Shopper News

Social Security Verification

by Confero Inc.

As we approach the holiday season, we are busily preparing for next year. As you know, we are implementing exciting new tools in Confero COMPASS. We have been working to verify shopper Social Security numbers or Tax ID numbers and have been working hard to alleviate any problems that we have encountered along the way. Shoppers can check the status of their Social Security numbers or Tax ID numbers in their profiles. We have also been notifying shoppers if their Social Security numbers or Tax ID numbers have been declared invalid by the IRS, which means that the number is not matching your legal name. In most cases, your account name with us is listed as first and last name and your legal name is first, middle and last. For example, your account name could be John Doe, but your legal name is John Patrick Doe, so you would need to check the box that indicates that your legal name is different than your account name and enter your legal name in the box provided. Unfortunately, until the IRS indicates there is a match between the name and number submitted, we cannot issue payment.. Please note that it may take 24-96 hours for the IRS to verify the numbers. Also, for shoppers who do not wish to enter their Social Security Numbers but wish to continue shopping, a Tax ID number can be provided by the IRS and used. Please remember to indicate the name associated with this number if you decide to use a Tax ID number. To obtain a Tax ID number, contact the IRS and request a number for your mystery shopping contract business. This is a simple process that can be completed by visiting the website: www.irs.gov/businesses and clicking on Employer ID numbers, or by calling the IRS at 1-800-829-4933. You may also print a W-9 form, fill it out and mail it to us at Supplier Verification, Confero Inc., PO Box 1570, Cary, NC 27512. When we receive the document, we will enter it onto the system for you. To obtain a W-9 form, please visit http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw9.pdf Please understand that the delay for this service is about 14 working days to allow us time to enter the information for you.
Thank you for your patience and understanding during this necessary transition. We hope you and your families have wonderful holiday seasons!

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Refer a Friend and You Could Win $50!

by Lana Meade

We are pleased to announce our Shopper Hot Spots areas.

These are areas in which we need to recruit additional mystery shoppers for a variety of reasons:

  • We need shoppers who live near the locations being shopped, especially in this time of high gas prices!
  • Shoppers are rotated so several shoppers are needed in each location being shopped, even in small-town markets!
  • We may have new programs starting in an area.

Current Hot Spots….

These are the cities in which we need shoppers ASAP and we would appreciate your referrals. At the end of each month, we will draw the name of one lucky referrer who will receive a $50 bonus from Confero (to qualify, your referred friend must have successfully completed a mystery shop).

We will announce the winners here each month (in such a way that identities are kept secret!)

Just click on a city below to refer someone! You will be automatically entered into our drawing.

Whereas we welcome all referrals, only those for the cities below will qualify for the monthly drawing.

AK – Fairbanks
AZ – Flagstaff
AZ – Payson
AZ – Show Low
AZ – Snowflake
CA – Elk Grove
CA – Galt
CA – Sacramento
CO – Cortez
CO – Durango
ID – Twin Falls
MD – Gaithersburg
MD – Rockville
NC – Ahoskie
NC – Banner Elk
NC – Boone
NC – Denton
NC – Dobson
NC – Lumberton
NC – Mooresville
NC – Murfreesboro
NC – Newland
NC – Ocean Isle Beach
NC – Robbins
NC – Scotland Neck
NC – Sparta
NM – Farmington
NM – Las Cruces
NM – Santa Fe
OR – Albany
OR – Corvallis
SC – Georgetown
SC – Little River
VA – Stuart

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Social Security Verification

by Confero Inc.

Hello Shoppers,
We are excited to announce the launch of our new Confero Inc. (www.conferoinc.com) website during the week of October 27th. You will find that while the login page will look different, the site itself will operate in essentially the same manner. The site contains helpful information for shoppers and clients alike and we are looking forward to introducing it to you.
We are also updating the information we request from our shoppers. In the coming days, when you log into our Confero Sassie online reporting system, you will be prompted to complete the following:
1. Extended Shopper Profile. You will have the opportunity to provide additional information about yourself to assist us in selecting you for specific projects. Confero conducts a number of very specialized programs throughout the United States and Canada. The new profile will help us identify those shoppers who have specialized expertise. This extended information will also help us assign you to projects more effectively.
2. Social Security Verification. To ensure that we comply with all IRS rules and to aid us in preventing individuals from falsifying reports and creating multiple accounts on our reporting system, we ask that all U.S. shoppers provide their Social Security Numbers (SSN) or Tax ID numbers through the secure Sassie shopper website. Information is encrypted and housed securely in a manner approved by the Social Security Administration. An SSN will be required for payment for any shops conducted after November 1, 2008. You have three (3) options for sending us this information.
Either:
1. Please enter your SSN on our secure, encrypted website Or:
2. Contact the IRS and request an Employer ID number for your mystery shopping contract business and enter that number instead of your SSN. This is a simple process that can be completed by visiting the website: www.irs.gov/businesses and clicking on Employer ID numbers, or by calling the IRS at 1-800-829-4933
Or:
3. You may print a W-9 form, fill it out and mail it to us at Supplier Verification, Confero Inc., PO Box 1570, Cary, NC 27512. When we receive the document, we will enter it onto the system for you. To obtain a W-9 form, please visit http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw9.pdf Please understand that the delay for this service is about 14 working days to allow us time to enter the information for you.
For any of these three (3) options, if your name and SSN (or TIN) do not match the Social Security Administration’s system, you (and Confero) will receive an email notice that there was not a match. Please do not be alarmed. Typically, the system will send back an “unverified” message if the name and SSN do not exactly match (e.g. you are John A Public in our system and you are John Q Public in the Social Security System).
For those shoppers earning more than $600 in a calendar year, Confero will provide you with a 1099-Misc Income form for use in filing your taxes. Forms are mailed before 1/31 for work completed the previous year.
We appreciate your patience and understanding as we initiate this new policy. If you have questions about the system or a reply you receive from it, please send it to shopperpayments@conferoinc.com.
Sincerely,
Shopper Payments Group
The Confero Mystery Shopping Team

Confero
Customer Experience Research, Rewards, Results
1152 Executive Circle Suite 100
Cary, North Carolina 27511
(800) 326-3880
shopperpayments@conferoinc.com

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Three (3) Confero Staffers Attend MSPA Shopper Conference in Pittsburgh

by Lana Meade

If you weren’t in Pittsburgh, PA for the 2008 Mystery Shopping Providers Association (MSPA) Educational Conference for Shoppers, you missed a great event! Shoppers from around the country and company owners, executives, and schedulers from all over North America were on hand for a terrific program! Three (3) Confero staffers attended the conference. We talked with shoppers one-on-one to obtain ideas for keeping Confero on the leading edge of mystery shopping. Thanks to all of you who talked with our folks there about mystery shopping! Have more suggestions? Please send an email to info@conferoinc.com

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MSPA Launches Gold DVD Certification: Get Certified Without Having To Attend

by Elaine Buxton

Confero enthusiastically supports MSPA Shopper Certification. Now it’s much more convenient to join the exclusive network of top-notch shoppers that schedulers are looking for. MSPA has just launched the Gold Certification DVD, allowing you to become Gold certified from the comfort of your home, anywhere in the world.

This is the perfect opportunity to take your skills to the next level and increase your marketability among mystery shopping providers. It’s widely known and accepted among Mystery Shopping Providers that MSPA-certified shoppers are more reliable and produce better reports, so take the next step and achieve your MSPA Silver and Gold Certification.

Here’s how:

  • Silver Certification is a brief online program that you can complete at any time. Visit MSPA Silver Certification to become Silver Certified
  • Once Silver Certified, you are eligible to become Gold Certified
  • Gold Certification can be achieved through either a live workshop or the brand new Gold DVD.
  • Gold DVD includes all the same content as the live workshops — nothing is left out! And the cost of the DVD is the same, $99. The biggest difference is that you no longer have to choose between waiting for a live workshop to come to you or paying travel expenses to attend a workshop away from your hometown; instead, you pay only $5 in shipping to cover the cost of the DVD coming to you!

Click the link above or visit MSPA Gold DVD Certification to learn more about Gold DVD!

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