Online Surveys beware!!!!!!!

[DawnM]

The only recent online surveys I have completed lately were from links on THIS BOARD!

It signed me up for some $10 per month astrology text messaging service

I will NOT be filling out any more surveys from anyone asking for it.

Dawn

 

[notsosnowwhite]

Had the same charge and will be doing the same. Luckily ATT removed the charge.

 

[tar heel]

In this kind of case, it's good to actually describe the survey, so we will know to avoid it and it's source. I've done online surveys for years with never a problem. I don't give my cell phone number, though.

 

[walkdmc]

Yikes! Thanks for the heads up.

 

[DawnM]

I don't remember giving my cell phone on any either. I have no idea how this happened or I would tell you.

My cell phone company just told me it was due to an online survey.

 

[notsosnowwhite]

In this kind of case, it's good to actually describe the survey, so we will know to avoid it and it's source. I've done online surveys for years with never a problem. I don't give my cell phone number, though.

You are absolutely right - I don't know which survey specifically, but due to the timing of the charge and through help from AT&T we've deducted it was generated from quick rewards network. I do not give out my cell phone number, but often check mail via phone and take surveys via smart phone. Number could be generated back to companies through participation.

 

[girli565]

You can have AT&T block all 3rd party billing and they'll set up a pin for you to confirm if you ever actually want something. It's a free service.

Could you specify which surveys you took?

 

[Good Morning Dewdrop]

Just to be clear you didn't give out any personal info (name/ phone number/ zip code) and somehow the survey managed to get your number and charge you - I have no clue about smart phones but that is just downright scary!!!!

 

[DawnM]

I honestly don't know which website it was from. It was in Feb. and the only surveys that I have taken were from links on here. There were two of them. I do not remember putting my cell phone number on any of them.

So, I am sorry there is no real clarity. I am just very frustrated that I had to deal with this. The odd thing is that it was mid Feb. for a $9.99 astrological chart text messaging service and I don't read horoscopes nor have I actually received any of these text messages I supposedly paid for.

I just know I will not be doing any more surveys of any kind from folks who want me to take them if I don't know them personally.

Dawn

 

[mel&me]

Just to be clear you didn't give out any personal info (name/ phone number/ zip code) and somehow the survey managed to get your number and charge you - I have no clue about smart phones but that is just downright scary!!!!

Smart phone are so unsecured it is ridicules. Easily hacked, easily copied. I use mine for only what is absolutely needed. Work related. Or angry birds.

 

[pixiewings71]

When I got my girls phones they had numbers that other people had previously had, BOTH had these types of monthly charges on their lines!! I was so upset when I got that first bill and it was so much higher than I expected!! I went straight to the kids and asked what they were doing and they both said they didn't subscribe to anything so I called Verizon, got a CS rep and told them what happened, they looked at the numbers and saw that while my account showed them as new numbers that the charges were actually older than they would have been had my kids signed up for the "service". She deducted the charges and blocked the numbers she saw that would make further charges, she also told me how to stop the charges. Well the following month there were MORE! So I called again, they walked me through stopping the service again and when I said "I did this last month" the guy said "I can see there are some blocked numbers but not these particular ones, do you want me to block ALL numbers/services of this type for you?" Of course I said yes so he did.....no issues since then.

OP glad you got it handled!! I never give my cell number on surveys, if it requires one I just leave the survey.

 

[PebblesMom]

I have had the same problem the last few days. I am going to AT&T to block numbers. I canceled the texts and now I am recieving calls from an unknown number. I have had the same cell number for about 7 years...never had calls from unknown numbers, and now I am getting 4-5 a day. I did talk with one person and told him not to call my number again, I wanted to be off of what ever list I was on and I think they are still calling, but I don't answer when it is unknown.
eta...I never signed up for or recieved any texts either

 

[natenapril]

Had the same charge and will be doing the same. Luckily ATT removed the charge.

I have had the same problem the last few days. I am going to AT&T to block numbers. I canceled the texts and now I am recieving calls from an unknown number. I have had the same cell number for about 7 years...never had calls from unknown numbers, and now I am getting 4-5 a day. I did talk with one person and told him not to call my number again, I wanted to be off of what ever list I was on and I think they are still calling, but I don't answer when it is unknown.
eta...I never signed up for or recieved any texts either

This happened to us too. Luckily, ATT removed the charges. Now we are just dealing with telemarketers calling

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

I don't give out my phone instead I list the phone number to the time and temp recording for our area.

 

[eeyorethegreat]

I also have done surveys for years and never had an issue. If you didn't
give out your # on a survey you may have been hacked some other way.

 

[DawnM]

Is there still a time and temp number? I had no idea.

Dawn

I don't give out my phone instead I list the phone number to the time and temp recording for our area.

 

[CandleontheWater]

Did you actually receive any text messages from the service? I am curious because I have taken quick rewards surveys and I want to make sure that I am not going to be charged too. I haven gotten any strange text messages, but I don't want to be surprised when my bill comes. Bummer, I knew this survey thing was too good to be true

 

[hugApug]

This could happen to anyone - regardless of taking a survey online or not(I'm not even sure that the phone company could actually track the scam back to a survey, or any other source). I had some IQ Factoid scam start charging me $9.99 a month back in January. The rep at AT&T said that these scams are on the rise, and there is little the consumer can do to prevent these charges from auto-authorizing. They seem to be very willing to reverse these charges when you call.

I have an iPhone, so I authorized AT&T to block all phone purchases (this won't block purchases on my itunes account). This seems to be the best solution for iphone users, at least.

 

[QuickRewardsBecky]

I want to weigh in on this officially as a representative of QuickRewards.net.

1. Surveys don't ask for your cell phone number. For ten plus years I've done online surveys not just through QR, but also directly from survey programs including NPDOR, ACOP, SurveySavvy, ClickIQ, IPSOS, J&J, Under One Roof, TestSpin, iThink, Brand Institute, etc. I've never been asked for my cell phone number.

2. When you join QR, you do not have to provide a home or cell phone number. We don't have it on file. We don't even ask for your home address, unless you request a snail-mailed gift card.

Now if you do offers on QR, or on any other rewards program, sometimes they do ask for a cell phone number when you sign up for a freebie or some kind of recurring charge service. Members don't have to participate in these offers, and as someone mentioned, the offer providers have no way of knowing if you're providing your real phone number vs. a local time and temperature number, an old home phone number, etc. Either way, QR doesn't capture your responses at all -- you complete a form and the responses go directly to the offer provider.

We advise members, if they do choose to complete paid offers, to set up an alternate email address though Hotmail or YahooMail to use exclusively for offers because these tend to generate spam, and you don't want to have your primary email account get unwanted marketing emails. We also advise against completing any offer that requires you to download software onto your machines. There's no reward good enough to justify potentially compromising your computer's (and its data's) security.

I'd like to point out that there are many rewards programs besides QR that have paid offers (aka "Offer Walls") including Swagbucks and Superpoints. Here's an example from the Superpoints offer wall:

"Which stock will rise more Today?

Get the 5 hottest daily stock tips before anyone else. You must subscribe to service to receive credits.

Mobile Subscription. Input your mobile number on the web form - a PIN code will be sent to your phone. Enter this PIN# to the web confirmation page."

Two things you'll note here: "subscribe" and they do ask for your cell number.

More than likely, it was an offer like this that generated the charge. Or, it could be as someone suggested, it was just a random spam thing.

Obviously we hate to hear about our members, who we consider family, being taken advantage of, or signing up for a recurring charge offer without reading the fine print. And although I can't speak for other rewards programs' surveys, I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt that QR's surveys are completely safe. No QR survey requested anyone's cellphone number, and QR members aren't required or even asked to provide a phone number for our records when they join. Our survey partners were researched in depth before we partnered with them, and they adhere to strict industry standards of integrity and fair business practices known as ESOMAR and/or CASRO. Most are large multinational panels, and some are publicly traded and have been in business since before the internet.

Let me repeat: QR surveys are completely safe and will NOT request a cell phone number or be in any way responsible for members' cell phones being charged for services.

QR will celebrate 10 years online later this year. We couldn't do it without our loyal members, OR without our partnerships with survey panels that operate according to high standards of integrity.

Thanks for allowing us to respond to these very serious allegations. If anyone has any doubts, follow-up questions, or wants to discuss this one-on-one, I encourage you to contact me directly: becky at quickrewards dot net. I'll even give you MY phone number to call if you want to talk about it by phone. Otherwise, I hope to see you among the ranks of thousands of happy survey takers at QuickRewards.net... including myself!

 

[DawnM]

I have never done quick rewards, so for me, this was not the issue either.

I do get random text messages occasionally but I have never clicked on any of the links.

Dawn