Paid survey scams and the truth about on line paid surveys will surprise and probably shock you

A very heavily promoted scam is "paid surveys". You must have come across claims such as "Earn $100 per hour filling out simple surveys". How this scam works is that people are asked to pay a fee ranging from $35 to $50 dollars in order to gain access to a list of companies that offer paid surveys.

The surveying companies don't actually charge anyone for taking their surveys, but instead, they pay participants who complete the surveys subject to stated requirements like age, demographic information, your gender etc.

Many of them compile personal information about you to sell to other marketers. Some others require you to pay to access a database of survey opportunities that you could find on your own for free. Many, if not most, paid survey offers do not deliver the rewards they promise, so beware. There are a number of ways that paid surveys inconvenience or mislead participants.

Survey databases can cost you money. Many databases let people have access to lists of paid survey opportunities for a subscription fee which means you get billed on a regular basis for the same amount. As soon as you have paid the fee, you'll probably discover that many of the surveys listed do not pay, and that nearly all of the listings are available elsewhere for no money at all.

Many of these offers seem legitimate because they feature phony testimonials from satisfied users.

A few lucky people will be fortunate to make some ongoing money, but it will never really be much at all, possibly a few hundred dollars a month at best!