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krystal strong

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Welcome to the forum!

Hi and happy shopping....

Live consciously....

I'm new to the forum and new to mystery shopping. I'm a little concerned with my first assignment. I was contacted via email by Ascent Research I replied and they explained what the assignment would be I replied that I was interested and gave them all my information that they asked for and the scheduler got back to me and said they sent a cashier check. The check came to day and it's a large amount very leiry bout cashing and doing what I'm suppose to do with it. Has anyone every worked for this company?
What to do?

lilly,
That is a well known scam. DO NOT cash that check or send them any money.

Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel

Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.

We NEVER get money upfront....this industry doesn't work that way. Don't cash the check, there are other threads here about scams, check them out.

Live consciously....

hi i'm new.can anybody assist me?

Hello, Third. Do you have a question we can answer? You need to sign up with a lot of companies to be able to get work. You will find a list of companies on this forum under Mystery Shopping Companies. A lot of the companies will have instructions and/or tutorials on their sites that will be helpful to you. You can also find Cathy Stucker on line and she offers a free course by email. Equipment needed varies according to what kinds of jobs you do. You also need to think about paperwork flow and how you're going to stay on top of your business. You can start out with simple jobs and work your way up to more complex jobs. When I first started shopping I thought all the jobs were scary. Read instructions thoroughly and think through what you have to do before you walk in the door. Print out a blank of the report form and highlight anything you absolutely have to get. It will be hard but get better and better over time. It's going to take a while to get started. Welcome to shopping.

Mary Davis Nowell. Based close to Fort Worth. Shopping Interstate 20 east and west, Interstate 35 north and south.

Littlelilly
I'm having the EXACT same issue as you. I have been contaced by a Henry Andrain about a Walmart assignment where i'll have $100 to spend on product, get a check, take out $200 ($100 to cover my purchase and $100 commission) and then send the rest to a Western Union money order.
I'm always iffy when I see money orders come up.
This would be my first mystery shopping assignment and i'm feeling very off about the whole thing.
Can anyone offer any guidance - the emails and everything look legitimate but you never know. If it is a scam how would it be a scam?
Thanks for help in advance

Absolutely DO NOT DO IT!

The check you receive will be fraudulent and will bounce. Initially it may be honored, but it will turn out to be bogus. Legitimate companies DO NOT send out money to folks hoping they will perform shops. Heck, it is hard enough to get them to pay you 2 or 3 months AFTER you have done the shop for what you have actually done and money you have fronted for reimbursement.

Would YOU send money to someone you didn't know in hopes they would do your bidding? The average mystery shop for new shoppers pays between $5 an $15, so why would they pay you $100? Use some common sense and don't even attempt to deposit the check. Wire transferring money away provides no recourse for recovery when the check bounces and your bank holds you responsible to make good on it.

Thanks so much Flash - a) SUPER quick response, b) from what i've seen and read (common sense make something smell fishy so I looked around) Ascent has been sending out lots of fraudulent emails lately. If there is a smart on the forum for fraud names Henry Andrain is definitely one.

I saw the list of 250+ mystery shopping companies but it is extremely overwhelming. Do you have any recommendation of a good company you regularly use?

Thanks again!

I would recommend that you read though the 'Sticky' threads at the top of this section of the forum. The purpose of the 'sticky' threads was to answer these most common questions rather than tutor each shopper. I would suggest you start with the basic companies that have shops nationwide. My favorite companies are ones where I have worked on the relationship over the years and it has paid off. At least one of those companies will not even accept new-to-the-industry shoppers because their instructions are bare bones results oriented and work on the assumption you already know what you are doing.

I am signed up with more than 200 companies and in any given year work with anywhere from 15 to 40 of them, depending on who has clients in my market. So give shopping a try with the basic companies and then expand your horizons.

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