How To Avoid Online Paid Surveys Scam? 7 Truths You Need to Know

Posted by Viva Villapena
How To Avoid Online Paid Surveys Scam? 7 Truths You Need to Know

What you need to know about online paid surveys scam so you can avoid being a victim.

Table Of Contents

Introduction

Paid survey is an opportunity for business brands to gain real feedback from the public. By offering cash payment, vouchers, credits, gifts etc. in exchange for an honest opinion, companies get to know what is inside the head of the buyers. This is possible through websites or channels that match survey takers with the brands.

Since we know that online paid surveys is a legit way to earn extra income and a lot are getting interested in joining, we listed down some of the essential matters you need to know about it and what legitimate online survey companies will NOT do so you can avoid being scammed.

1. Paid Surveys won't make you rich but you can earn some spare cash

Paid surveys are open for everyone, no experience or special qualifications are needed. However, knowing how online paid surveys work can give you additional cash in your wallet but you need to set your expectation right especially on how much you can earn from this activity. Be realistic and practical here because it also takes time to earn which is better than nothing at all. The compensation most of the time can be anything like a voucher, store credit, cash or cheque payment in a certain amount. If you diligently do your surveys, then maybe after some months your earnings will be really good.

2. You won't be qualified to join all surveys

Before you can complete a survey, you will have to go through an initial screening process; this generally consists of a series of questions about demographics and questions about the use of products/services that may be featured in the survey. If your answers do not fulfill the criteria of the surveys, you will be screened out of the survey and not eligible to do the survey.

3. You do not need to pay to join a survey company

There are a huge amount of paid survey sites online and it is hard to recognize which are the legit ones. 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.

Before you start signing up on a surveys website, take a close look at their company information and contact information. If a survey website does not have a clear profile of itself online, something is definitely fishy. So before clicking that Join button, check out whether the brand is reliable first.

4. Most survey invitations are sent through email by survey companies

Email is probably the most effective way for survey panels to reach you. After joining survey companies, they will email you newsletters, updates and most often, survey invitations. Therefore, it is good to add your survey panel's email into your safe sender list or contact list so that you can receive their survey invitation emails without any problem. You may not receive survey invitations immediately after joining a survey panel, give it a few days so survey panels could start sending you new survey that matches your profile. The quantity of survey invitation should increase if you are active in responding to survey invitations.

However, this is also one of the common issues most active survey takers are facing. There may be many survey emails in your mailbox if you don't manage them daily. Although there are some work around on this like creating a separate email for your surveys or by using filters from your email provider, it is still tedious and quite troublesome to some people when they have to read each survey invitation email one by one in order to know the survey detail and click the survey link in the email.

At the same time, also look out for emails sent to you by them. Those emails should all be related to surveys opportunities and not other products or services. If a survey company constantly sends you emails with offers to buy other products or services, they are likely not a legitimate survey company that focus on market research.

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5. Most rewards are not paid instantly

Credible survey websites or companies will not guarantee you a high earning of hundred dollars in just a few minutes. Doing paid surveys requires you to put in the effort and it will take time for you to earn a desirable amount. With survey earning opportunities, you need to be patient in seeing your earnings and getting paid. While companies value you as a survey taker, there are also guidelines and procedures that must be followed for payments. So be sure to read the rules and understand how the rewards are paid. Usually money won’t come in right after you completed a survey, so think twice when you see any offers that guarantee you instant money.

Remember there's no such thing as free lunch. When you notice that the offer seems too good to be true, it's probably a scam. There will always be a catch for these offers so be careful especially when they request for your sensitive personal information in order to "send you the reward".

6. You are welcome to join multiple paid survey companies

There is no limit in creating accounts or joining a certain number of legitimate market research companies online. As long as you know they are reliable, worth the time and credible, you are welcome to participates in market research surveys for various survey companies to help businesses to improve their products and services. Do take note that credible survey companies will not share your personal info to 3rd party companies for marketing you products or services. Before signing up, check out the privacy policy about information dissemination. If it mention anything about sharing your personal details with third parties for business opportunities such as marketing product or services, stay clear of these websites since they probably aren't genuine survey companies.

7. You can do it anywhere and anytime of the day

One great thing about doing online paid surveys is that you can do it anytime, anywhere. Flexibility is yours since all you need is a reliable internet connection on your device to get started. More and more online surveys are getting mobile device friendly too.

These few points are what you need to know when you want to venture on paid surveys. Remember that nothing comes so easy or so fast without a bit of work, otherwise it can be a scam. So give paid surveys your time and effort for the payment to start rolling in soon!

Ready to Join Survey Panels?

Since it’s crucial to go with the best, use PanelPlace.com to help you find the top survey companies!

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V Posted By Viva Villapena Business Marketing Team
Tagged scam, legit, survey invitations, payment, paid survey sites