The Bottom Line: Mystery Shopping

Shopping for ways to make money...

With steady work still hard to come by today, many people are being forced to do just that.

And what better way to make some extra cash, than getting paid -- to shop!

Mystery shopping is when retailers hire marketing research companies, to evaluate the quality of services in their stores.

Those companies then hire you, as a "mystery shopper" -- to secretly get the information.

It is legitimate, and a fairly simple way to make extra money, so mystery shopping is getting pretty popular.  But with that growing popularity, comes a growing number of scammers trying to take advantage -- and trying to hurt your Bottom Line.

Viewers have gotten in touch with CBS6's Dori Marlin, wanting to know what to look out for when considering work as a mystery shopper.

So, what is The Bottom Line?

Dori got in touch with the Mystery Shopping Providers Association, which does warn that often times, scammers will impersonate those legitimate companies and send out bogus e-mails.

What are the red flags, signaling that an e-mail -- and its offer -- aren't legit?

Kelly Hancock at the Association tells Dori, it is very rare that you, the mystery shopper, would get any check up front.  Typically, she says, you would be reimbursed.

If you're told to cash that check in advance?  That's an even bigger red flag.

If you're told a check will total a large sum of money, for an assignment -- another red flag.  Hancock says $8-$20 per assignment, is the standard amount.

If you've missed one of these red flags, and have fallen victim to a mystery shopping scam, send Dori an e-mail: news@cbs6albany.com .