Mystery shopper job opportunities...for some people this might sound like an ideal way to earn a living; and indeed it might be if you can find the real ones. If you're one of those "shop till you drop" types, then read on.

First, for the uninitiated, just what is a mystery shopper? For many years now, there has been a type of business that cashes in on a large company's need to keep an eye on their large retail sales force. This is just another example of outsourcing at its finest. A large retail organization, be it Wal-Mart, Macie's, or perhaps a restaurant chain, could hire large numbers of people and fly them around the country to visit all of their stores and see how well their customers are being treated.

Or, they can outsource this to a company that specializes in it. That "mystery shopper" company would then in turn hire people all over the country on a short-term basis to do the actual evaluations. So, if this sounds like a great job to you, all you have to do is find one of those companies who's business revolves around doing these evaluations. Sounds easy, right? Well the problem you run into right off the bat, is that scam artists are drawn to anything that is popular.

A scam artist deals in numbers. He figures, and rightly so, that of the many thousands of people looking for a particular thing, a certain percentage will just jump in and try the first one they see. So they pick a popular topic, create a one page Web site about it, and then do a bulk emailing to a few million of their closest friends. Once they have charged a few thousand credit cards, they shut down that Web site and move onto their next scam opportunity.

If mystery shopper job opportunities sounds like a good way for you to go, you need a little bit of help in choosing a company to work with. The resources right here at this Web site can be a really good place to start. The trick is to limit your search for the right company by trying only those that are "real" companies. Mystery shopper job opportunities companies that have real jobs and that offer "no questions asked" refunds.

Just a few extra minutes of research with your favorite search engine will usually be enough to greatly reduce your risk. Take the name of a prospective company and search for it on the web. Scan down the results looking for a forum type site with some mention of the company. The comments from real people who have used that company will usually quickly reveal the real companies and the scam artists.

Scott J. Patterson is a self-proclaimed Dunce, yet last month he earned $12,124 from one of his online businesses. To find out how YOU can do the same, download his fr*e ebook- The Secret-Guide to Home Businesses: http://www.duncemoney.com/wbarticle.html