There are few completely fraudulent survey companies on the internet now. Most of what is classified as fraudulent companies now is lead generation companies. A lead generation company is a website that collects your personal information and sells it to marketers who then spam you will email, telephone, and direct mail offers for various products.
Here is a list of things to watch out for when spotting a fraudulent survey company:
1. If a website claims you can make $50+ per survey or $3000 a month doing surveys they are flat out lying to you concerning income potential. Having done surveys for almost ten years now the most I have ever made in one month is $600 and generally make $100 or less per month doing surveys, especially now that I do not do them full time.
2. If a survey offers you a free vacation or expensive products for doing a five minute survey then you can rest assured they are only gathering leads for companies marketing those products to consumers who show the slightest interest in them.
3. If the site looks like a soft-core porn site then it is not legitimate. Legitimate survey companies are professional corporations and will not promote themselves in this manner.
4. If a survey site wants you to sign up with multiple companies then they are most likely not a real site because a survey panel’s most valuable asset is its panelists and they do not share with others.
5. If you cannot find a phone number or legal address, or any other way of contacting the survey company other than by email then this should raise a red flag in your mind. I have been a member of a few sites in the past that only allowed you to contact them by email, but they were very small operations and did not have someone to man the phones at all times. While not an excellent excuse, it is a legitimate excuse.
6. If a website tells you that you can earn big money for referring your friends and family it is probably not a legitimate survey site. Survey panels often offer a small incentive to panel members who refer others but rarely is this over a couple dollars.
7. If the website has numerous grammatical errors then the site is probably a lead generation or fraudulent site. Professional survey panels have professionals who create their websites and content for them who do not make these mistakes.
8. A real survey company will never ask you for your credit card information when signing up. Legitimate survey panels pay you for your opinion not the other way around!