deposit it into your own account.* The reason these scams work is because of desperation. The person being scammed really needs the money quickly so they put themselves at risk.
And even checks that validate with funds available can still be very risky, because they could have been written by someone pretending to be the owner of the account. That's why it's super important that you check IDs (and do like the check-cashing shops and ask for multiple forms of IDs for any check), or simply refuse to accept checks in the first place unless they're certified.
I'm not sure if banks still do this, but you used to be able to take a check to the issuing bank and have it "Certified" meaning that the issuing bank confirms that the account exists and has sufficient funds (and will have sufficient funds when you present the check). This only works if you can take the check to the issuing bank. Your Bank may still take time to clear the check, even if it's certified. But scammers usually use some obscure distant and convoluted banking system, and this is not possible. I am neither a lawyer nor a banker. Speak to one of each before following through on having a check certified. This is not advice.
When someone gives you a check, don't deposit it into your own account. Take the check to their bank and go to the teller and ask them if there's enough funds to cover that check. If there is, cash it right there and walk out with cash, if not hold on to it and take further action. This way you won't pay any NSF fees to your bank.
When I was just a young man managing a McDonald's shift, the corporation used to send in secret shoppers picked by the the corporation. We would get graded on how quick they could place their order, how quick the order was delivered to them, the politeness of the staff, cleanliness and quality of their order. They were supposed to wait no more than 2 minutes in line and the order had to be delivered in 1 minute. In and out in 3 minutes total. That was McD's in the 1980's.
I worked for an an arcade in the early '80s. Arcade owner also owned the mall and the 49ers. Mall had secret shoppers who would check on the stores. The secret shoppers stood out like sore thumbs in the arcade because you never saw retirees playing video games.
When I was 17, I fell for a scam similar to the secret shopper. {I am now 66) I was asked along with three others to be shoplifters for a chain store to test their security staff. If I was caught the man who hired me, ( supposedly he was the Regional Head of Security for the Chain.) step up and clear me. He said the store he directed me too was losing money to shoplifting. If I made it, I would make $50.00/day and be paid at the end of the week. He would return the items and show the store manager the items lifted. I did it for a 6 days, got 300 dollars. I got caught the next week and learned it was b.s. and charged with theft under 500 dollars. I felt stupid and got the beating I still feel with thinking about the ordeal.
There is legitimate secret shopper programs. I ran a business for 32 years that had 500 locations. We hired and used secret shoppers to visit locations and evaluate product and customer service. They would spend their own money which wasn’t much, send in their report and receipt and we sent them a check. It was all legit. This example with the gift cards is obviously fishy.
I also had a similar job. Mostly it was asking questions and reporting how the store clerks answered. What product did they recommend or did they walk you too a product. Most of the time we took pictures of displays too confirm that the stores had put up promotional material as required.
I worked at a store at the mall that we were told secret shoppers do come in sometimes. One time I helped a secret shopper who wrote a great review about our store and service and my manager hooked me up with some gift cards as a ty for doing a great job.
Somebody sent me a check and wanted me to buy gift cards. I knew it was a scam so I took the check over to the police department. When the scammer contacted me again, I told him that he could call the police if he wanted his check back.
I have two for you today: my neighbor was a 'secret shopper' for KFC in the 80's. She was paid to buy specific items at KFC and rate customer service, food prep and quality on a sheet. She then turned that card in to the corporate office. My Grandma was a 'mystery shopper' for a 5 & 10 type of shop in the 50's-60's. 4-5 of them would go to a store and grade them on cleanliness, product facing, employee friendliness, etc. But both of them were hired by the actual company or subsidiary.
Secret shopper jobs are real, but they would not send you a check to cash and they certainly wouldn’t ask you to send something back to them. I make several thousand dollars every year shopping. I’ve done all sorts of these ... taking pictures of a building, eating out, calling banks, calling phone companies, vehicle test drives, getting oil changes and even buying gasoline. Legitimate companies do exist but never would they ever work like explained in this video.
I work for a company that's in the gift card processing business, and the main reason why companies even use gift cards is they are banking on that people buy a card for a friend, and the friend forgets to use it and the card expires, or the friend isnt interested and just throws the card away. And when that happens, that's just a liability for a company that disappears.
Greetings from Australia. I have been a Secret Shopper, legit. Firm would send us out to buy an item, up to a value, from a store. Often we could buy whatever we wished, even above the limit. We would then complete an online survey about the event. Sometimes we would be given specific instructions, and questions to ask. Sometimes we had to ask about a specific model of the item. At the end, we would send them a copy of the receipt, and they would refund (direct credit to a spare account) up to the specified limit. I bought a number of tools this way, dinners out, movies, etc..
if you have to SPEND YOUR OWN MONEY to make money its probably a scam. i still am amazed how people fall for this crap honestly. the car wrap scam baffles my mind if that was a REAL THING every car on the road would look like a NASCAR with sponsors plastered all over them.
Secret shoppers are real ive done stuff for gig walk for example. They pay u take takw photos and evaluate displayed merchandise...the problem is that u are aware of is a scam...yes but gig walk is real u can make a few bucks paid through paypal
*FWIW, I am a secret shopper in a relatively small city in central floorda. I would never fall for the pitches you mentioned, however I am an extremely suspicious guy*
I am a legit mystery shopper. I've done it for about six years now. It certainly can be a real side gig. While there are plenty of scams going around, there are real gigs out there. Any 'opportunity' that asks you to buy gift cards is a scam. Any gig that asks for money up front is a scam.
A lot of people don’t quite understand how the bank can give them money they don’t have from accounts that doesn’t exist through a check, and be able to spend it that day. I do wish banks would lock those funds until the check cleared or put a pending mark on the funds.... it would clear up a lot of confusion. Scammers are basically exploiting the hole in the banking system where the victim thinks they have money they don’t actually have.
I would like to say, there IS real money in Mystery Shopping. There are NOT any legitimate companies that will send you a check of ANY kind. I have been an Independent Contractor for just over 2 years, and the majority of my work is Mystery Shopping. I never come close to 20 hours a week, and last year I made just under 30k. It is easy for the right person, but not for everyone. If you would fall for a scam like this, its probably not for you.
My brief experience in 1998, I registered with a Mystery Shopper outfit and they had an assignment involving an oil change at the local K Mart. The payment was reimbursement of the cost of the oil change and a small amount for fuel to get there. I declined to accept the assignment so I have no idea if it was legit. The requirements were not what I would call easy. It involved a checklist of quite a few things that were supposed to be observed and noted, without referring to notes and appearing to be a 'normal' customer. I have a pretty good memory but I doubt if I would have remembered every single detail I was supposed to report on without glancing at notes or something. I suppose now I could listen to a recording of the checklist in an earpiece and would appear normal to the store as though I were listening to something typical on my phone.
Are there secret shopper scams? Are some scams? yes but I did the secret shopper thing for 6 months. came across it on the web. Made some money. Do not do it if they send you a check. Direct deposit is the only way and do your research. I did not lose a dime. It is not full time work but it did give me a decent supplement. I stopped because I got too busy with my business.
@@davidcohen12345 sorry do not remember that was 5 years ago. My point is there are scams in most business and opportunity. It is up to the person to figure out what is and is not a scam. I open up an account and put next to nothing in it when I try something like the secret shopper thing. The main problem with it is that is it geared towards women and especially women that are around kids. I am a guy and there was some stores I would go to but a lot I personally had no interest in.
every time i've ever seen anybody do the secret shopper thing it just equated to coupons. my mother is a pensioner and she has fun with it. they sent her a scanner thing. what you do is there's a list of items they want you to buy at certain stores to be sure they're being sold above minimum advertised price and that they're also not being stupidly inflated. you buy what you need from the list. and when you get home you scan all the items in and put in what you paid for them. then sync the device back to the internet. in total it usually ends up being 15-22% off of your shopping. but the trap is you have to be the type of person who won't just buy things just because you get money off. there are thousands of items on the lists. just buy what you actually need at the store see what's on the list and input the stuff and a photo of your receipt. she likes it as a pensioner it makes her feel kinda useful gives her money off of things that she was going to buy anyways and gives her something to do. but i could see somebody with less restraint buying a bunch of things they don't need just to scan them. hell the minimum is 10 items a month and the list is so huge i bet i buy at least 30 of those items a month just doing my normal shopping. so yeah i agree not a real job. but could be something to do to save a few bucks for a retired person who is shopping anyways.
shamelessjames I shop and make a few thousand every year. I can make $50-$250 just for test driving a vehicle, $5-$100 for eating in a restaurant, even get free tickets to Disney. It’s real, you won’t get rich but you can make some good money and have fun at the same time.
My 17yo daughter got scammed about a year ago when she bought some "vape" stuff online. I know she's not old enough to vape but she figured she could order it online. But after she ordered it she got emails saying they were from DEA, etc... She spent $1000 dollars of her own money on Xbox and Playstation cards for them and they kept wanting more. Then when she came to me and said she needed $400 dollars of course I asked why? I looked at the emails she got and could tell they were fake (I work in IT). I of course told her that it was scam. But nothing I could do about the money she threw away. I wish she would have came to me after the first email instead of thinking she'd be in trouble by DEA if she didn't send them gift cards. Plus she was scared to tell me and my wife about it because she figured we'd get mad. She learned her lesson and is very careful now about any emails. If she has a doubt she comes to me. Can't catch these people. I'm sure they are from over in India or somewhere.
I have lectured my kids and taught them well. I show them every scam email I receive and instilled in them never to give info over the phone or by responding to an email even if it looks real. Its all up to us parents.
Gift cards are a scam. Even when there's no scammer, they are slightly scammy. Without an active scam, the scam is the company getting free money from lost cards, small discarded balances, or interest. When there is a scammer involved, they are an unregulated and unprotected mechanism for money laundering or taking ill gotten gains relatively untraceably.
How are Gift Cards in-and-of-themselves a "scam" ? You go to the store get whatever and on checkout you use the card FIRST, draining it, then you pay the balance in whatever method you want, rarely would the Gift Card be of higher value than the original balance. As far as "losing them" goes, they are not more easy to lose than cash.
@@billytaylor6604 It's a (currently legal) scam because the company gets money for nothing. Either interest on holding the outstanding value, a mass cash grab when they just invalidate all outstanding balances, lost cards, or people not spending a small remaining balance. I.e. it's guaranteed that the company will take more money than the value of goods or services they provide in return.
When I think scammers, I often think of the movie "The Wheeler Dealers". Which features a company called Universal Widget and a very successful scammer. I kept on having flashbacks to that movie while watching this video.
I did a secret shopper program and it was legitimate. You had to apply and take a test from certain corporations and once you pass you COULD be assigned to go into their franchise establishments as a "secret shopper". You had to follow a checklist, take covert photos and then file a report. Sometimes you would do the "secret" portion and then go back in presenting a letter to do a "identified inspection" Again with a checklist and the manager or employee is allowed to tag along as you take photos. When you file your report you receive your pay from a corporate office. The only problem with this job was the call center is often not in the United States and if you deviate in any portion or skip any part you will not get paid. In all cases the store knows a mystery shopper will be coming. I once went in and the whole concept is NOT to reveal you are a "mystery shopper". It was very obvious they suspected me as they know the checklist requirements. They followed me around the entire time which made it difficult to take covert photos. The place had taken extra measures to match the checklist almost to the letter and I made a quick decision to preserve the integrity of the program. I chose not to use the restroom (the last checklist item) which would make it seem that I was not the "mystery shopper". When I prepared my report I stated in detail why the restroom was skipped and after fighting with the company back and forth over multiple emails I did not get paid for THAT job. I have had many others wherecI did get paid so this was a legitimate deal but very picky with no room for deviation. I was assigned another job where the traffic into the store was very limited. The employee called me back the next morning asking if I did a secret shop on them because they got a copy of my report and a line from the "story" made it obvious it was me. That is a problem with the low traffic stores where often employees rotate around throughout the week. They are not supposed to know who did the report but if they only have one other customer before and after you, it is not easy to remain stealth or if you go back to say a mattress store and see the same employee 3 or 4 times and they learn a report ALWAYS followed your visit...it's not a scam but it is not easy to uphold all the time your mystery status. Outside of that, the company was legit and paid what they promised including reimbursement with a receipt. Just do not make decisions PDQ that deviate from SOP or you will be SOL and from the company you may go MIA because common sense and creative quick thinking...STICK TO THE CHECKLISTS...LOL💖⚡️😻💯🤜🤛💖
The woman just experienced "Continuing Education". I have received, been intended victim, of checks that are beyond what I was asking for an item. The checks arrive in a Priority Overnight Envelope and have the check for too much in it. It's always a secretary mistake, or to cover shipping the item to him, movers expense, etc, etc. The sender can and does confirm I received the envelope and pushes me to send him the excess/overage. The name on the check is NEVER his, and the envelope is from a different state than the check, and the address he (she??) is from is third on mis-match. I am so used to this I play them for sometimes weeks, get them REALLY upset when I don't buy/send cash/check, whatever. It cost them about $20 for the overnight trackable Priority envelope. I love it!
Anytime you are asked to go purchase gift cards, either by phone or email, it is surely a scam. Normal businesses do not operate this way. Dead giveaway.
Hey Steve, they target college kids because they are young and desperate, they don't have life experience. After my sister graduated she got sucked into an mlm with abusive practices, once you are in they manipulate the young minds through group peer pressure making it emotionally difficult to leave, this whole deal was sold as a sales job for legitimate products. Schools need a mandatory course teaching about these practices, you can only learn 3 ways Reading about peeing on the fence Watching someone pee on the fence Some guys just have to pee on the electric fence themself If you've never heard of an electric fence you're pretty much stuck at #3
Some dude where we work got scammed with this kind of scam about a year or more ago. :\ He told us that he had to cash a check for a guy on his Facebook, and we were like, "uh, I think that's a scam..." but he insisted that sometimes you just have to trust people. Oh well :(
Parents these days never taught their children manners, etiquette, respecting others' property so it's no surprise they haven't taught them about 20 year old scams.
Bullshit easy money doesnt exist, ever worked security, participated in medical studies, been a trust fund kid, been a good looking girl with no conscience, been the winner of a bullshit lawsuit, faked disability, worked in corrections, etc etc etc
Secret shopper does not pay well. I have done the real thing for 3 companies, all fast food companies. I got free food and about $5 for my time. Now this was 20 years ago.
My sister was trying to sell purebred pups. The scammer emailed her with the typical "we will send you a cheque for $1000 more, you cash it and send us the extra $1000). They also said their partner will pick up "the item". ITEM??? It is a dog, not an item. She almost fell for it until they said "item".
That's not true, secret shopper's ARE real. I've made quite a bit of money doing it. You just have to know what to look for. Exactly, you don't ever spend your own money and you don't accept checks for purchasing items.
I think I was offered another type of scam that involved automobile history reports. I do not recall the name of the service right now. But I was selling a really old truck on Craigslist and was contacted by a buyer. They stated they wanted to buy it for my asking price, without even seeing it, take the ad down and they would send a check if I purchased this particular history report for them using the link provided in the message. Of course, it was a scam to get me to purchase something that really does not exist on that old of vehicle. All they made was probably 25% commission on the sale of such report. Even if the report only stated it was too old and nothing available to report. I mention this here so that others might be aware of it. If the buyer wants this report then let them purchase what they desire. I offered to send them the VIN so they could. But the response came back with something else that did not make sense. Several messages back and forth and then I quit. The responses were obviously automated and all came back within seconds.
And this is a graduate student ??? What this really is, is the problem with America....that a supposedly astute student is this stupid to fall for this....and will inevitably become part of a company that will be part of the problem with America....yes this is the direction this country is going in....so sad...but a harsh fact
Yeah, please be careful. I have done mystery shopping for years through LEGITIMATE companies. You may get a "free" meal, through reimbursement if you complete the "shop" properly. Or a "free" movie or service. You will not get rich doing it. It's a pretty fun thing to do, with a few perks. But that $10,000 a month or $500 a day is some bull$hit.
Yeah, puppies are cool and all, but I'm more interested in sorting kittens by cuteness. I'll even pay you $600 instead of the measely $500 for the puppy sorting.
You can always contact the bank listed on the check to be sure the funds are available in that account or better yet go to their branch and cash the check & deposit the cash in your account!
@@bobfarough1832 Yes they will, I had an employer who would want me to hold on to my paycheck a few days so he could put money into his account. I finnal called his bank one day to be sure the funds were there. They said there was so I went to his bank and cashed the check!
The only "easy money" that I get is when I perform a job that requires training, practice, and 50 years of experience, making it "easy" for me, but not for a tyro.
A few years ago my wife received a letter with an enclosed check. It went something like she had won the Canadian Sweepstakes and would be receiving $50,000. But she had to pay some sort of fee of around $250, and it had to be some sort of money order. The enclosed check for about $2000 would cover this and she would receive the balance in a week or two. The check was from a muffler distribution company in Asheville NC. Sounds like an earlier version of this scam. I just filed the letter and check along with the rest of that months paper records.
UMass Lowell, which is the University of Massachusetts, Lowell campus. (There are several UMass campuses.) Middle-class kids here are so protected and naive.
Furniture on Craigslist seems to be a good scam magnet. I've tried to sell some of my own furniture on Craigslist and almost immediately received inquiries from scammers. One of the facets of the scam that I don't understand is that they provided "their wife's" email address, and told me to contact "their wife" about my item, since "she would be interested". I told the scammer to contact his own damn wife.
I know that banks as an industry are generally stodgy, old, and far behind the times - at least internally. However, every check has a bunch of numbers at the bottom. The first group is the “routing” number - basically it identifies the bank. The second group is your account number. The strange blocky font and the sometimes accompanying weird looking barcode are there so the check can be scanned, right? When I present a check to my bank for deposit, they know immediately which bank and which account number the check should get the money from. The money is often(?) moved via ACH - automated clearing house. It’s a computer system that interconnects the banks so they don’t have to send a physical check by pony or long range pigeon to another bank. What is it about this process in 2019 that takes multiple days or weeks for someone to figure out the account number on the check is invalid (account closed etc)? I genuinely don’t understand this.
I have been a real secret shopper. You NEVER spend your own money. I was always sent gift cards or a company credit card depending on who I was secret shopping for. As far as I know (however I admit I might be mistaken) its not a full time job, but is instead a job assignment for a merchandiser, which I was for 17 years. I never bought anything expensive (one job I just went in and had a cup of coffee) and items usually are never more than a couple bucks.
Legitimate mystery shopping companies explain that there are scams going around & what they are. Giving people money to make money doesn't make sense & that doesn't sound like mystery shopping, just another scam. There are many legitimate mystery shopping companies that help other companies evaluate their services. I've been mystery shopping for 5 years & you can earn a decent amount of money. Some people even make good money. It doesn't involve getting checks or buying gift cards. It involves real work.
@@agrotta1650 Sorry, I thought you were interested in finding out info. Some mystery shopping requires a narrative, but most of them are just one or 2 sentences. There are many mystery shop jobs where you don't write at all.
There is easy and "free" money. There just isn't a lot of it. I sometimes get tips for putting air in tires. We don't charge for air. They usually say, "Thanks. Get yourself a soda pop or other drink. Stay hydrated." I usually do so. It's easy. It pays for a drink. And since they get air anyway, it's essentially free to me. My "work" is the same whether I get the tip or not. We only declined one tip. Some poor young lady offered me and another $20.00 each for nothing...free advice. We couldn't accept it. I worry about her. Many would willingly take her money.
buddy sold his item on cregs list. the bank told him the check was no good and gave it back to him . he waited a few months and tried again .. and the check cleared and he waited another 90days so he shipped the item .
Here I thought u were doing the live stream on Saturday, because of us NFL fans. But it's because of the Marathon you're running ! "What a scam" LMAOOO
I like the fact you frequently keep people informed about the evolution of all these scams. These people are scum, and are getting very creative. Thanks for using your platform to keep people informed.
Some years ago I worked for a major mall developer. The management hired 'secret shoppers' These folk were selected by word of mouth and personally interviewed by management. Their goal was rate the job the store was doing. Quality control in a way.
So suppose your bank says that checks clear after 7 days. I feel they are lying to me about how long checks take to clear if they can come back on me in 10 days. What question do I ask to get the real clearance date for checks where they can't come back at me?
Depends a lot on the bank and where the check came from . Most banks don't accept personal checks anymore . But if it's from a company , it can take up to 30 days to clear in your bank
Years ago my wife was selling something and she was contacted regarding the product. The individual sent a cashier check for more than the asking price to cover shipping. After receiving the check I contacted the bank to verify it was good and was informed it was fake. She never sent the product or deposited the check so we were never out any money. All it took was a few simple steps to ensure the transaction was legit.
I received several of those checks around 2010, when I was trying to sell a computer on craigslist. They kept getting larger from 1800 to 7000 dollars. One of them even had comic sans serif font. That was the only one I responded to. I informed the person that if they wanted to make fake checks they might not want to use that font. In the area where I live I know of one young couple that deposited checks and were able to use and draw money after a week or so. They went on a spending spree. Within about a month, the bank was after the account holder, probably one of their mothers. I don't think the bank was able to recover the money. A friend of mine took one in to his branch and asked if it was a 'good' check and the person helping him said that it was. There happened to be a Law Enforcement Officer present in the bank and he told the teller that they were lucky my friend was honest and asked before depositing the check. Obviously, it was not a good check.
In Germany I heard about the "forwarding" scam. There were ads in classified ad sections for people who needed a job. You could become a "merchandise forwarder!" All you had to do was wait for merchandise to arrive at your home and then reship it to an address that would be provided by email. Hey, this was a job you could do from home! And generous per-package shipping fees were promised. Now why would anyone want to have their merchandise shipped to you instead of themselves? Details, details... Well, the people who signed up to become merchandise forwarders soon became annoyed because the outfit did not pay them their generous shipping fees and worse yet, Amazon or whoever had first shipped the merchandise to their home was now demanding THEY pay for the merchandise that had been shipped to their address. Their protestations that they were just merchandise forwarders resulted in the police showing up at their door and informing them they were part of a criminal conspiracy to defraud Amazon or whoever using stolen credit card numbers. The forwarders often had a very difficult time convincing the police they had no idea of what they were getting into.
Back in the 80-90s I was a secret shopper. You are right. It is not a job but it was form of entertainment for me. I was hired to go to theaters and report on list of coming attractions. Seeing the movie following the coming attractions was free and I was paid a small fee which paid for popcorn and drink. I also went to shoe stores, bookstores, good restaurants, etc. I was always paid, never asked for my own money, never asked for gift cards. There is a detailed report required after the visit. A couple of companies seemed to encourage more positive slant so I had to be creative if I wanted to describe more grey areas. I was usually paid by paypal or on occasion by check. It is not an avenue to riches but was fun.
11:09 overdrawing your checking account generally can't hurt your credit rating unless you have some kind of overdraft protection that draws on credit. However, if you don't repay it to your bank's satisfaction, you'll probably be reported to ChexSystems, which will typically prevent you from opening a checking or debit account for five years.
The single bad cheque being deposited into your account shouldn't _itself_ hurt your credit, but the financial devastation that follows from suddenly and unexpectedly being $2000 dollars in the red could very well do so.
I think the secret - shopper bit goes back to at least the '70s...it seems to me I've seen ads for "secret shoppers" on bulletin boards and in the backs of freebie newspapers back then.
Don’t fall for Steve’s puppy scam like I did. When I showed up, it was a bunch of cats.
I worked as a secret shopper for a major security company as a "secret shopper." We were paid $15 flat to buy a fast food meal and do a report. Given a digital food thermometer out of that $15 we paid for the meal and postage to mail in report. $9.00 and a meal for about an hour and half work plus transportation. Probably averaged two to three "visits" a month with most being about a 20 minute drive from my home.
Everyone who mystery shopped were well known to management and recruited for the position. $27 a month was by no means a significant part of a mystery shoppers income.
You cannot sort either kittens or puppies by cuteness. Either you'd die from cuteness overload, or you wouldn't be able to sort them, because they are all cute.
easy. they all go into the cute box.
Boom. Done. Sorted
@@codmw3infomercial Doesn't work that way. When everything is cute, nothing is. It's curved so each cuteness grade has quota, and those below a particular grade get euthanized. Read the fine print.
If you ever get an email that you didn’t ask for about getting ‘easy money’ and they want you to pay them a fee, chances are it’s a scam. I’ve come close to falling for a different kind of scam before when I was much younger and more naive. You end up learning what to look out for.
I am tempted to post an e-bay ad:
"Selling some crap. Perfect shape. Send money. All sales final. As is..
"graphic arts degree" was the first clue here ...
I’ve had several people from the same Network Marketing company find my resumé online, and call me about a position in their company. They told me that because I have a degree in Graphic Design, that I think out of the box. I’m not going to say which company it is, but I had several people from the same Network Marketing company call me, and ask if I’d be willing to come in for an interview as one of their reps. After a number of calls from various people giving me basically the same routine, I’d stop them, and ask if they were from this particular company, and when they’d say yes, I’d tell them I’m not interested in the field this company is in, and please stop calling me.
I recently stopped a relative from falling for a similar scam. The one thing that makes me angry is that the bank will tell you the check is good. The banking industry needs to take responsibility.
Checks are busted.
The banking industry has no control over the amount in your account. If you write a bad check, it's YOUR fault. Not theirs.
@@ThereIsNoOtherHandleLikeMine Come on man! It shouldn't take more than a few seconds to verify if an account is good.
My point was that they recieved the check, took it to the bank, and the bank told them yes it was good. A bank shouldnt be able to tell you a check is good, the turn around and take the money back a few days later claiming it was a bad check.
Don't fall for the puppy scam, what they don't tell you is you have to throw the not so cute ones in the furnace, very sad.
Selling a car on Kijiji a few years ago, got a call from lady wanting to buy it for "nephew" via check and would pick car up immediately (replied "cash or certified cheque only" -she hung up); very recently looking for used truck enquired about great looking, cheap pickup (too good to be true?) was given 3rd party contact to "owner" who was in military and would ship truck, sight unseen -she resisted my examining truck by saying she's overseas and truck was at airbase x... having no idea coincidentally I live 10 minutes from the airbase, which I pointed out and she hung up. They should have known my proximity but were overseas scamming. Please check twice who and what you're dealing with.
Don't deposit checks from someone into your own bank account. Go to the bank that the check is being drawn on. You will find out immediately if the account is real and if funds are available.
If it's an out of state check, call the bank that the check is drawn on and ask if it's a valid account and if funds are available. *And then still be hesitant to deposit it into your own account.*
The reason these scams work is because of desperation. The person being scammed really needs the money quickly so they put themselves at risk.
And even checks that validate with funds available can still be very risky, because they could have been written by someone pretending to be the owner of the account.
That's why it's super important that you check IDs (and do like the check-cashing shops and ask for multiple forms of IDs for any check), or simply refuse to accept checks in the first place unless they're certified.
Just don't do it in the first place.
Do you pay extra if I happen to run across a lawyer dog while sorting those puppies?
I'm not sure if banks still do this, but you used to be able to take a check to the issuing bank and have it "Certified" meaning that the issuing bank confirms that the account exists and has sufficient funds (and will have sufficient funds when you present the check). This only works if you can take the check to the issuing bank.
Your Bank may still take time to clear the check, even if it's certified. But scammers usually use some obscure distant and convoluted banking system, and this is not possible.
I am neither a lawyer nor a banker. Speak to one of each before following through on having a check certified. This is not advice.
When someone gives you a check, don't deposit it into your own account. Take the check to their bank and go to the teller and ask them if there's enough funds to cover that check. If there is, cash it right there and walk out with cash, if not hold on to it and take further action. This way you won't pay any NSF fees to your bank.
I would kill for a chance to have a job sorting puppies by cuteness Steve, where can I sign up? LOL
LOL
Let me know when you’re going to do kittens!
"Sorting puppies by cuteness" even though you clearly used it as an example of scam, is almost tempting enough to send you money.
When I was just a young man managing a McDonald's shift, the corporation used to send in secret shoppers picked by the the corporation. We would get graded on how quick they could place their order, how quick the order was delivered to them, the politeness of the staff, cleanliness and quality of their order. They were supposed to wait no more than 2 minutes in line and the order had to be delivered in 1 minute. In and out in 3 minutes total. That was McD's in the 1980's.
I worked for an an arcade in the early '80s. Arcade owner also owned the mall and the 49ers. Mall had secret shoppers who would check on the stores. The secret shoppers stood out like sore thumbs in the arcade because you never saw retirees playing video games.
When I was 17, I fell for a scam similar to the secret shopper. {I am now 66) I was asked along with three others to be shoplifters for a chain store to test their security staff. If I was caught the man who hired me, ( supposedly he was the Regional Head of Security for the Chain.) step up and clear me. He said the store he directed me too was losing money to shoplifting. If I made it, I would make $50.00/day and be paid at the end of the week. He would return the items and show the store manager the items lifted. I did it for a 6 days, got 300 dollars. I got caught the next week and learned it was b.s. and charged with theft under 500 dollars. I felt stupid and got the beating I still feel with thinking about the ordeal.
There is legitimate secret shopper programs. I ran a business for 32 years that had 500 locations. We hired and used secret shoppers to visit locations and evaluate product and customer service. They would spend their own money which wasn’t much, send in their report and receipt and we sent them a check. It was all legit. This example with the gift cards is obviously fishy.
I also had a similar job. Mostly it was asking questions and reporting how the store clerks answered. What product did they recommend or did they walk you too a product. Most of the time we took pictures of displays too confirm that the stores had put up promotional material as required.
I worked at a store at the mall that we were told secret shoppers do come in sometimes. One time I helped a secret shopper who wrote a great review about our store and service and my manager hooked me up with some gift cards as a ty for doing a great job.
1:03 Sorting puppies by cuteness; shut up and take my money!
Somebody sent me a check and wanted me to buy gift cards. I knew it was a scam so I took the check over to the police department. When the scammer contacted me again, I told him that he could call the police if he wanted his check back.
"Everyone needs money, that's why they call it money!"
Danny Devito
Heist 2001
Kind of makes you wonder who is he smart one. The one going to school or the one doing the scamming?
My wife almost fell for something like this. The check was stamped as 'certified,' and came from a used car dealer.
I have two for you today:
my neighbor was a 'secret shopper' for KFC in the 80's. She was paid to buy specific items at KFC and rate customer service, food prep and quality on a sheet. She then turned that card in to the corporate office.
My Grandma was a 'mystery shopper' for a 5 & 10 type of shop in the 50's-60's. 4-5 of them would go to a store and grade them on cleanliness, product facing, employee friendliness, etc.
But both of them were hired by the actual company or subsidiary.
You never said where I have to send my $500 for the puppy sorting.
I want the info on the puppy sorting. I`ll send you a check for $5000 and you send me your personal check fir $4500. bwahaha
Secret shopper jobs are real, but they would not send you a check to cash and they certainly wouldn’t ask you to send something back to them.
I make several thousand dollars every year shopping. I’ve done all sorts of these ... taking pictures of a building, eating out, calling banks, calling phone companies, vehicle test drives, getting oil changes and even buying gasoline.
Legitimate companies do exist but never would they ever work like explained in this video.
Some people are just really gullible
I work for a company that's in the gift card processing business, and the main reason why companies even use gift cards is they are banking on that people buy a card for a friend, and the friend forgets to use it and the card expires, or the friend isnt interested and just throws the card away. And when that happens, that's just a liability for a company that disappears.
breakage
Always nice to get a notification from Steve when just finishing a video and ready to start a new one.
Going live today at 1!
Greetings from Australia. I have been a Secret Shopper, legit. Firm would send us out to buy an item, up to a value, from a store. Often we could buy whatever we wished, even above the limit. We would then complete an online survey about the event. Sometimes we would be given specific instructions, and questions to ask. Sometimes we had to ask about a specific model of the item.
At the end, we would send them a copy of the receipt, and they would refund (direct credit to a spare account) up to the specified limit. I bought a number of tools this way, dinners out, movies, etc..
if you have to SPEND YOUR OWN MONEY to make money its probably a scam. i still am amazed how people fall for this crap honestly. the car wrap scam baffles my mind if that was a REAL THING every car on the road would look like a NASCAR with sponsors plastered all over them.
Just mailed you the $500. Can’t wait to sort those puppies. Lol
LOL
Secret shoppers are real ive done stuff for gig walk for example. They pay u take takw photos and evaluate displayed merchandise...the problem is that u are aware of is a scam...yes but gig walk is real u can make a few bucks paid through paypal
A graphics arts graduate...somehow I doubt any STEM graduates are taken in by these scams 😃😃😃😃
As a Math graduate, I’ve met some scientists and engineers who are brilliant in their fields but utterly clueless about anything else
Obviously college does not make you smart
Sixteen Nigerian princes disliked this video.
*FWIW, I am a secret shopper in a relatively small city in central floorda. I would never fall for the pitches you mentioned, however I am an extremely suspicious guy*
I am a legit mystery shopper. I've done it for about six years now. It certainly can be a real side gig. While there are plenty of scams going around, there are real gigs out there. Any 'opportunity' that asks you to buy gift cards is a scam. Any gig that asks for money up front is a scam.
A lot of people don’t quite understand how the bank can give them money they don’t have from accounts that doesn’t exist through a check, and be able to spend it that day. I do wish banks would lock those funds until the check cleared or put a pending mark on the funds.... it would clear up a lot of confusion. Scammers are basically exploiting the hole in the banking system where the victim thinks they have money they don’t actually have.
I would like to say, there IS real money in Mystery Shopping. There are NOT any legitimate companies that will send you a check of ANY kind.
I have been an Independent Contractor for just over 2 years, and the majority of my work is Mystery Shopping. I never come close to 20 hours a week, and last year I made just under 30k. It is easy for the right person, but not for everyone. If you would fall for a scam like this, its probably not for you.
My brief experience in 1998, I registered with a Mystery Shopper outfit and they had an assignment involving an oil change at the local K Mart. The payment was reimbursement of the cost of the oil change and a small amount for fuel to get there. I declined to accept the assignment so I have no idea if it was legit.
The requirements were not what I would call easy. It involved a checklist of quite a few things that were supposed to be observed and noted, without referring to notes and appearing to be a 'normal' customer. I have a pretty good memory but I doubt if I would have remembered every single detail I was supposed to report on without glancing at notes or something. I suppose now I could listen to a recording of the checklist in an earpiece and would appear normal to the store as though I were listening to something typical on my phone.
Are there secret shopper scams? Are some scams? yes but I did the secret shopper thing for 6 months. came across it on the web. Made some money. Do not do it if they send you a check. Direct deposit is the only way and do your research. I did not lose a dime. It is not full time work but it did give me a decent supplement. I stopped because I got too busy with my business.
@@davidcohen12345 sorry do not remember that was 5 years ago. My point is there are scams in most business and opportunity. It is up to the person to figure out what is and is not a scam. I open up an account and put next to nothing in it when I try something like the secret shopper thing. The main problem with it is that is it geared towards women and especially women that are around kids. I am a guy and there was some stores I would go to but a lot I personally had no interest in.
every time i've ever seen anybody do the secret shopper thing it just equated to coupons. my mother is a pensioner and she has fun with it. they sent her a scanner thing. what you do is there's a list of items they want you to buy at certain stores to be sure they're being sold above minimum advertised price and that they're also not being stupidly inflated. you buy what you need from the list. and when you get home you scan all the items in and put in what you paid for them. then sync the device back to the internet. in total it usually ends up being 15-22% off of your shopping. but the trap is you have to be the type of person who won't just buy things just because you get money off. there are thousands of items on the lists. just buy what you actually need at the store see what's on the list and input the stuff and a photo of your receipt.
she likes it as a pensioner it makes her feel kinda useful gives her money off of things that she was going to buy anyways and gives her something to do. but i could see somebody with less restraint buying a bunch of things they don't need just to scan them. hell the minimum is 10 items a month and the list is so huge i bet i buy at least 30 of those items a month just doing my normal shopping.
so yeah i agree not a real job. but could be something to do to save a few bucks for a retired person who is shopping anyways.
shamelessjames I shop and make a few thousand every year. I can make $50-$250 just for test driving a vehicle, $5-$100 for eating in a restaurant, even get free tickets to Disney. It’s real, you won’t get rich but you can make some good money and have fun at the same time.
My 17yo daughter got scammed about a year ago when she bought some "vape" stuff online. I know she's not old enough to vape but she figured she could order it online. But after she ordered it she got emails saying they were from DEA, etc... She spent $1000 dollars of her own money on Xbox and Playstation cards for them and they kept wanting more. Then when she came to me and said she needed $400 dollars of course I asked why? I looked at the emails she got and could tell they were fake (I work in IT). I of course told her that it was scam. But nothing I could do about the money she threw away. I wish she would have came to me after the first email instead of thinking she'd be in trouble by DEA if she didn't send them gift cards. Plus she was scared to tell me and my wife about it because she figured we'd get mad. She learned her lesson and is very careful now about any emails. If she has a doubt she comes to me. Can't catch these people. I'm sure they are from over in India or somewhere.
The fuck would the DEA want with gift cards?
I have lectured my kids and taught them well. I show them every scam email I receive and instilled in them never to give info over the phone or by responding to an email even if it looks real. Its all up to us parents.
Gift cards are a scam. Even when there's no scammer, they are slightly scammy. Without an active scam, the scam is the company getting free money from lost cards, small discarded balances, or interest.
When there is a scammer involved, they are an unregulated and unprotected mechanism for money laundering or taking ill gotten gains relatively untraceably.
How are Gift Cards in-and-of-themselves a "scam" ? You go to the store get whatever and on checkout you use the card FIRST, draining it, then you pay the balance in whatever method you want, rarely would the Gift Card be of higher value than the original balance. As far as "losing them" goes, they are not more easy to lose than cash.
@@billytaylor6604 It's a (currently legal) scam because the company gets money for nothing. Either interest on holding the outstanding value, a mass cash grab when they just invalidate all outstanding balances, lost cards, or people not spending a small remaining balance. I.e. it's guaranteed that the company will take more money than the value of goods or services they provide in return.
When I think scammers, I often think of the movie "The Wheeler Dealers". Which features a company called Universal Widget and a very successful scammer. I kept on having flashbacks to that movie while watching this video.
I did a secret shopper program and it was legitimate. You had to apply and take a test from certain corporations and once you pass you COULD be assigned to go into their franchise establishments as a "secret shopper".
You had to follow a checklist, take covert photos and then file a report. Sometimes you would do the "secret" portion and then go back in presenting a letter to do a "identified inspection" Again with a checklist and the manager or employee is allowed to tag along as you take photos.
When you file your report you receive your pay from a corporate office. The only problem with this job was the call center is often not in the United States and if you deviate in any portion or skip any part you will not get paid. In all cases the store knows a mystery shopper will be coming. I once went in and the whole concept is NOT to reveal you are a "mystery shopper". It was very obvious they suspected me as they know the checklist requirements. They followed me around the entire time which made it difficult to take covert photos. The place had taken extra measures to match the checklist almost to the letter and I made a quick decision to preserve the integrity of the program. I chose not to use the restroom (the last checklist item) which would make it seem that I was not the "mystery shopper". When I prepared my report I stated in detail why the restroom was skipped and after fighting with the company back and forth over multiple emails I did not get paid for THAT job. I have had many others wherecI did get paid so this was a legitimate deal but very picky with no room for deviation.
I was assigned another job where the traffic into the store was very limited. The employee called me back the next morning asking if I did a secret shop on them because they got a copy of my report and a line from the "story" made it obvious it was me. That is a problem with the low traffic stores where often employees rotate around throughout the week. They are not supposed to know who did the report but if they only have one other customer before and after you, it is not easy to remain stealth or if you go back to say a mattress store and see the same employee 3 or 4 times and they learn a report ALWAYS followed your visit...it's not a scam but it is not easy to uphold all the time your mystery status.
Outside of that, the company was legit and paid what they promised including reimbursement with a receipt. Just do not make decisions PDQ that deviate from SOP or you will be SOL and from the company you may go MIA because common sense and creative quick thinking...STICK TO THE CHECKLISTS...LOL💖⚡️😻💯🤜🤛💖
The woman just experienced "Continuing Education".
I have received, been intended victim, of checks that are beyond what I was asking for an item.
The checks arrive in a Priority Overnight Envelope and have the check for too much in it. It's always a secretary mistake, or to cover shipping the item to him, movers expense, etc, etc. The sender can and does confirm I received the envelope and pushes me to send him the excess/overage. The name on the check is NEVER his, and the envelope is from a different state than the check, and the address he (she??) is from is third on mis-match. I am so used to this I play them for sometimes weeks, get them REALLY upset when I don't buy/send cash/check, whatever. It cost them about $20 for the overnight trackable Priority envelope.
I love it!
Anytime you are asked to go purchase gift cards, either by phone or email, it is surely a scam. Normal businesses do not operate this way. Dead giveaway.
Hey Steve, they target college kids because they are young and desperate, they don't have life experience. After my sister graduated she got sucked into an mlm with abusive practices, once you are in they manipulate the young minds through group peer pressure making it emotionally difficult to leave, this whole deal was sold as a sales job for legitimate products.
Schools need a mandatory course teaching about these practices, you can only learn 3 ways
Reading about peeing on the fence
Watching someone pee on the fence
Some guys just have to pee on the electric fence themself
If you've never heard of an electric fence you're pretty much stuck at #3
The puppy sorting job sounds very interesting
Some dude where we work got scammed with this kind of scam about a year or more ago. :\ He told us that he had to cash a check for a guy on his Facebook, and we were like, "uh, I think that's a scam..." but he insisted that sometimes you just have to trust people.
Oh well :(
And they say seniors are most gullible. Not even close.
Parents these days never taught their children manners, etiquette, respecting others' property so it's no surprise they haven't taught them about 20 year old scams.
Bullshit easy money doesnt exist, ever worked security, participated in medical studies, been a trust fund kid, been a good looking girl with no conscience, been the winner of a bullshit lawsuit, faked disability, worked in corrections, etc etc etc
Secret shopper does not pay well. I have done the real thing for 3 companies, all fast food companies. I got free food and about $5 for my time. Now this was 20 years ago.
My sister was trying to sell purebred pups. The scammer emailed her with the typical "we will send you a cheque for $1000 more, you cash it and send us the extra $1000). They also said their partner will pick up "the item". ITEM??? It is a dog, not an item. She almost fell for it until they said "item".
Steve, Good Luck Running The Marathon...!!!! Stay Safe...!!!! 🏃
That's not true, secret shopper's ARE real. I've made quite a bit of money doing it. You just have to know what to look for. Exactly, you don't ever spend your own money and you don't accept checks for purchasing items.
If love to send you that $500 Steve, but there's this pesky $100 transfer fee. If you could can send that my way I'd be glad to send it to you.
anyone else unimpressed by the education this girl is getting in college. I hope she hasnt taken out any student loans.
If you're 20 years old, it doesn't matter that the scam's been around for 20 years. It may still be the first time you heard of it.
I think I was offered another type of scam that involved automobile history reports. I do not recall the name of the service right now. But I was selling a really old truck on Craigslist and was contacted by a buyer. They stated they wanted to buy it for my asking price, without even seeing it, take the ad down and they would send a check if I purchased this particular history report for them using the link provided in the message. Of course, it was a scam to get me to purchase something that really does not exist on that old of vehicle. All they made was probably 25% commission on the sale of such report. Even if the report only stated it was too old and nothing available to report. I mention this here so that others might be aware of it. If the buyer wants this report then let them purchase what they desire. I offered to send them the VIN so they could. But the response came back with something else that did not make sense. Several messages back and forth and then I quit. The responses were obviously automated and all came back within seconds.
And this is a graduate student ??? What this really is, is the problem with America....that a supposedly astute student is this stupid to fall for this....and will inevitably become part of a company that will be part of the problem with America....yes this is the direction this country is going in....so sad...but a harsh fact
Yeah, please be careful. I have done mystery shopping for years through LEGITIMATE companies. You may get a "free" meal, through reimbursement if you complete the "shop" properly. Or a "free" movie or service. You will not get rich doing it. It's a pretty fun thing to do, with a few perks. But that $10,000 a month or $500 a day is some bull$hit.
Yeah, puppies are cool and all, but I'm more interested in sorting kittens by cuteness. I'll even pay you $600 instead of the measely $500 for the puppy sorting.
@@usfflauto All I need is your bank account information and I'll have that check deposited quick, fast and in a hurry.
You can always contact the bank listed on the check to be sure the funds are available in that account or better yet go to their branch and cash the check & deposit the cash in your account!
Banks will not divulge that information.
@@bobfarough1832 Yes they will, I had an employer who would want me to hold on to my paycheck a few days so he could put money into his account. I finnal called his bank one day to be sure the funds were there. They said there was so I went to his bank and cashed the check!
Happy marathoning Steve. Let us know your time.
The only "easy money" that I get is when I perform a job that requires training, practice, and 50 years of experience, making it "easy" for me, but not for a tyro.
A few years ago my wife received a letter with an enclosed check. It went something like she had won the Canadian Sweepstakes and would be receiving $50,000. But she had to pay some sort of fee of around $250, and it had to be some sort of money order. The enclosed check for about $2000 would cover this and she would receive the balance in a week or two. The check was from a muffler distribution company in Asheville NC. Sounds like an earlier version of this scam. I just filed the letter and check along with the rest of that months paper records.
Where can I get this puppy rating job?
She graduated from where?
UMass Lowell, which is the University of Massachusetts, Lowell campus.
(There are several UMass campuses.)
Middle-class kids here are so protected and naive.
Furniture on Craigslist seems to be a good scam magnet. I've tried to sell some of my own furniture on Craigslist and almost immediately received inquiries from scammers. One of the facets of the scam that I don't understand is that they provided "their wife's" email address, and told me to contact "their wife" about my item, since "she would be interested". I told the scammer to contact his own damn wife.
I know that banks as an industry are generally stodgy, old, and far behind the times - at least internally. However, every check has a bunch of numbers at the bottom. The first group is the “routing” number - basically it identifies the bank. The second group is your account number. The strange blocky font and the sometimes accompanying weird looking barcode are there so the check can be scanned, right? When I present a check to my bank for deposit, they know immediately which bank and which account number the check should get the money from.
The money is often(?) moved via ACH - automated clearing house. It’s a computer system that interconnects the banks so they don’t have to send a physical check by pony or long range pigeon to another bank. What is it about this process in 2019 that takes multiple days or weeks for someone to figure out the account number on the check is invalid (account closed etc)? I genuinely don’t understand this.
"What is it about this process in 2019"
I have been a real secret shopper. You NEVER spend your own money. I was always sent gift cards or a company credit card depending on who I was secret shopping for. As far as I know (however I admit I might be mistaken) its not a full time job, but is instead a job assignment for a merchandiser, which I was for 17 years. I never bought anything expensive (one job I just went in and had a cup of coffee) and items usually are never more than a couple bucks.
Legitimate mystery shopping companies explain that there are scams going around & what they are. Giving people money to make money doesn't make sense & that doesn't sound like mystery shopping, just another scam. There are many legitimate mystery shopping companies that help other companies evaluate their services. I've been mystery shopping for 5 years & you can earn a decent amount of money. Some people even make good money. It doesn't involve getting checks or buying gift cards. It involves real work.
I've considered doing it, and that is my understanding oc how the real mystery shopping works.
@@agrotta1650 There's a website called mystery shopping forum & you can read about legitimate mystery shopping companies.
@@cynthiareynolds3432 , Not sure I would make a good mystery shopper. I'm not that great at writing.
@@agrotta1650 Sorry, I thought you were interested in finding out info. Some mystery shopping requires a narrative, but most of them are just one or 2 sentences. There are many mystery shop jobs where you don't write at all.
I want the puppy sorting job!
Yeah where do we send the $500? :)
There is easy and "free" money. There just isn't a lot of it. I sometimes get tips for putting air in tires. We don't charge for air. They usually say, "Thanks. Get yourself a soda pop or other drink. Stay hydrated." I usually do so. It's easy. It pays for a drink. And since they get air anyway, it's essentially free to me. My "work" is the same whether I get the tip or not. We only declined one tip. Some poor young lady offered me and another $20.00 each for nothing...free advice. We couldn't accept it. I worry about her. Many would willingly take her money.
They mean easy money for them not you.
buddy sold his item on cregs list. the bank told him the check was no good and gave it back to him . he waited a few months and tried again .. and the check cleared and he waited another 90days so he shipped the item .
Here I thought u were doing the live stream on Saturday, because of us NFL fans. But it's because of the Marathon you're running ! "What a scam" LMAOOO
Good luck in the marathon!
I like the fact you frequently keep people informed about the evolution of all these scams. These people are scum, and are getting very creative. Thanks for using your platform to keep people informed.
Some years ago I worked for a major mall developer. The management hired 'secret shoppers' These folk were selected by word of mouth and personally interviewed by management. Their goal was rate the job the store was doing. Quality control in a way.
So suppose your bank says that checks clear after 7 days. I feel they are lying to me about how long checks take to clear if they can come back on me in 10 days. What question do I ask to get the real clearance date for checks where they can't come back at me?
Depends a lot on the bank and where the check came from . Most banks don't accept personal checks anymore . But if it's from a company , it can take up to 30 days to clear in your bank
@@bubbasmith179 , I've never heard of a bank that doesn't accept a personal check. They give you a book when you open an account.
@@jpvoodoo5522 Not anymore . If you don't already have a personal checking account you will find most banks have fazed them out
@@bubbasmith179 , How are people supposed to pay each other?
@@jpvoodoo5522 It's all online banking and cards now .
With scams like this so common, I'm surprised the banks haven't found some internet based way to make checks clear in less than a day.
Years ago my wife was selling something and she was contacted regarding the product. The individual sent a cashier check for more than the asking price to cover shipping.
After receiving the check I contacted the bank to verify it was good and was informed it was fake.
She never sent the product or deposited the check so we were never out any money. All it took was a few simple steps to ensure the transaction was legit.
I received several of those checks around 2010, when I was trying to sell a computer on craigslist. They kept getting larger from 1800 to 7000 dollars. One of them even had comic sans serif font. That was the only one I responded to. I informed the person that if they wanted to make fake checks they might not want to use that font.
In the area where I live I know of one young couple that deposited checks and were able to use and draw money after a week or so. They went on a spending spree. Within about a month, the bank was after the account holder, probably one of their mothers. I don't think the bank was able to recover the money.
A friend of mine took one in to his branch and asked if it was a 'good' check and the person helping him said that it was. There happened to be a Law Enforcement Officer present in the bank and he told the teller that they were lucky my friend was honest and asked before depositing the check. Obviously, it was not a good check.
Do people really fall for this? I guess the fool will always be easy to part from their money.
When you send out a million emails, which is simple, you will encounter some amazing people.
In Germany I heard about the "forwarding" scam. There were ads in classified ad sections for people who needed a job. You could become a "merchandise forwarder!" All you had to do was wait for merchandise to arrive at your home and then reship it to an address that would be provided by email. Hey, this was a job you could do from home! And generous per-package shipping fees were promised. Now why would anyone want to have their merchandise shipped to you instead of themselves? Details, details... Well, the people who signed up to become merchandise forwarders soon became annoyed because the outfit did not pay them their generous shipping fees and worse yet, Amazon or whoever had first shipped the merchandise to their home was now demanding THEY pay for the merchandise that had been shipped to their address. Their protestations that they were just merchandise forwarders resulted in the police showing up at their door and informing them they were part of a criminal conspiracy to defraud Amazon or whoever using stolen credit card numbers. The forwarders often had a very difficult time convincing the police they had no idea of what they were getting into.
Yeah I put up a couch for sale and someone texted me immediately asking if I'd take a check. F NO I won't take a check, what's wrong with you.
Back in the 80-90s I was a secret shopper. You are right. It is not a job but it was form of entertainment for me. I was hired to go to theaters and report on list of coming attractions. Seeing the movie following the coming attractions was free and I was paid a small fee which paid for popcorn and drink. I also went to shoe stores, bookstores, good restaurants, etc. I was always paid, never asked for my own money, never asked for gift cards. There is a detailed report required after the visit. A couple of companies seemed to encourage more positive slant so I had to be creative if I wanted to describe more grey areas. I was usually paid by paypal or on occasion by check. It is not an avenue to riches but was fun.
Normally the version I have heard about is that they will send the 'check' and after they will ask for them accidentally sent too much
Too bad college doesnt teach common sense!
Many colleges will make you dumber on the way out.
11:09 overdrawing your checking account generally can't hurt your credit rating unless you have some kind of overdraft protection that draws on credit. However, if you don't repay it to your bank's satisfaction, you'll probably be reported to ChexSystems, which will typically prevent you from opening a checking or debit account for five years.
The single bad cheque being deposited into your account shouldn't _itself_ hurt your credit, but the financial devastation that follows from suddenly and unexpectedly being $2000 dollars in the red could very well do so.
I think the secret - shopper bit goes back to at least the '70s...it seems to me I've seen ads for "secret shoppers" on bulletin boards and in the backs of freebie newspapers back then.
Where do i send the $500?
Ha! I'm no sucker, Steve's offer is clearly a scam since all puppies are equally cute! Nothin gets past me!!