Is Doing Online Surveys for Money Safe?

Thinking of Signing Up?

Getting paid to complete surveys online is a great way for many Australians to earn a little cash. If you are on the computer a lot and you like answering simple questions, this can easily enable you to generate a small income - and all for expressing your opinion! Once you have found websites which have regular surveys, it is easy to sign up, after which you can do the work from the comfort of your own home - even your own sofa!

You can expect each survey to take between 2-5 minutes and half an hour to complete, and these will usually pay anything between 50 cents to 5 Australian dollars.

And remember, you won't qualify for all the surveys you apply for, so it's a good idea to sign up with a few companies to get started.

Can I Trust the Online Survey Websites ?

Doing online surveys is safe if you are using trustworthy and legitimate sites, and there are many to choose from. However, when you are deciding which sites to join, you will need to be selective as unfortunately there are also lots of con artists on the net who are running bogus surveys. Many of these companies just want to get their hands on your personal information, and others will look for ways of getting money from you. These scam survey sites will often make promises that they cannot keep, and have been set up to cash in on the current high demand for making money online.

Always ensure that you look for the following warning signs when you are choosing sites to join:

Avoid Sites Which Ask You to Pay

The most obvious survey websites to avoid are ones that ask for money upfront. One of the most common scams involves asking customers to pay a joining fee and then not having any surveys for them to complete. The point of online surveys is that you get paid for each one that you complete. If a company is asking you to pay them money, then it is most likely a scam and should be avoided. There are many legitimate sites available which will offer you surveys without asking for payment from you, so try these instead.

Look for Contact Details

When you are looking at online survey websites, check to see if they have provided contact details. If these are not present, there is a high chance that they are a scam website designed to collect personal information which they may sell on to a third party. Also, if they do have contact details, but do not respond to your emails or phone calls, it is worth avoiding them. Communication is a vital tool, and is essential to build trust between you and the company.

Don't Give Any Personal Financial Information

Avoid sites which ask you for personal financial information such as your Tax File Number or credit card details. Many surveys will ask you for your demographic information as this will help them send you surveys which are relevant to you. However, they will not need your tax file number for this purpose, and will certainly not need your credit card details.

Look for FAQs or Terms and Conditions

FAQs and terms and conditions offer you key information about the online survey website and what to expect if you do decide to sign up with them. Look carefully at the terms and conditions and make sure you understand how the payment process works and who to contact for help should there be any problems. If an online survey website does not have this information available, then there is a possibility that it is a scam. Even if they are a legitimate company, the fact that they have not included this vital information should give you enough reason to avoid them.

Do Your Research!

It is always worth using your search engine to find information about the website. This will show you reviews from other users in blogs or advice websites, and will highlight any bad feedback or scams. You can also check the registration of the site by using AusRegistry.com.au which provides you with information about domain names. All you need to do is type the URL of the paid survey website into the search box provided. If it is registered anonymously, then it may be that the website is a scam and should therefore be avoided.

Beware of Websites which Claim you can Earn Hundreds of Dollars Per Month

The websites which promise large amounts of cash for completing surveys are highly likely to be making false claims and should certainly be avoided. On average, you can expect to earn between 2 and 5 Australian dollars per survey. Many genuine sites will in fact give you reward points for each completed survey which can then be redeemed for vouchers or cash once you have reached a specific limit, for example 50 Australian dollars.

In Brief