Hi Samantha,

There is a method of referring your friends to iSecretShop - you can read more about it here: https://www.secretshopforum.com/thread/3/6/316/referrals#post1782

Cheers!

Hi everyone! So nice to have you all here! Best of luck on all of your shops!

Hi everyone!

As some of you know - attempts at frauds, scams, cons, impersonating legitimate companies, and otherwise misleading people into giving away their money and/or personal information are sadly not an uncommon thing in the mystery shopping world.

These can vary in content, methods, and pretty much every other factor besides the intention of ultimately profiting on unsuspecting people.

There have been reports recently of a "popular" scam (nearly a dozen reported cases in the last two days) where the individual(s) performing this scam are impersonating Prism Intelligence - a legitimate company operating on the iSecretShop platform (and the one responsible for the existence of that platform and this forum).

In this particular case, the impersonator(s) send out letters, including a check for $2,300, claiming that the project has something to do with WalMart.

If you do receive such a letter - please note that these letters and checks did not come from Prism Intelligence - this is a scam. Please do not give these people any identifying information, and you should absolutely not cash in, deposit, or otherwise negotiate the item in any way.

Prism Intelligence is a legitimate, trustworthy company, and the only mystery shopping opportunities offered by it are offered via the iSecretShop platform - there are no letters and checks involved, nor are any advanced payments requested.

You can find actual mystery shopping opportunities offered by Prism Intelligence on the iSecretShop website - other sources claiming to be Prism Intelligence opportunities should always be verified as it may be a potential scam, such as this one.

Prism Intelligence does not have nothing to do with this - its good name is being used fraudulently by scammers trying to rip off good people.

Similar frauds have happened in the past, and differed mystery shopping providers were targeted/impersonated.

There have also been quite a few reports of shoppers getting emailed from unknown sources, from people using their private emails, or from random mailing services like snail mail, etc.

Here are a few pointers to help you determine of the opportunities you get emailed about are legitimate, and originating from MSPs on iSecretShop:

• The email address of the sender should always be a corporate email (like for example ivan@prismintelligence.com) - private emails like @gmail, @yahoo, @icloud, etc. should always raise suspicions (and are not authorized to be sent via iSecretShop).
• The emails themselves that are being sent through iSecretShop should always contain reference to the iSecretShop platform (whether by directing you to login to iSecretShop, or informing you that you are receiving the email because you're registered at iSecretShop, or something similar)
• The emails should, in most cases, contain the exact location/locations (and/or the specific address) that's being shopped, and you should be able to login to iSecretShop and look it up under Available Shops.
• The company which is offering the opportunity must be one of the companies listed on the iSecretShop Provider Contracts & Policies page - all MSPs which operate under the iSecretShop platform are listed there.
• All detailed information about legitimate mystery shopping opportunities on iSecretShop can be found on the iSecretShop website - the overview can be seen on the Available Shops page, and the full details on your Assigned Shops page once the shop is assigned to you - that's where the form is filled out, and that's where the instructions and guidelines are.

One of the surest ways to check if you are still in doubt is to ask the person who emailed you to give you the Shop ID number for the shop in question. If they do - you can look it up on the iSecretShop website, and find that it's a legitimate shop. If they refuse to, you should be very careful as it could be a scam.

These are just some of the tell-tell signs of a possible scam, so always be sure to check, and you can even open a support ticket for iSecretShop, to check if the person that sent you an email is registered as a scheduler for any MSP.

I hope this helps keep you out of harm's way from fraudsters, wish you luck on the real shops on iSecretShop, and stay vigilant!

I think it's could be due to Opinion Polls - those can earn you varying number of points, usually about 5 each (some 3, some more). Also, every cancellation or decline incurs a -30 points penalty, so that could explain the odd numbers too.

Hello,

You can find the W9 form on the following link: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw9.pdf

Cheers!

Hello,

You can find the W9 form on the following link: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw9.pdf

Cheers!

You're welcome!

You're welcome!

Hi Lisa,

I haven't heard of anything like that - but there are no mystery shopping providers on iSecretShop called "Secret Shopper" - if it the email is from a company that allegedly operates on iSecretShop or is claiming to represent a shopping opportunity on iSecretShop - you can safely assume it's not legitimate.

Hi Danielle,

Here are a few things you can try to increase your chances of getting your shop requests approved:

-Check the Available Shops regularly - A LOT of shops gets grabbed within hours of being posted, especially the easy/cool ones, so don't be late for the Awesome Train

-Request various types of shops - don't be afraid to try different assignments, different shop categories, etc. Every new experience makes you personally richer, and a nice side effect is that you get a new badge for every new type of shop you do, making you stand out to schedulers as someone who is experienced and versatile.

-Request shops for the soonest available dates - if a shop is available for any day next week, requests for Monday will be the first ones the schedulers see, and the first ones they approve (as they want their shops done as soon as possible), so requesting for the earliest date increases your chances of getting a shop.

-Read emails from schedulers/MSPs and from iSecretShop - these are often sent when new shops are available, giving you a heads up so you can request them early on.

-Do weekly shops - weekly. - there are shops that can be done every week, and if you have them in your area and don't mind doing them, keep hitting that request button every week, and keep doing them. Pretty soon you'll be very proficient at them, and schedulers WILL notice, and keep giving them to you.

Cheers!