How to Avoid Falling for Paid Survey Scams

It is very hard to find legitimate paid survey sites. They are out there, but you have to be careful to choose the right sites that will pay you. You can keep your eye out for both legitimate and illegitimate survey options. Please view the following tips in regards to finding survey sites that will pay you, and to avoid survey scams:

Watch out for sites that contain testimonials. Testimonials are supposed documented quotes from "members" who have tried a particular survey site and have made hundreds, thousands, or even millions of dollars from joining a particular site. Usually these testimonials will be posted on a site that sells a membership to sites that pay consumers to do surveys. These testimonials may be real, but in many cases are exaggerated or totally fabricated.

Join directly to a market research firm. For best results, it is best to join directly to market research sites. These are the people that actually conduct the surveys for which you get paid to fill out. Sometimes the condition is that you have to qualify (meaning be of a certain age, income, or educational level) in order to complete the survey. This is a legitimate limitation, because the goal of this marketing firm is to find qualified members in order to research a specific marketing niche.

Beware of survey sites that require participation in "special offers". A large number of what is called survey sites is really nothing more than an opt-in mailing list, or a way to entice you to buy products and services. These are legitimate if they actually pay you, or if they do not present themselves as survey sites. However, often times when you fill out the material to receive certain special offers you end up paying more than the survey reward is worth. One good example is if you want to win a 250-dollar gas card, or a year supply of soda, but first you may have to purchase hundreds of dollars worth of product. The time and energy you spend filling out these surveys is generally not worth it. You could have worked for that time and made more money in many cases.

Beware of guarantees and documented proof. Some sites will present checks that someone may or may not have earned filling out surveys, and some may be for substantial amounts, such as in the thousands of dollars. Just because someone made this amount of money does not mean that you will. In addition, these checks may not be real at all. Any check can be counterfeited these days.

Beware of sites that offer gift certificates. Some sites will offer gift certificates that really are not gift certificates at all. Instead they are fake certificates that they have created to entice you to get involved in their surveys. Not only that, but some of their surveys are really just opt-ins to buying products or services. If you are not careful, you could end up paying quite a bit more than you are taking in.

Beware of the fine print of survey sites. Survey sites that seem too good to be true usually are. Be sure that you read the terms and conditions of any survey site that you join. This will ensure that you have done all that you need to do-or at least that you know what you would be getting yourself into once you start. If you read the terms and conditions of a site then you will know if the survey site is worth it to you. Also, beware of survey sites that do not have any privacy policies posted, because they may not promise what they say they will.

If you are unsure about whether or not a paid survey site is legitimate, you may want to contact the Better Business Bureau (BBB) to see if any complaints have been document about that particular organization. You can also find free information at the website of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) site as well. Beware of any site, however, that calls themselves a survey reviewing site because they may be paid to do reviews for different groups, or because they are promoting a particular survey company. In other words, the best type of business advice you can find regarding avoiding survey scams and finding legitimate paid survey sites is organizations that are less biased.

Beware, however, just because you may not find complaints on sites such as the BBB or FTC does not mean that these sites are not scams. It may mean that no one has complained about these sites yet. You may want to do further research regarding these organizations by way of the Internet to see what other information you may find about these organizations. The more research you do on avoiding survey scams the better.