Exposing Online Survey Scams

Online survey scams have become the latest way that thieves fraud innocent and curious people of their money. Popular schemes involve having the victim send in their own money to join a “group” that offers the opportunity to join several “customer response groups” and fill out simple surveys for payment. These survey groups generally charge a membership fee that operates on a scale: the more money one contributes, the more survey “opportunities” they are exposed to.

One of the major targets of online survey scams are the elderly. With the advent of new technology, most of the elderly people in society are often ignorant to how the internet works and are subject to many types of fraud based on empty promises and trickery. Many an innocent person has parted with their money in exchange for promises of expensive gifts or trips that never quite appear as they seem.

Common Online Survey Scams

A good rule of thumb to follow is “if it’s too good to be true, it probably is”. Most offers of money for nothing and trips for free end up leading to dead ends that either expose your credit information or your personal address or even those ugly yearbook pictures. In the information age, one can never be too careful.

Many scams use the testimonial to attempt to con the victim. “Documented reports” from various “winners” are often displayed just like “satisfied customers” on their websites. These usually mean nothing or close to it as the reports are either entirely fabricated or only partially true. Don’t be fooled by the testimonial.

Other scams use “documented proof” such as a winners list or other “proof” that people got payment for filling out the survey. This again can either be completely fabricated or partially true. Simply having a few winners doesn’t mean winning is a regular occurrence, as we all know. Be careful when examining the wording and the fine print on these websites and avoid giving personal information to those you do not trust, regardless of how promising the rewards sound.

Finally, the online survey scams I have investigated love to give the almighty “guarantee”. Once again, do not be fooled by this. The only thing paid survey scam sites can guarantee you with any credibility is that there are full refunds of money for those not satisfied by the results. Good luck with that!

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