Many survey takers are ringing the bell that numerous survey scams are trying to compromise the quality services of the legit paid survey sites. Whereas experienced survey takers cannot be beguiled by the pyramid sites that emerge every day, the newbie survey takers may well fall victims of the scam artists in Paid Online Surveys. How can you protect yourself from the illegitimate survey sites?

Dear survey newbie, beware of sites that ask you to pay to access a paid survey database. You should read the privacy policy and terms of service of the survey sites you want to subscribe to. It is very likely that these same survey sites will appear in survey site indexes that are obtainable for free. It's always better to choose a free survey site, rather than pay anything before you've actually started earning. Some legitimate paid survey companies require membership fees as a sign of exclusiveness and means of ensuring quality, reliable subscribers. However, most scams have mimicked this trend and have ripped off many naïve survey takers by charging alleged membership and vanishing into oblivion after cheating enough survey takers.

It is highly important to sign up for more than a few survey companies in order to make meaningful earnings. Having multiple sources of paid survey invitations is equivalent to having more than one income channel. Most survey sites offer a limited one-digit number of Online Surveys on a monthly basis. Expanding your free-time earnings necessitates that you take as many surveys as you can. Subscribing to more survey sites makes perfect sense, as you'll get a constant stream of surveys, and thus, more constant income. But how can you tell which sites to trust?

The legitimate paid survey sites will never ask you for credit card information. They will also seldom require any upfront investment from you in the form of paying for information, booklets, tuition, certification or any other materials. Even though some legitimate survey sites also charge fees to finance their expansion and web maintenance, most rely on funds from their advertising partners, rather than their members.

It is also my opinion that the legitimate survey sites should not require membership fees, as it's more logical and loyal to customers to let them make earnings for free. Paid survey companies are recruiting survey takers, since that helps market research companies prosper and remain competitive. Therefore, it's the vested interest of companies to pay survey takers for the precious consumer feedback, not the other way around. Paid survey takers are the ones that need to be rewarded for their effort and time, and not be required to pay for the opportunity to earn.

Another advice that I often give to my acquaintances who take up Free Paid Surveys is to have limited expectations for their initial paid survey experiences, and be persistent in order to get to the real money-making. Experienced survey takers know that the chances of getting more, highly-paid, higher quality surveys comes as survey takers show availability and reliability. Once a company has identified you as a responsive and responsible survey taker, you stand the chance of getting more surveys that also pay above the average fee. Legitimate survey sites always recognize and appreciate their faithful and loyal survey takers, and reward them for their persistence and quality customer feedback.