Avoiding Online Paid Surveys Scams

The bottom line is, if the hype for online paid surveys sounds too good to be true, it likely is. That's the safest way to screen out "offers" that hype big rewards for small investments of time or money. Don't be fooled by:

Testimonials - Ropers and shills typically write these for scams, not satisfied customers.

Documented Proof - Some questionable paid survey sites provide checks and other documental replications as "proof." But just because someone made money at least once, doesn't mean that you will. Besides, with today's computer technology, paid survey scams can counterfeit just about any document and make it look authentic.

Guarantees - Don't believe guarantees that promise the Moon. Paid survey sites can't possibly guarantee you much of anything, except that they'll refund your fees if you're not satisfied.

But good luck collecting your refund if it's a paid surveys scam.
The "fine print" at questionable paid survey sites often contradicts much of what their hype implies. (That's how they try to cover themselves legally.) Don't let the hype alone sell you. Read all of the fine print too and ask questions if it's vague or you don't understand it. Think twice about submitting your personal information to any paid surveys site that does not provide a clear privacy policy or arouses your suspicion in any other way. Also read disclaimers, terms, conditions and any other fine print. Avoid sites that don't answer your questions in a satisfactory and timely manner. Be wary of conducting business with sites that list only email or PO box addresses for questions and other matters, as they might be fly-by-night, paid survey scams.

Perform "whois" lookups to reveal if paid survey sites were registered by proxy. If so, be wary of doing business with them too. Site owners might be hiding their contact information behind proxy services, because they're running paid survey scams. Whois lookups will also tell you if different sites were launched by the same owners (unless they were registered by proxy). If so, be wary about that too. Owners might have launched multiple sites to make their "industry" appear to be more legit, dupe you into buying the same list of paid surveys more than once, or both.

Check with the BBB for complaints against specific online paid survey sites and their owners. But, be aware that, just because there are no complaints, it doesn't mean that all who have conducted business with the sites are 100-percent satisfied. It just means that no one has yet complained to the BBB about those specific sites. More about that is below.

Browse scam forums, such as Scam.com and RipOffReport.com, for messages from consumers who think they've been duped by online paid survey scams. But, proceed with caution. Some messages are posted by ropers and shills pretending to "rescue" those who've been duped by paid survey scams or who are looking to avoid it. For example, the "rescuers" might say that all online paid surveys are scams, except for the "wonderful opportunities" they've found. But, what they don't tell you, is they profit from recommending the "wonderful opportunities". Scam-forum moderators typically remove such messages. But, natch, they'll remain posted until the moderators screen them.

The same goes for sites that claim to screen out paid survey scams, or that rate or rank paid survey sites. Be wary if they link to fee-based middleman sites or display ads for same, as they're probably trying to earn commissions and referral fees by duping you. Natch, sites that pay them the most receive the highest ratings or top-most rankings. Some even go so far as to display phony award logos, hokey rating stars and such.

For more information about avoiding scams, see the consumer advice from the FTC and BBB. But, although both have issued general warnings about easy-money schemes, at this writing neither has specifically warned about online paid surveys. That's likely because online paid surveys are a fairly new easy-money scheme at this writing.
Regardless, this writer is willing to bet that it won't be long before the FTC or BBB collect enough complaints to issue specific warnings. According to reputable sources on the Web, local BBB offices have been flooded by complaints against paid surveys sites.

If you've been ripped-off by online paid surveys scams, as indicated you may file complaints with the FTC and BBB. You may also file complaints with the U.S. government's Internet Fraud Complaint Center

Paid Surveys Tips & Articles

Are Online Paid Surveys Legit?
Paid surveys are not new, despite all the hoopla. Marketing research firms have been paying consumers to participate in surveys, focus groups and such for some time. But the Web has granted them a more-efficient way to collect data. So, many now conduct legit, online paid surveys and other types of paid, online marketing research.

Avoiding Online Paid Surveys Scams
The bottom line is, if the hype for online paid surveys sounds too good to be true, it likely is. That's the safest way to screen out "offers" that hype big rewards for small investments of time or money.

Beware of Online Scams for Disaster-Relief Funds
In the wake of the terrorist attack that has become a national tragedy, those who are not directly affected are reaching out to help--possibly even through a mouse click.
Charity Web sites that accept contributions are not new. Unfortunately, neither are attempts to take advantage of people's generosity, online or not.

Australian paid surveys
In Australia paid surveys have become big business. Why are they so popular? They allow people to express themselves and at the same time get paid for what they think. This phenomenon has been fed by growth of the Internet and because participation in online paid surveys means that working at home has gotten easier that ever. These paid surveys allow the Australian to stay home and make and receive their assignments via e-mail or from the site they’ve signed up with. Compensation can come in the form of rewards, discounts and cash.

An online paid survey waiting for you
Surveys are something that companies have used for years, but until recently, have not been found on the internet. The great news for you is that you can earn money completing these surveys. Companies gather information from consumers like you and combine it to figure out what their next move will be in the sales market. They could be giving you a questionnaire to fill out and the best part of all of this is that you will get paid to complete these. Sometimes they will pay you via your credit card or by a check. Make sure to check out the fine print before you complete each survey just in case of fraud.

Make money taking online surveys in your own home
You can earn money at home and at your own pace just by completing surveys that companies are offering. They don't take a lot of time to take and may ask for your honest opinion of a product. Use a search engine to find an online survey and you are on your way. Make sure before you take a survey that they have a page where past customers like yourself have spoken out on how great this survey company is. That will make you feel better in using this type of online survey.

What is the highest paid survey out there?
The highest paid surveys that you can earn money on are usually the focus groups. These types of surveys will take some time to complete because they are done in an online discussion group or by a phone conversation. The topics discussed in some of these groups may not interest you, but the money may just make you interested in completing them. Just think about how easy it would be to get paid for an hour of conversation rather than getting paid minimal money for taking short surveys. It just depends on the amount of time that you have to give on whether you make a lot of money or a little money.

Feature Article: Make the Leap to Home Based Business Success
Copyright &copy Stone Evans, The Home Biz Guy




Before you can have a successful home based business, you must first possess 3 "intangibles." These are things that must come from WITHIN you.

===> Intangible 1 <===

First, you must have a strong WHY.

Why MUST you have a successful home business? What is driving you? What is it that you CAN'T have in your life anymore and/or what is it that you absolutely MUST HAVE now?

For me, I couldn't stand working 12+ hours a day anymore and missing the experience of my children growing up. I also absolutely HAD TO HAVE the freedom of being able to control my life and finances through a little box (laptop computer) that I could carry with me anywhere in the world and not be tied to anyone's time pressures or demands but my own. That was my carrot and my stick. I felt a great pain deep in my gut of missing out on my children's lives and the incredible freedom that succeeding in a home based business would provide for me. I found my why. You MUST find yours.

===> Intangible 2 <===

You must BELIEVE that it is possible.

If you don't believe that it's POSSIBLE for you to have a successful home based business or make your living from home, you won't. It's that simple.

For me, figuring out that it was possible was just a matter of realizing that many other people were ALREADY making great money working from home. If they could do it, I could too. It would just be a matter of figuring out what those people were doing and then adapting it to my situation.

There is no shortage of undeniable PROOF that people (millions of them) are making money working from home. Just get online and do some research and you'll find countless testimonials and stories of REAL PEOPLE making real money on the Internet. Or head to your local bookstore and you'll find the same documented evidence of this fact. Truth is, it's getting easier and easier to make money with your own home based business.

I've always said that "affiliate marketing" (a simple way to make money from home) is the job of the future. In the "old" days, you had to go to a potential employer, apply for the position and hope for the best. Now you can simply go to any company you want, fill out their affiliate application and start work immediately. Affiliates are the new working class. In fact, making money with affiliate programs or making your living on the Internet is WAY MORE than possible. It is pretty much (or will be soon enough) unavoidable now. Affiliate marketing is the "job" of the future that's already here TODAY.

===> Intangible 3 <===

You must be willing to MAKE THE LEAP.

Ready, FIRE, then aim... This is the operating philosophy you MUST adopt to succeed with a home based business.

That's backwards for most people who like to aim before they fire. The fact is that home based business success is a moving target... The only thing constant about it is change. You need to stop analyzing the game and simply jump into it. You can't learn from the outside... You have to be IN THE RING to truly understand it.

The lesson here is that you will never really be READY to start a home based business. You simply have to start one. It's like having children... You're never really ready, but when it happens you adapt and grow. This is what I call "Making the Leap."

The good news is that the cost of failure with having your own home based business is very small. In the "brick and mortar" world you need to evaluate things very carefully before you decide to open up a business. It's almost always necessary to invest thousands of dollars to get an offline business off the ground. However, on the Internet you can often start a successful business for less than $100.

You simply need to get IN THE GAME... Each moment that you stay "out there," you're wasting valuable time that you could be learning and skills necessary to build a successful home based business. In fact, if you're not in the game yet, you're ALREADY behind the times. Make the leap to creating a successful home based business today!

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