One of the most common forms of work from home jobs found on the internet are work from home survey jobs. Some of these jobs sound great, but the most important question to answer is are they legit?
Well, are work from home survey jobs legit? There are, a few legit survey jobs. You just have to know where to look. However, you have probably heard the old saying that if something sounds too good to be true. That perfectly describes the classic survey scams.
You may never find a ‘diamond in the rough” when looking for legitimate survey sites. However, as long as you keep your expectations very modest, there are places to at least pick up some pocket change.
PAYING FOR TRAINING AND THOSE “SPECIAL LISTS”
Some of those deals that really are too good to be true are classic internet scams in which you really do pay something for nothing. For the apparently minimal price of $50 or so you will receive some sort of essentially mythical training and worthless lists of “paid” survey jobs. The fascinating “coursework” that promises untold riches from very little effort does indeed enrich someone – unfortunately that person will not be you. They companies which sell lists of surveys or “systems” which allegedly allow you to make a fortune by working only a few hours per week from your computer.
Those people you may see on You Tube videos showing off their fancy cars and beautiful homes are always exaggerated. However, a few people actually do make decent money from the survey industry. But what they make ismoney from you. The less than honest “middlemen” can make a lot from people who think they will get rich from work at home survey jobs.
These “middlemen” may make only $50 per worthless training and lists they sell people, but after thousands of corrupt sales it can become real money. In addition to the money they make from this training, many of these membership sites will provide the exact same lists. This could make you pay for the same information multiple times. The $50 you spent on one list could easily grow to $200 or more if you purchase lists from multiple sites. In addition to making money from you directly for each of these lists, the different companies which seem to be competitors may actually be working together, as they often charge each other referral fees. Each time you give your e-mail address to one site, multiple sites may be getting the same information. Your e-mail may soon be flooded with offers to join many different sites.
THE “FREE” LISTS OF SURVEY COMPANIES
The companies featured on that “free” list of survey companies sometimes provided by those work from home sites are another source of income for them. You didn’t actually think they really did the exhausting research they proudly described as the fruits of thatdifficult research? Survey companies pay to have their sites listed, and (gasp) they pay a premium for a spot near the top. In addition to making money by providing space on their own sites, the addresses you provide that they promise to never, ever, use or sell become very valuable commodities to those helpful survey companies. There is an entire industry dedicated to providing addresses for people trying to market whatever they are selling. Your formerly private e-mail, home addresses and telephone numbers are sold by the survey companies to the list providers. Those list providing companies then sell the information to people trying to market whatever they are selling. It is so difficult to trace where that magic information came from, nobody ever gets caught selling your no-longer-private addresses.
YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION
In addition to paying for some worthless lists or giving out your contact information, the worst online survey companies engage in a type of “phishing” scam. A textbook phishing scam attempts to obtain your sensitive financial information by convincing you to provide it in a fraudulent e-mail that looks like it comes from a legitimate source. The survey list scammers accomplish the same thing by offering to directly deposit your earnings into the bank – just provide them with those pesky account numbers. All of your worries will be gone, along with the money you had in the account.
Frequently, the work at home websites which share your information which they promised to keep secret are not committing any actual crimes. Nearly all of these websites contain a tiny little box which you must check before completion. By checking this box, you will have given them permission to allow its “marketing partners” to solicit you. In effect, by checking the box you are essentially allowing them to share the very same information they promised never to share.
WHAT CAN I MAKE IF I SEARCH FOR THE LISTS MYSELF?
If you purchase a website list, you may discover that many of the sites are not even functional. If you search for survey sites yourself, you will save the money you would have wasted by buying list, but the sites you find will usually only pay you a very small amount of money per test, or even worse, just offer you discounts, gift cards, raffles or samples of products. “Points” towards each of these forms of compensation are also another way to reduce the amount you may earn. Another frustrating result comes from websites that promise frequent invitations to surveys, but only provide them rarely. A particularly frustrating problem you will find is surveys that force you to answer numerous questions that almost always take at least several minutes while they determine whether you qualify for the particular survey they have sent you. Frequently, all that happens is you provide these companies with information about yourself while receiving nothing in return.
LEGITIMATE WORK FROM HOME SURVEY JOBS
How, you might legitimately ask, would I find those elusive work from home survey sites that really are legit? Although many sites which claim to be giving you honest lists are really just making money from selling your information to other people, there are a few legitimate places. Always look for a well-established site which gives information on additional income streams. These sites will usually offer suggestions on a variety of possible freelance or home-based work jobs. One of the ways to make some less obviously untrustworthy is see what other advice they offer except surveys. One of the most frequent suggestions for making additional income is by filling out online surveys. They will give you some web addresses of survey sites they say they trust. One of these “advice” sites is https://www.dreamhomebasedwork.com. Although you should be sure to thoroughly research all of the recommended sites before joining, and there will almost certainly be some scams mixed in, the advantage of using established work from home advice sites is they can save you a lot of time finding surveys and may know places to look you might not have considered. There are many similar “advice” sites, but https://www.dreamhomebasedwork.comis one of the better-known ones. These sites will always have a disclaimer saying they cannot guarantee success, and they tell you some affiliate sites may be on the list, but promise not to recommend sites they do not believe can be trusted.
RELATED QUESTIONS
SOME SITES I FOUND LOOK GOOD – HOW DO I KNOW IF THEY ARE HONEST?
The short answer is you cannot be sure until you try them. The best thing to do is avoid certain obvious scam hints. The most important hint is never pay them anything. It is also vitally important to know just how you are to be compensated. Unless it is cash, you are wasting your time.
IS THERE A GOOD WAY TO MAXIMIZE PROFITS?
A few basic suggestions will help you make the best of your survey work. First, set up a separate e-mail that will just be used for survey sites. This will reduce the flood of e-mails that will clutter up your inbox. Also, since the survey sites are free to join, sign up for as many legitimate sites as you can find. Belonging to many survey sites will reduce your frustration that comes from rarely getting surveys you qualify for.