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Information provided by consumers allege that Forrester Information Research Program offers secret shopping opportunities and then sends a "check' to help fulfill the job requirements. BBB Tips On Secret Shoppers/Mystery Shoppers: This report is general in nature and does not describe any particular company. Those who are looking for extra income can be tempted by ads to recruit "mystery shoppers." It is true that businesses nationwide use mystery shopping, also known as secret shopping, performance evaluations, service monitoring, and quality auditing as a means to monitor service quality. Market research firms, training companies, merchandisers, temporary agencies, and others specialize in recruiting mystery shoppers. Unfortunately, sometimes so do scammers. People with the right talents (attention to detail, skilled in communications and completing paperwork) can become paid mystery shoppers if they avoid the "too good to be true" offers. BBB advises job seekers to research any "mystery shopper" business carefully. Understand whether the company wants to employ you directly. If you are asked instead to purchase training materials, cash a check and send the rest back, or pay for a list of mystery shopping opportunities, be wary. To steer clear mystery shopping scams, BBB offers the following advice: Ignore claims that you will make a lot of money. Mystery shopping will not make you rich; at best it provides part-time income. Avoid falling for claims that "guarantee" a position, without training. Be cautious of unsolicited emails offering "work from home." Never pay money up front. A legitimate mystery shopping service will not charge money for materials, training, or recruiting. Find out the name of the company and check the business out with BBB and the state attorney general. Visit the Mystery Shopping Providers Association (MSPA) website at mysteryshop.org for information on how to register to be a mystery shopper with an MSPA member company, a database of available jobs, and additional information on the industry in general. BBB's Scam Tracker received reports of mystery shoppers being asked to cash large checks, and keep a portion of the money for themselves to "shop" and send the rest back. Remember: There is no reason for someone who is giving you money to ask you to wire money back. Just because you can withdraw the money from the bank does not mean the check is good, even if it is a cashier's check. Fake Check BBB Tips: Fake check and money order scams take many different forms, but the underlying con is the same. Scammers take advantage of the fact that many people don't understand the rules about check deposits and wire transfers. It is sometimes called the "overpayment scam" because it involves a large initial payment to the target - much more than they are owed for the transaction - and a large refund back to the scammer. How the Scam Works: The stories that con artists use vary widely. You might be selling something online and the scammer pretends to be interested in a purchase. Or scammers will "hire" you for a job, such as secret shopping, or tell you you've won a sweepstakes prize. In all cases, the amount of the check is "accidentally" far more than the amount agreed to. The scammer instructs you to deposit the check, keep the amount owed, and wire back the difference. When you deposit the check, the funds will appear to be available within days. However, forgeries can take weeks to be discovered. Eventually the check bounces, but in the meantime you've wired back the "overpayment" to the scammer. A wire transfer is like sending cash; once it's gone, it is very hard to trace. Tips to Spot This Scam: Be immediately suspicious of overpayments. A check can bounce even after your bank allows you to withdraw cash from the deposit. Even if a bank representative tells you that a check has "cleared" you can't be sure it won't be detected as a fake weeks later. One thing you can be sure of is that you'll be on the hook for any funds drawn against the amount. Never send money to people you don't know, especially if they ask for the money in an unusual form such as wire transfer or prepaid debit card. Do not share personally identifiable information such as date-of-birth, bank or credit card accounts, passwords, etc. with anyone you do not know. Don't prepay taxes, insurance, or fees on something you have supposedly won. To report a scam, go to BBB Scam Tracker at bbb.org/scamtracker.