How to Avoid Scams

All the sites I recommend on this blog are legitimate so you should join those first. However, if you are still looking for more sites to join, these are some guidelines to follow with each site you come across.

• Never pay to join either a survey panel or a site that promises to give you access to a list of survey panels. Basically, just never agree to pay anything.
• Still, even if you're not paying for surveys, that doesn't mean sites are necessarily legit. They can still scam you out of your time and information (so they can spam you). They can also unfairly make money off of you this way, with payments from advertisers.
• Never give out your social security number or credit card information. Although there may be some legitimate sites that ask for this, it's really not worth the risk.
• Always do a quick search on Google of any site you are considering. Check forums, reviews, and general reactions. This does not include testimonials or advertisements, which are probably posted by the company itself.
• Make sure the company lists legitimate contact information. They should have at least an address and phone number listed.
• I know it's cliche but if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Use your logic. Payment should be within the same range as other sites, not ridiculously higher. Also, don't trust sites that say something like, "Make $100 a day!"
• While GPT sites will often pay you a bonus just for signing up, this is unusual for survey panels. If they do give a bonus, it should be relatively low (ie: anything more than $5, and that's pushing it, is probably a scam).
• If you have any doubts, read the FAQ, Terms and Conditions, Policies, etc. Make sure everything sounds legit and they are not contradicting themselves.
• If you are still unsure about a site after all of this, contact me. I will do my best to assist you and tell you everything I know about it :)

Note: Please, if you have ever been scammed by any paid survey, GPT, or other method of making money online, let me know through the contact form. I will look into it and post it in the Scam Alert section (with credit to you if you would like). You'll be doing a great favor to others by spreading the word so others won't end up victims as well.