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A few weeks ago, I got something in the mail from Wisconsin DWD Unemployment Insurance. They said they received my application for unemployment insurance. I was confused, as I have been retired for good for over a year, and am drawing a pension. There is no reason whatsoever that I would want or need unemployment. So I called them, and they escalated me to their fraud department. I repeated to them that I have been retired and I never applied for unemployment. They stated that whoever did this already got some benefits. I was absolutely floored to hear this. They figured something was wrong and flagged it for fraud. They stated they were investigating it. So since someone had my personal information, I went through the steps of someone who was the victim of identity theft. I filed a report through the FTC, the Wisconsin Department of Ag, Trade, and Consumer Protection, put freezes on all three credit bureaus, put alerts on all my accounts, and got LifeLock, the deluxe version, to monitor all my accounts. I felt violated. I have been having minor problems with attempted hacking of some things since I started doing surveys. I really worry that someone got hold of my personal information indirectly from a survey company. I think of all the personal information we give them on a daily basis. Of course, they say look out for your privacy and won’t use your information to sell you anything or sell your information to someone else. But I think they lie and this is exactly what they do. I thought since I have anti virus, anti malware and that on my computer that I would be safe. I guess not. This has made me rethink whether I just will stop doing surveys altogether. I don’t know if it’s worth it for the return I get on investment. I used to think of survey taking as a calculated risk. Now I think it’s a risk, nothing calculated about it. I have enjoyed doing online surveys as a hobby for about six years now. But sometimes hobbies need to be jettisoned. It’s sad, but I have little trust in anything anymore, and have to protect myself. I’m alone, and vulnerable. I just had to vent a little. Thanks for “listening”.

I swear I've gotten the exact same academic virus surveys from a dozen different universities, word for word or nearly so. I'm just thinking of the tax/grant money wasted by having these duplicate studies. Ugh! And how many surveys about cell phone service, streaming services, cable TV, credit cards, etc. are really necessary? And all the ones about mayonnaise? Okay, just kidding about that. Carry on!

I feel where you’re coming from. I find many of these surveys just so boring and mind numbing. With some surveys, I literally start nodding off and have to get up and wake myself up a little. It seems to be the same type of boring surveys - cell phones, video games, COVID-19, over and over and over. There are some where I see the same basic survey with the questions just reworded a little bit. But it’s the same survey. Don’t get me started on the way most of us get treated by survey companies. These survey companies are disrespectful, dishonest, arrogant, stupid, brain dead and totally out of touch. I’m being nice. There are other words I will not use on this site, but have muttered several of them out loud at home. I have nicknames for some of the companies, and I cannot mention those either. Yeah, I have been getting royally annoyed with these companies. I like the idea of taking a break. I don’t need the money. I like to get Amazon gift cards, as I love to shop on Amazon. Otherwise, I use what I get for little things and beer money. It’s not like I expected to get rich doing this. I just wanted something to fill my time and make a little extra. But I have been aggravated, and sometimes feel like I’m wasting my time on this hobby. Yeah, it’s a hobby, but when it stops being fun, that’s when to walk away for awhile. So yeah, good to see I’m not the only one who feels this way.

Sad

I got the same type email after requesting a PayPal option. I logged on and sure enough, the points I redeemed had not been added back to my account. So I email them and get a reply that really just didn't make any sense and sure didn't answer my question or solve the problem. I don't mind a check but am sad this site is starting to show cracks in the foundation.

Coins.

Change

I've been doing surveys for over 25 years & I'm finding it lately that I'll just shut down a survey I've started when I start seeing multiple pages across the grids..I'm not doing those anymore..plus I'm starting to look at the points per survey to see if it's even worth the time to complete..I love doing Pinecone surveys here in Canada..I've been with them for over 10 years & I always get $5 per survey to complete...& they're always interesting...Toluna pisses me off the most...like 2500 points for a 35 min survey which works out to be pennies...Though right now alot of survey sites that I'm on have slowed down the number of surveys due to Covid-19...so here's hoping they get back up to speed & more variety soon

Thank you everyone for your answers. I'm going to start taking breaks. Just one day or two a week. I like the gift cards and the perks, but some of these surveys can be so mind numbing. Good article, Admin. Thank you.

Youth

Heard back from Cornell. Here is the response: Hi again! I've checked in with our web team who is running that particular survey, and they explained the maiden name question was originally included by the client as an intended unique identifier across many web panels (and therefore many participants). They have since removed this question. You should be able to participate now if you would like. Will see how it goes the next time it comes up.

Does anyone ever get survey fatigue? I've been on one panel for almost 12 years and the other one a year. Over the last 5 years I've ixnayed a bunch of them. I like the gift cards, but I'm beginning to think I'm giving my time away too cheaply. Even though I'm semi-retired I find myself on the internet way too much. I know that surveys are no way to get rich, just a few gift cards that help me out once in a while. I'm starting to get really irritable. I don't speed through surveys but I've been x'ng out on a lot of them. Getting no DQ. OR spending 20 minutes and then getting whammed. For example one panel I'm on will pay you like 2.25 for a survey, but when you come down to it, it's only .75 cents as their currency is 3 to 1. Another survey I ixnayed would pay anywhere from 20 points (20 cents) to $1.20 if you're lucky and usually those never worked for me or I DQ right away. I think they're just teaser surveys. Does anyone here ever go on a survey sabbatical? I don't know if I want to quit them for good. But to be honest with everyone if I have to fill one more survey for an insurance company, credit card companies or banks, I think I'm going to pull my hair out. How many times does a large bank or CC company have to survey their clients? How many times is a survey company going to ask me my opinion on Covid-19 or Donald Trump? What's the longest you've been away from surveys? A week, a month, a year? And if I did come back would I even want to? Thoughts anyone....................

Anxiety

Sorry to hear that, Dawn. Were you able to get information regarding what level of your info was used to open the account? The survey info we give out isn't usually enough for hackers to do that with. They are usually stuck sending us spam e-mails with the hopes that we will fall for a phony phishing message from a seemingly legit company. Amazon has a nastily realistic-looking one mimicking it going around that can trick people into giving their log-in info., for example. I don't know if you knew this, but a few years ago, a massive breach occurred where the Social Security numbers of 140,000,000 Americans got stolen. That's most people who are working, or used to. Other breaches have exposed our driver's license numbers, medical records, etc. It's pretty much all out there. Still helps to change passwords, though. And embrace double authentication, or demand it from all data holders. But we should all expect fake accounts to be opened in our names, at some point, even if only a fraction of us ever experience that. I'm happy that you are taking all the right steps, even if that's all you can do for now. I'm skeptical of even LifeLock now; not that they haven't helped or protected people. But they are not perfect, either. I'm lucky so far. Someone in a Dallas hotel room once charged a $4.00 mini-bar soda or bottled water to my old Citicard, but the company dealt with it immediately.

Depression

Homeless

Poverty

Rich

Wealth

Gold

Tellwut says "Safari can't connect" but eventually it works. Now Prolific is showing Error 404 and I can't get to "Studies" page which shows what's available. Maybe it's my Mac acting up or Safari? Anyone else having problems today? (Thursday, 6/18). Thanks.

Had issues with Tellwut yesterday, and Prolific has been a bit on the slow side for me.

I got this on the phone ap yesterday.

Puberty

Adolescence

Childhood

Fountain.

Water

Card

Wage

It can definitely be tedious sometimes. I take a break for a week or two about every 3 months. It helps a lot to get away from them for a time and when you come back you are refreshed. That's me anyways.

Sounds fishy to me too. Why would they need to know that?

Survey

Opinion

I relax and catch up on my tv. I live in an apartment but I have a patio and small space beside it where I do my gardening. I love my plants. It's a great hobby. Keeps me busy and keeps my mind off things. Welcome to the forum.

Yeah, in times like this it's important to know you are not alone. We are ALL in this together.

I think if they are not going to offer it any more they need to delete the page ,I mean I ordered like I always do and saw nothing about it being a problem ,till I got the email .

I sent a message to them via their FB page and got a response from someone that was on a different project. They will get back to me today they said with more info. I asked why that info was requested and let them know that no matter what was entered for that question , the survey ended at that point.

Been doing surveys for 20 years and it can get a bit tedious at times , especially when the same surveys seem to come up daily. COVID-19 ones are especially prevalent in that way. I just push on through.

No!

I have also had that happen to me and your not going to tell me that they will discard your input.

So because I don't need the money to keep my lights on, I shouldn't do surveys? America may not be the right country for you.