by Abby Carter
Unfortunately, there are also scam online survey sites that collect the information of unsuspecting participants and use it for money or identity theft.
9 Tips for Identifying Fake Online Survey Sites
There are legitimate sites that you can use to make money by taking surveys. These sites are a great way to supplement your primary source of income. However, before participating in any online survey, it is essential to establish the platform’s credibility. Survey scams can present themselves as an email, call, social media post, text, or online ad asking you to complete a consumer questionnaire or participate in a poll.
Cybercriminals mimic legit survey sites to illegally gather personal information that they later use for financial or identity theft. Here are tips on protecting yourself from falling into their traps:
- Always read reviews about every online survey site you’re about to register on.
- Never give your personal information, such as your social security number, on a survey.
- Regularly update your device’s software and applications.
- Install a powerful antivirus on your devices.
- Never open attachments or click on links in suspicious texts or emails talking about a paid survey.
Cybercriminals impersonate popular service providers or big-name retailers to trick you into trusting them. At first glance, it might be difficult to identify fake sites from legitimate ones. However, when you take a closer look, there are tale-tell signs that can help you identify scammers.
There Is No Company Information or “About” Page
A legitimate survey company should appear on a search engine with details such as its logo, contact info, and an “About Us” page explaining what the company does. If this is not the case, you’re most likely dealing with a scam.
The Site Has No Privacy Policy
Regulations, such as GDPR and CCPA, require companies to provide a data privacy warning in any online survey they disseminate to the public. The privacy policy should provide information about what data the survey is collecting and how it will be used.
The privacy policy should also confirm the participant’s consent to share data with any third-party the survey maker is working with. Before registering on an online survey site, you must review a survey company’s privacy policy on its website and stay away from any platform that doesn’t have one.
The Survey Asks for Private Data
Any reputable online paid surveys will require some information from you when setting up your account. However, this information should be limited to demographic questions and not anything personal. Consider it a red flag if you find a site asking you for confidential details such as bank account information, social security number, or driver’s license information. A legitimate site will never ask for such details.
The Offer Seems Too Good to Be True
The truth is online surveys will not make you rich. If the survey site uses a points system, you need to earn a minimum amount of points before you can redeem them, which could take a while.
Therefore, if a site is offering a big payout within a short time, you should avoid it because it’s most likely to be a scam. To make more money through surveys, you would need to be part of a focus group which is more structured than an online survey.
The Domain Is New
By researching a domain name on sites such as who.is, you can find out when the domain was created, the latest updates done to it, and who it belongs to. It doesn’t necessarily mean the company is a scam if its domain name is relatively new. However, you should proceed cautiously because fraudsters constantly switch domain names when caught.
The Company Uses a Free Email Account
Most legitimate survey companies do not use a Gmail or Yahoo address. While it doesn’t automatically spell doom if a company uses a free email, it should prompt you to investigate its legitimacy. In addition, you should carefully check that the company name is not altered because fraudsters tend to impersonate a legit company’s email by intentionally changing a character in the address.
The Survey Solicitation Contains Grammar Errors, Odd Word Choices, and Misspellings
Survey requests from legitimate companies seeking to conduct market research are carefully edited by a team to ensure they don’t contain grammar errors or misspellings. So, if you receive survey solicitations with grammar errors or odd word choices, it’s safe to consider them a scam.
You Are Asked to Pay Some Fees
Legitimate paid online survey sites will never require that you pay any fees. If a platform asks you to pay processing or tax fees, it’s a fake.
There’s No Clear Payment Information
If an online survey site is authentic, it should provide clear information on the reward structure. If not, avoid it.
Final Thoughts
Paid online surveys can be a great way to earn some extra coins. While participating in surveys might not make you rich, you can make a decent amount to cover some of your bills. However, you must look out for the signs shared in this article to ensure that you only deal with authentic survey sites.
