Anyone who has spent more than a few hours on the Internet will be aware of the dubious “work from home” opportunities that are advertised on thousands of web sites. One of the more popular offers is the chance to take paid online surveys.
There are literally hundreds of online survey companies. They target stay-at-home moms, the unemployed, the elderly, teenagers, and college students. Many of them use unscrupulous methods to entice people, including the two I’ve listed below:
- The cell phone scam. Using this technique, you will be asked for your cell phone number in order to “confirm” your enrollment. A few moments later, the call you receive on your cell phone will end up costing you anywhere from $1.95 to $4.95. These companies usually don’t try to charge you too much, in hopes that you won’t make the effort to reverse the expense. But “small drops make a mighty ocean,” and these small fees really add up for them.
- The phone bill scam. This involves providing your telephone number while signing up for an unethical survey company. A bit later in the process, you agree to an offer for a free issue of a magazine… not noticing the fine print specifies that you are authorizing them to add $12.95 for a one-year subscription to your telephone bill. They assume that you won’t even notice the extra charge on your phone bill, and many people don’t.
These are just a couple of the scams that I have actually encountered while participating in paid online surveys. Taking online surveys can be fun and profitable, but you need to exercise caution when choosing a company to sign up with. Do not give out your cell phone number or social security number. Make sure to read the fine print of any offer that you accept.
If you would like to get paid to take online surveys through a reputable company, I recommend using one of the following: