Since the emergence of online work at home websites, there have been people who have made money from online work and those who have been scammed. Paid online survey opportunities are no different and receive both negative and positive media attention. Many skeptics question whether or not there is such a thing as a legitimate paid online survey job. With any money making opportunity on the internet, there are companies that are not as honest as others. Luckily, there are very legit companies that pay people just like you to take surveys in the comfort of their own homes.

The thousands of fake companies that you may find while searching for a positive paid online survey opportunity, emerged as a result of those lucrative and legitimate opportunities. Fake websites for online surveys are relatively easy to spot. The fake sites usually have you fill out a form asking your name and email address, and promise to make you well on your way to becoming rich overnight. In reality, the sites are requesting your name and email address and selling them to other companies who will spam offers to your email inbox.

Do not be discouraged, there are legitimate sites that offer you the opportunity to make money online. Generally, these companies have offered online paid surveys for a while and do not spam your email account.

Now that you know it's true, that there is a way to really make money just giving your opinion to someone, your next step is to figure out which survey site will work best for you. There are free sites and paid membership sites. With a membership site you pay so much to obtain an ongoing list of surveys, while you pay nothing with the free sites and the lists are supplied to you immediately.

For the best income potential consider joining a paid membership site due to the fact that survey sites make money when you pay to join. A free site, on the other hand will take a little off of the profit of each survey that they pass along to you. Depending on the amount of surveys that you plan to do, you will have to decide if the one time fees for the membership sites are less then the amounts that will be deducted for the surveys on the free sites.

If you are serious about online paid surveys and are willing to devote a few hours a week to answering questions, you may earn a good bit of extra cash. Keep in mind that usually when joining one of the membership sites you are given a few other ways to make money aside from the surveys. You can choose to partake in all or none of the following: participation in a focus group, phone surveys, movie reviews, and sometimes data entry.

Remember all you need to start earning your extra income from home is a computer with an internet connection and the time to set aside and fill out as many surveys as you can get your hands on.