Online Paid Surveys - Safety Tips
Tips for avoiding survey scams and fraud. How not to lose money with surveys.
What to do if you are scammed - anti-fraud agencies and sites.
How never to get scammed.

Anti-fraud Resource:
GPTBoycott.Com - Fighting The Get-Paid-To... Scams!

Online Paid Surveys
- Safety Tips

The Lure

It is said that if something sounds to be too good to be true, it is. This is particularly true of some ads about surveys The come-on is so cleverly crafted that you may get the impression that as soon as you have joined, you will be getting survey invitations and making money.

The Reality

But this would hardly happen - at least not as soon as you would like, if at all.

This is because for making money from surveys you have to join a number of survey sites and then get invited for taking part in their surveys. Before that you have to see whether they accept members from your part of the world and if they offer cash rewards or points or entries in raffles for taking part in the surveys.

The Difference Between Survey Sites and Survey Databases

There is a difference between survey sites and survey databases. Survey sites themselves give out surveys and pay you for your participation. On the other hand those sites that sell you survey databases give you a list of survey sites that you can join and possibly make money from them. For this they charge you money.

While all such sites offer you a money-back-guarantee within a certain period, do read the fine print about their terms and conditions.

Should You Go For Survey Database Sites?

True, you can find all the survey sites yourself that you can get from a survey database. But that doesn't mean that you are scammed when you pay for such databases. This is because databases are meant to save time spent on finding survey sites yourself. In this way such databases render a very useful service.

When you pay for the membership of such a site you are paying for the services of the webmaster who has done research and presented it to you ready to use. In fact good sites update their survey lists frequently and provide accurate information. As genuine sites have to maintain their reputation, they follow strict privacy and refund policies. So don't reject all such sites out of hand. But it is upon you to make a due diligence before joining.

Do You Have To Pay To Earn?

Unless you go for a survey database, you don't have to spend anything. Market research or survey sites don't ask you to pay for joining them. Actually a few would give you some bonus just for becoming their member because they want members for their survey panels. This is because survey sites need you as much as you need them, to carry on their business. Click here to see some examples of survey sites.

But remember that even with the best survey sites you are not likely to start making money as soon as you join them. This is because survey sites would invite you when they have some market research assignment with them. Moreover, you may not qualify for every survey invite that you may get because of demographics - age, residence, interests, gender. Keep all this in mind when you approach surveys as a way to make some money.

Spam

Some free-to-join sites may sell your email id to mailing lists. Though you don't lose money with them, your inbox is flooded with unsolicited offers. To guard against this, please read the privacy policy of all the sites that you join.

What To Do Not To Get Scammed

You will be better able to protect yourself if you know about various scams and frauds and how to avoid them. For this, check such sites as BBB, FTC, Scam.com and RipOffReport.com . Another good site for scam check is GPTBoycott.com. Google Answers is yet another resource for information on various subjects including online paid surveys. Here is a link to a thread that you may find informative: http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=448432

If you have been scammed, you can register a complaint with BBB, FTC and Internet Fraud Complaint Center. You may also post your complaints at Scam.com and RipOffReport.com.

Keep This In Mind To Avoid Survey Scams:

You don't have to pay to join any survey site. Period.
You can certainly make extra income on a regular basis from online paid surveys but...
You will not get rich doing online surveys no matter what the hype of the sites trying to sell you lists of survey sites.
All the information that is in these lists is freely available on the internet. This is from where these sites got the information. So can you.
Spend time finding survey sites from internet and then check them before joining. Visit the antifraud sites often to keep yourself current on the latest scams.
If you want to go for a paid database, do due diligence before paying out money.