Paid Surveys: Keeping Yourself Safe

Unfortunately, as anyone who's spent more than an hour or two on a work-at-home forum will tell you, there are a lot of scams out there.

Finding work-at-home opportunities that pay you properly for your time and effort can be extremely difficult, and scammers will take advantage of people's need to try and sign them up for dishonest deals. Ever seen one of those "single mom makes $5000 a week working from home" banner adverts? Then you know the kind of thing I'm talking about.

Of course, they're not always as easy to spot as that, though it would be nice if they were. Most of us are savvy enough to roll our eyes at a banner advert like that, and trash the emails from the Nigerian prince who needs us to cash a check for him. But scams can be more insidious than that, and harder to spot. Not everyone who gets scammed is naïve or gullible: some people have just been taken in by well-disguised deceit.

So what can you do to protect yourself, and how do you recognize a scam?

Well, when it comes to paid surveys I've seen and thankfully dodged most of the common scams, so let me fill you in on the warning signs.

Never ever pay to join a survey site. 

Even if they promise you the most exclusive, high-paying surveys, never pay. Aren't they supposed to be paying you? You wouldn't pay an employer to hire you, would you? So don't pay a survey site to register you.

Survey sites don't make their income through their survey-takers: they make it through the market research companies offering the surveys. There is no reason any legitimate survey site should want your money, and if they ask, avoid them. They are trying to scam you.

Always read the site's privacy policy carefully before registering. 

It's a good idea to use a different email address anyway, just to keep everything organized, but in any case you don't want to join a site who will share your contact details with any third party who asks.

And make sure you're aware of what information you're giving out too: an email address or how many people reside in your home is fine. Your credit card's PIN is not. If you wouldn't give the information to a person on the street filling in a questionnaire, don't give it to someone on the internet.

It's never a bad idea to Google a site before you sign on. 

If the feedback you're hearing for it is overwhelmingly negative then alarm bells should be ringing in your head. There are plenty of sites and forums where people can go to share their opinions and experiences with survey sites, so you shouldn't have any trouble finding people like yourself. Of course you don't have to take other people's words as gospel, but it's worth bearing them in mind.

Unfortunately finding legitimate paid survey sites can be troublesome, and can take time, but once you know what to avoid you're in for an easier time. Above all put your own safety and peace of mind first - no amount of money promised is worth putting yourself into possible danger.