Surveys

Overview

Many people dream about the ability to make easy money from home by taking surveys, participating in focus groups, and testing commercial products and services.
The concept of expressing opinions and providing feedback appeals to a lot of people. They could be about anything from top brands, fashion or food to health, beauty or politics. Getting paid to fill out questionnaires is very appealing!

In real life, very few people (if any at all) make a decent living or get to use this method as an alternative to a standard day job.
It’s important to have realistic expectations with regard to how much money can actually be made through this channel for the time and effort you invest.

However, working with legitimate and reputable companies is a great way to have a part-time online job that supplements your existing income.

Survey sites offer participating users rewards in a variety of forms:

• Money
• Physical merchandise
• Gift cards
• Redeemable points
• Coupons
• Sweepstakes entries
• Donations to charity
• Other types of rewards

Consumer Tips: How to Avoid Frustrating Paid Survey Scams Online

Just like any other sector that involves people and money that switches hands, the paid market research industry also has its fair share of scammers, fraudsters, and cybercriminals that operate online and look for potential victims.

Scammers use a variety of illegal and unethical ways to trick potential victims.
Questionable or scam survey websites require a sign-up fee, do not disclose enough details regarding how users are compensated, have an unachievable minimum payment threshold, or secretly sell their users’ personal information to shady third parties.

In addition, fraudsters use spam filled with false promises of “earning huge amounts of money for very little effort”, in order to lure people to pay “access fees” to their scam site.

Taking the following steps will help you to find credible and reliable companies to work with in a safe, secure, and satisfactory way:

Understand What You’re Getting in Return

Some sites offer actual money, while others offer alternative rewards that may come in the form of gift cards, prizes, or other incentives.
Before joining a certain program, be sure to clearly understand how you will be compensated for your hard work.

Is the Cash Value for Each Survey Disclosed?

Before signing up with a company, verify that it publishes how much money is paid for each survey before choosing whether to take it or not.

Work with Survey Companies Directly

Avoid third-party, middleman-style “pay to join” websites that charge membership fees for information about market research firms that can easily be found by searching Google – for free.
Never pay for the right to participate in a paid survey program.

Read The Privacy Policy

Always make sure a survey company that you consider registering with has a privacy policy which does not contain clauses that might be used to violate your privacy at some point.
Otherwise, your sensitive personal information could be at risk.

Investigate the Survey Company’s BBB Record

Check the company’s record on the Better Business Bureau’s website.
This information will help you evaluate whether it’s a legitimate business that deserves your money and trust or if you need to look elsewhere.

Look for current BBB rating, customer reviews, complaints, warnings and alerts on their business profile.
In addition, learn how long it has been in business – a potential indicator of experience and reputation.

If the business is not even listed with the BBB, this is a very bad sign.
On the other hand, if the survey company is certified as a BBB Accredited Business, it’s an important positive signal.

Pay Close Attention to Red Flags

Learn how to better protect yourself when ordering goods and services on the internet. This will help you to avoid scammers and keep safe in general.
Knowing how to check if a website is legitimate or not is the first line of defense.