The Shop Logs

Posted to Volition (see thread)

Happy New Year!

As always, at ServiceCheck, we very much appreciate the hard work of every mystery shopper, and we do our very best to keep you informed, provide assistance, and help you shop.

Many shoppers have made great use of the wonderful list of MS companies that Ray Sola, Volition.com’s administrator, has provided on this website. Many web-surfers-turned-mystery-shoppers sign up with 2, 3, 4, or in some cases, 20+ mystery shopping companies for many reasons. For some shoppers, you want to pick up some extra cash to supplement your income. Other shoppers enjoy the occasional shop for fun. A distinct few have achieved SuperShopper status, seemingly shopping, and miraculously, not dropping!

As a mystery shopper, especially those Super-Shoppers out there, you are probably used to filling out contact forms with your name, email address, home address, phone numbers, etc. Many of you are aware that the IRS requests, in some cases, that you report all of your income derived from mystery shopping. Some MS companies even request your Social Security Number or Taxpayer ID number to assist with this process.

It is important to note that due to the nature of the industry in which we are all involved, both shoppers and companies have the potential to be defrauded, abused, and our information stolen.

On the MS company end, schedulers and executives work very hard to protect the integrity of each mystery shop completed. Companies put lots of effort into selecting good shoppers, training others, and coaching many more to achieve this level of integrity. Shoppers take exams companies provide to them in an effort to secure shops. Still many more cross-reference all of the information received to make sure that data is accurate.

As a shopper, your willingness to give out some of your sensitive information makes you a prime candidate for identity theft, fraud, and many other ’shady’ schemes.

Here are some simple ways to protect yourself against identity theft, fraud, and fake mystery shopping companies:

1. Know your MS company!
Mystery Shop.org is the Mystery Shopping Provider Association. Member companies of the MSPA adhere to a strict set of ethics. If there’s a company you’re not sure about, feel free to see if that shopping company is registered with them.

NCPMS, the National Center for Professional Mystery Shoppers is also a good resource to learn more about mystery shopping companies.

If a company is NOT listed, they may still be legitimate. Give that company a phone call and ask for more information about them. If they’re legitimate, they won’t mind a polite inquiry.

2. Give your information on an as-needed basis.
If you don’t feel comfortable giving a company your social security number, and you’re not sure they even really need it, don’t give them your social security number! If they give you a hard time about it, or refuse to make arrangements for you, just walk away. If it doesn’t seem right to you, or you think they don’t need it, or if you’re just not interested in taking the risk, don’t risk it!

It’s not worth it to give a fake social security number either. There are several negative outcomes from doing this.

If someone asks for your Social Security number or Taxpayer Identification number for tax reasons, feel free to ask a CPA, tax-preparer, or visit the IRS website at www.IRS.gov. You’ll find the right, accurate, information there.

3. Keep a paper trail, and KEEP YOUR EMAILS
We’re in the digital era, so you can make a CD, or save files on your computer, or simply print out all of the information on each MS Company that has received your information. Though often times, this info will not be used, keep it anyway. You never know what might happen in the future.

If you’re concerned about eating up space on your own computer, get a free Gmail.com account that comes with 2.6 GIGABYTES of storage space. That way, you’ll never delete those important emails. Or emails that can come in handy if you think you may have given your info away to an illegitimate shopping company or person.

4. Get a PayPal account!
Some shopping companies pay with PayPal. This is a more secure method of sending and receiving money via the Internet. The website is www.PayPal.com . You can find more info there on how PayPal works.

5. Get a Taxpayer Identification Number
Some shoppers already run small businesses and choose to use their Taxpayer Identification Number, rather than the Social Security Number, to do their mystery shopping taxes and accounting. This is a good idea. Please check out the IRS website at http://www.IRS.gov to learn more about how this can help you as an independently contracted shopper. For even more info, see your tax professional.

If you have other tips to share with shoppers, please feel free to list them in a reply to this post. Many shoppers have excellent suggestions and tips to share!

Thanks again for your time, and I wish each of you a wonderful year in 2006. At ServiceCheck, we build businesses and develop our shoppers, one cheerful contact at a time!

Kim G., Director of New Business Development
ServiceCheck Inc.
www.ServiceCheck Report.com
www.ServiceCheck.com