Legitimate vs. Fraudulent Survey Sites: Know the Difference

# Legitimate vs. Fraudulent Survey Sites: What You Need to Know

While legitimate paid survey opportunities do exist, survey scams are a common and deceptive trap used by cybercriminals to steal your personal information, install malware or trick you into giving up your hard-earned money. Here's how to tell the difference and protect yourself.

The Reality of Paid Surveys

Legitimate market research companies and survey websites pay users for their opinions and feedback. It's a chance to earn extra money online. However, the payout is low—$1 to $2 per hour—and many people consider it something to do in their spare time rather than a way to make a living.

Red Flags: How Scammers Operate

Some surveys are conducted as part of legitimate public opinion research. But these days, some scammers pretend to conduct surveys as part of fraud schemes designed to rip people off.

You'll receive an unsolicited message — via email, social media or text message — offering money, gift cards or free products in exchange for taking a "quick survey." Once you click, you're taken to a website that looks professional, with realistic-looking logos and fake reviews. The survey itself might only have a few questions.

Common Scam Tactics

Too-Good-To-Be-True Rewards: If a survey offers you a $100 gift card or a 90% discount for answering three quick questions, it's probably a scam.

Requesting Payment: Stay cautious of paid survey websites that demand you to pay a membership fee to join as a survey respondent. Legitimate survey companies are all free to join and they shall pay you for doing surveys instead of you paying them.

Asking for Financial Information: Scammers use surveys to obtain a person's financial information. The surveyor puts up a phony survey and, at the end of the email or call, asks the citizen for their bank account number so they can send the survey payment. The surveyor uses the account number to post phony charges on the consumer's account.