Dear Readers,

Mystery shopping sounds good doesn’t it, FREE stuff and you get paid as well, It just doesn’t get any better. BUT there is more than one Mystery shopping scam out there so I hope this will help you avoid them.

The mystery shopping scam ads have even been found on the Australian Government’s Job site so they are everywhere. Some will even send you on Bogus JOBS so that you are willing to give them more information.

Here are a few basic steps to avoid being scammed by bogus Mystery Shopping companies.

Tip 1: NEVER Give the company your Payment details in your application. This should ring a bell if they ask for your account details in the application process. You don’t have the job yet so they don’t need to pay you. DO NOT Give your Bank Details Upfront.

Tip2: Search the company details on the asic website. All Australian Companies are required to show an ABN Number. Use this to do some back ground on the company you are applying to. Even ring the Governments Hotline to make sure the company is legit.

Tip 3: Set up an email address that you only use for Mystery shopping work. I get 30 times more spam after putting in several Job applications, Once you are sure the Mystery shopping company is fair dinkum then change the address to your main one. Use a throw away for the applications though.

Tip 4: Make contact by phone when you get your first job, Just tell them this is your first job and you need some pointers. If you can’t get a phone number and a contact person them bail out fast. Proper Mystery shopping companies will welcome the contact, Scams will not.

Tip 5: Use your Common sense, $500 a job is Bullshit. Most pay between $13 and$25, if you are being offered Hundreds of dollars then you are being scammed. One Scam I came across was this: The Fake mystery shopping comapny offers to put Money in your bank to make a Major purchase. You keep a % as your fee. I actually had $30,000 Placed in My account. Lucky the bank was onto them and I avoided any Pain.

Being a mystery shopper is excellent, I have a lot of fun with the jobs and get paid. The FREE stuff is nice too. But you can get scammed so do your Homework.

If you can get into a few Mystery Shopping companies then you can make excellent Money. For most, Like me, it is a great way to earn some extra cash and have a free Lunch a few times a week.

Happy Mystery Shopping.

One Dumb Aussie.

Dear Readers,

You have seen the ads for Mystery Shopping all over the Internet, Are you ready to take on the Mystery shopping challenge and win?

Being a mystery shopper is a fun Job, I know because I am a Mystery shopper for several companies. The beauty of the Mystery shopping work is that you can have more than 1 Employer and get jobs from Multiple companies. As you are paid per job, the more Jobs you get the more money you get paid.

Pretty simple really.

The other great benefit of being a Mystery shopper is that you get a fair bit of Free stuff as well. Now you do have to pay for the stuff you are required to buy, but the company then gives you back your money as well as the paymnet for doing the JOB.

So what do mystery shoppers get paid?

Mystery shoppers are paid by the Job, Most jobs that I have done take around 3-7 Minutes of my time and pay between $13 and $25 Plus the money back from any purchases I have made.

Your Location can have a big bearing on the amount of work you receive, I live in a regional area so we don’t get the jobs that that are offered into the capital cities. 8 hours is to far to go for a $25 Job.
Quite often I get many jobs that need doing but cannot do them because they are too far away, But If I lived in Brisbane I could do anything Up to 30 Jobs a week!

Becoming a Mystery shopper is not as easy as it sounds and it took me many months to get established.

There will be further articles on Mystery shopping in the future so keep an eye out for them. PLEASE be aware that there are many Mystery shopping scams out there, I was caught Once. Be very careful who you give your details to.

More on avoiding the mystery shopping scams soon.

Have Fun and Take care

One Dumb Aussie.