State officials have identified a fake survey scam targeting Kentucky residents, which comes as a text from an unknown contact and offers a $250 reward for completing a qualifying survey.
According to the website stopscams.ky.gov, the text will require you to click a link to access the survey. Never click links, especially from unknown people. Remember: if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
In today’s digital world, a survey pop-up or message claiming “complete this quick questionnaire and get paid!” might seem harmless or even appealing. When you’re promised payment for answering a few questions, the survey may be doing more than just asking your opinion.
It could be:
- Collecting personally identifiable information (name, date of birth, address, Social Security number, banking information) under the appearance of validating or sending your “reward.”
- Getting you to click links that install malware or direct you to phishing websites.
- Using your data for identity theft or spam marketing.
Because legitimate businesses don’t typically pay large amounts for generic survey participation, the moment you see promises like “get paid $50 just for answering 5 questions,” consider it a serious red flag.
Other red flags include:
- The survey claims to be from a well-known brand or chain, but the questions or rewards don’t match what you know about that brand (example: a grocery store asking about jewelry or clothing).
- It’s unclear who is running the survey and why. Real surveys will clearly state the brand, purpose, and how the responses will be used.
- The survey contains typos, bad grammar, and incorrect or mis-used company logos. Scammers often copy branding which leads to errors.
- The survey link looks like it belongs to a brand, but when you hover or check, it actually leads somewhere else (domain name variations, odd URLs).
- The survey urges you to act quickly before you have time to think.
Steps you take include:
- Pause and ask: does the reward seem too good to be true? If yes, stop.
- Check the sender/brand: Look up the company’s official website. Is there any mention of the survey?
- Never give sensitive personal information (SSN, banking details, full date of birth) in a survey unless you absolutely trust the source.
- Delete unsolicited survey emails or messages and report them as spam.
By Tom Latek, Kentucky Today
