Mystery Shopper Task Scam by email

How it looks by email, the red flags and what to do.

Email is slower than SMS, so these scams usually pretend to be a bill, a refund, an account lock or a job offer and ask you to log in or open a file. Mystery Shopper Task Scam is one of the ways this shows up: A 'mystery shopper' job asks you to buy items or test a money transfer with money they send first. See how overpayment and fake reimbursements work.

What mystery shopper task scam looks like by email

• A generic greeting instead of your name.
• A login page that opens from the email and asks for your password and OTP.
• A sender address that is almost, but not exactly, the real domain.

The scammer posts the offer on social media or emails a 'recruitment' message that sounds like a market research firm. After a short chat, you are given an assignment: buy specific gift cards or products, send a portion through a payment app to test a money-transfer service, and send a report with photos. The task looks harmless and comes with a clear 'earning'.

Red flags to check on the email

• A job that sends you money first and tells you to send some on.
• A request to buy gift cards and share the codes.
• A screenshot of a payment instead of money in your own account.
• A short deadline for the task.
• It carries a surprise invoice, refund or legal notice.
• The sender address has an extra word or letter.

What to do

1. Do not send any money or gift card codes on behalf of an employer.
2. Check the actual balance and credit in your own banking app, not a screenshot.
3. Look up the company on its official website and see whether it hires like this.
4. Report it as phishing in your email app and delete it.
5. If you typed a password on the page, change it at once and turn on two-step verification.
6. Do not open the attachment and do not press the button.

Use Report phishing in your email app. If money or accounts are affected, call 1930 and report at cybercrime.gov.in.

If money or a code is already gone

1. Call 1930 and report at cybercrime.gov.in with the chat and payment ids.
2. Tell your bank on the number printed on your card about the transfers and any cheque.
3. Contact the gift card issuer through its official support about any codes shared.
4. Stop all contact and do not accept the 'second assignment'.

National Cyber Crime Helpline: 1930; report at cybercrime.gov.in.

Safeavio's scam check can read the task message you paste and mark the pay-in-advance and the gift card request, and Money Shield's checklist reminds you to verify before you send money, with a family code word for asking someone you trust. It cannot confirm whether a payment has really reached your account, so look at your own banking app. Never forward money first.

Full guide: Mystery Shopper Task Scam: how it works, signs and what to do. Other channels: WhatsApp, SMS, social media.

Questions