Paid studies › Spot a fake study
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How to spot a fake research study
Paid research is real, and so are the scams that copy it. These are the warning signs that consumer agencies, universities and the platforms themselves describe, with a link for each.
The one rule: real studies pay you. If anyone asks you to pay, to share a password, or to take the conversation off the platform, stop.
Warning signs
- You're asked to pay to join, qualify or "reserve" a spotReal studies pay you; they never charge a sign-up, training, equipment or "refundable" fee. Fake studies have charged $50 "refundable" fees and asked for thousands as an "investment".
Sources: consumer.ftc.gov, unr.edu, canada.ca - A check arrives for more than you're owed, and you're told to send back the differenceThe check is fake. It can look like it cleared and then bounce weeks later, leaving you owing the bank everything you sent on.
Sources: consumer.ftc.gov - You're asked to pay with gift cards, wire transfers or cryptoThose payments are almost impossible to reverse. No legitimate study needs you to buy gift cards or send money.
Sources: consumer.ftc.gov, help.respondent.io - A screener or first message asks for your Social Security number or bank detailsRecruitment and screening shouldn't ask for these. (Some US panels collect a tax ID inside your account for tax forms; that's different from a stranger or a screener asking.)
Sources: consumer.ftc.gov, bbb.org - Someone asks for your password or bank loginNo study needs your login details. "Confirm your account" messages are phishing.
Sources: consumer.ftc.gov - An unexpected text, WhatsApp or Telegram message offers a paid studyLegitimate platforms contact you through the account you signed up for. Don't reply or click.
Sources: consumer.ftc.gov, participant-help.prolific.com - Someone wants to move the conversation or the payment off the platformPlatforms tell participants to keep messages and payments inside their system; once you leave it, their protections no longer apply.
Sources: participant-help.prolific.com, help.respondent.io - Big money for almost no effort, or a tiny fee with a huge "bonus"Easy money with no real screening is a warning sign, though high pay alone isn't proof of a scam: some real clinical trials pay $1,000 or more.
Sources: consumer.ftc.gov, consumer.ftc.gov - A "free" reward that needs your card number for shippingIf it's free, there's nothing to pay. Card details for "shipping" are a way to take your money or data.
Sources: consumer.ftc.gov - The recruiter claims to be a university, agency or platform, but you can't confirm itScammers have posed as universities, a federal research agency and platform staff. Check through the organisation's own website or phone number, not the details in the message.
Sources: unr.edu, consumer.ftc.gov - A web address or sender that is almost, but not quite, rightLook-alike addresses are common. Type the platform's address yourself rather than following a link.
Sources: bbb.org - Pressure to accept now or lose the spotA made-up deadline is meant to stop you checking. Walk away.
Sources: consumer.ftc.gov - You're asked to install unknown software or give someone remote accessThat can put malware on your device or hand over your identity. Real platforms verify you only inside their own sign-up flow.
Sources: participant-help.prolific.com - Small "tasks" that later need you to deposit your own moneyTask scams start with easy jobs, then ask you to pay in to unlock earnings.
Sources: consumer.ftc.gov
Good habits
- Check before you joinSearch the company or study name with "scam" or "review", look up clinical trials on ClinicalTrials.gov, and contact universities through their research office's published details.
Sources: consumer.ftc.gov, irb.utah.edu - Share as little as possibleGive only what a screener actually needs and turn on two-factor sign-in. If you've shared a password, reset it through the official site.
Sources: consumer.ftc.gov - Report it, and act fast if you paidReport to ReportFraud.ftc.gov and the platform, and contact your payment provider straight away if money left your account.
Sources: consumer.ftc.gov, bbb.org
Compiled from the FTC, the BBB, university research offices and platform help centres, checked October 2026. This is general information, not legal advice.