How to Avoid Scam Survey Sites
The web is filled with hundreds of survey sites that offer cash, rewards and gifts for completing surveys and there are millions of web users who see it as an easy way to make money. However not all paid survey sites are genuine. Differentiating legitimate survey providers from scammers can sometimes be tricky. There are a few bad apples who do not pay their panel members for taking the surveys and it takes a certain amount of diligence and experience to find the good from the bad sites. Here are a few tips to help you:
1) Using a free paid survey site such as GetPaid4surveys is a good starting point for doing your research. Here you can find a handpicked list of all the reputable companies who are bona fide research providers. Once you have found a research company, read the testimonials of its subscribers and take a good look at the site.
2) Never send your registration fee or any other payment through cash or give your bank details during registration (it’s OK to give your bank details to receive payment after you have completed a bone fide survey).
3) If you do provide your bank/ credit card details for receiving payment make sure that the site has proper security certificates from companies like Verisign and that the page which you give details on has ‘https://’ at the start of the address to ensure that your data is encrypted before you submit your details.
4) Make sure you read the legal disclaimers, terms and conditions and privacy policy so that you are aware of who the company is. You could also google the company to see if there are any negative reports of scamming associated with them.
5) Often paid survey companies mention guaranteed payments. They may also display document images as proofs. Many of this are fake. Sites that go to extraordinary lengths to prove their creditentials are often fake and provide lots of fake testimonials. Beware of such sites.
6) Be wary of being charged to join market research panels. Make sure you read their privacy policy and terms and conditions carefully. There are a small number of survey providers that charge a small free and promise that you will earn a fortune from completing surveys, which is dubious to say the least. Firstly, the chances of earning tens of thousands from surveys is slight. Moreover you have no guarantee of the quality of the service you are buying. There are plenty of free survey information sites such as GetPaid4surveys which provide this information free of charge and who do this as a public service. If you do have to pay, it is safer to choose an online payment method such as Paypal as the payment method.
7) Only register with a site that has a privacy policy. Choosing UK based sites (companies registered in the UK) can sometimes be a safer option than choosing obscure international sites. Take a look at the site carefully (google them to see if any comments have been made about them), those sites managed by large companies or reputable market research agencies are more trustworthy simply because you can be a little more certain of getting paid. Real survey invitations from reputable market research companies will include the length of time it takes to complete the online survey and also what incentive you will receive. Some market research companies may ask you to download a small piece of software to track your internet habits. It is ok to download these but always check that you are downloading from a reputable company before you do it.
