Is That Survey Site or Online Job Legit? 6 Checks Before You Sign Up
No affiliate links: this guide doesn’t earn us anything. Every check below is based on official advice from consumer-protection agencies in the US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
Real survey sites and online jobs exist, and so do convincing fakes. These six checks take a few minutes and catch most of them.
1. Did they contact you first?
Be wary of any job that arrives out of the blue. The FTC’s advice is to “ignore generic and unexpected texts or WhatsApp messages about jobs. Real employers will never contact you that way.” Scamwatch in Australia and NCSC New Zealand give the same warning about recruiters who contact you unprompted or prefer WhatsApp or Telegram.
2. Are you being asked to pay?
This is the clearest sign of all. “Honest employers will never ask you to pay to get a job,” says the FTC. The same goes for fees for training, “starter kits,” upgrades, or unlocking your earnings. In the UK, the government has warned about fake recruiters charging for “DBS checks.” Legitimate survey sites don’t charge you to join or cash out either. Toluna, for example, says you “will never be asked to pay.”
3. Is the “work” liking, rating or boosting things?
If the job is to like videos, rate products or “boost” apps for commission, it’s almost certainly a task scam. The FTC says: “Don’t trust anyone who says they’ll pay you to rate or like things online. That’s illegal and no honest company will do it.” These scams often pay a small real amount first, then ask you to deposit money, usually cryptocurrency, to reach the next “level.” Our guide to clicker jobs explains how they work step by step.
4. Can you find the company?
The FTC suggests searching for the company’s name plus the words “scam,” “review” or “complaint.” Then check that the business actually exists:
| Country | Where to check a business |
|---|---|
| United States | Your state consumer protection office, and the Better Business Bureau |
| United Kingdom | Companies House |
| Canada | Corporations Canada search (federal companies) and your provincial registry |
| Australia | ABN Lookup |
| New Zealand | Companies Office |
The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre also warns about recruiters who use a real company’s name while writing from a personal email address. If in doubt, contact the company through the phone number or website you find yourself, not the one in the message.
5. Read the site’s own payout rules
A legitimate survey or testing site publishes its rules: which countries it accepts, how it pays, the minimum cash-out, and whether points expire. Read them before you invest time. Our survey sites by country table sums them up for six well-known sites.
6. Check what personal information they want
Surveys ask about your habits and opinions. They shouldn’t need your bank login, and a stranger shouldn’t need copies of your ID. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre advises against sharing ID documents with unverified contacts. Some legitimate sites label surveys that ask for personal details. Qmee, for example, flags surveys that ask for your name, email or phone number, and lets you turn them off.
If you’ve already paid
Contact your bank or card provider straight away, as the ACCC in Australia advises. Then report it:
| Country | Where to report |
|---|---|
| United States | FTC: ReportFraud.ftc.gov |
| United Kingdom | Report Fraud: reportfraud.police.uk or 0300 123 2040. In Scotland, call Police Scotland on 101. |
| Canada | Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre: Report Cybercrime and Fraud or 1-888-495-8501 |
| Australia | Scamwatch |
| New Zealand | NCSC New Zealand, or Police on 105 |
How we checked
Every check comes from the official sources below, read on September 30, 2026. If a link has moved or something is out of date, tell us at jakemitchell@toptierfind.com.
Sources
- FTC Consumer Advice, How to avoid work-from-home job scams, June 24, 2025
- FTC Consumer Advice, Task scams create the illusion of making money
- Scamwatch (Australia), Jobs and employment scams
- ACCC, Looking to earn extra cash? Don’t lose money to a side hustle scam, January 22, 2024
- Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, Job scams, modified January 16, 2026
- NCSC New Zealand, Résumé for disaster: employment scams and fake jobs, Q3 2025
- GOV.UK, Top tips for jobseekers at risk of “fake DBS check” recruitment scams
- Stop! Think Fraud, Reporting fraud
- Toluna, FAQs
- Qmee, FAQ