Many, if not most, paid survey offers do not deliver the rewards they promise. There are a number of ways that paid surveys mislead or inconvenience participants. Many of them compile personal information about participants to sell to marketers. Others require people to pay to access a database of survey opportunities that the participants could find on their own for free. Many of these paid survey scams sound like great deals, so it is important for people to be careful and exercise common sense before giving their time or money to any paid survey opportunities.

One of the major ways that paid survey scams make money is by selling the participants' contact information to marketing firms. The marketing firms use that data to send unsolicited mail, emails, and phone calls to the survey participants. These unwanted advertisements can be a nuisance.

Survey databases can cost participants money. Many databases let people have access to lists of paid survey opportunities for a subscription fee. Once people have paid the fee, they discover that many of the surveys listed do not pay, and that nearly all of the listings are available elsewhere for free. Many of these offers seem legitimate because they feature phony testimonials from satisfied users. It is important to read the fine print of these types of offers to see if there are any inconsistencies or contradictions.

Not all paid surveys are scams. Careful participants can find rewarding paid surveys that do give the rewards they promise.