Lately, we have seen a number of offers to Mystery Shoppers from international colleagues of ours, offers we would not recommend a Mystery Shopper to accept. Some of them have been to do assignments and getting paid through PayPal, others have been to buy stuff using Google Pay and getting part of the cost refunded. None of that is salary as you would be used to when working. And some offers have been about making rather large investments with a promise about big profits. We dissuade from this.
We think this requires a clarification, so all Mystery Shoppers and future Mystery Shoppers understand what it is about. If you are reimbursed per assignment, from abroad, through an app like PayPal or Google Pay, the money has not been taxed. You are a so called freelancer, unlike an employment as you would have with us, and you are responsible for the registration of your income with the local tax authorities. The company giving you the assignment are not responsible, you are. And if you are asked to invest money abroad, the money are not protected by government guarantees that exist in for example Sweden and Norway, and the investment company is not obliged to inform you about the investment risks. That kind of offer does not exist with us.
Nordic Mystery Shopping work only with employees, no freelancers, in Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Denmark. We always pay your taxes, so the money you get on your account is taxed money. And the income helps your pension according to the rules in each country.
Of course you can accept offers like these, but we want you to be aware of the possible implications.