Is paid user research legit? How to spot scams

Before a company launches an app or a website, it needs to know if real people understand it. So it pays people to try it and say what they think, on a video call or in a short test they do on their own. That's user research, and companies around the world do it every day.

Because it's real, scammers copy it. They promise easy money for “testing apps”, “rating products” or “doing simple tasks”, then find a way to take your money instead. The good news: the warning signs are easy to spot once you know them.

• You're asked to pay first: a registration fee, a “starter package”, a deposit to unlock your earnings, or a fee to withdraw.
• Someone asks for your mobile money PIN, a password, or a code sent to your phone.
• The pay is too good: hundreds of cedis for a few minutes, or earnings that grow every day.
• You were added to a WhatsApp or Telegram group, or messaged by a stranger, offering “tasks” like liking videos or rating products.
• You're rushed: “Only 2 places left, pay in the next hour.”
• They want you to recruit friends before you can be paid.

One sign is enough. If you see any of these, stop and don't send anything.

A common mobile money scam in Ghana: you get a message that looks like a payment alert, then a call from someone saying they sent you money by mistake and asking you to send it back. Often no money arrived at all, and the message was a normal SMS made to look like your provider.

• Check your balance yourself, by dialling your provider's code or opening their app. Don't trust the message.
• Never send money back to someone who calls you. If a real payment was a mistake, the sender can ask their provider to reverse it.
• Never share a code you receive by SMS. Nobody genuine needs it.

Real research works the other way round: the company pays, and you never do. Here's how it works on myUsersInsight:

• Signing up is free, and you never pay to take part or to get your money.
• Every study shows its reward before you apply, so you know what you'll earn.
• You find and apply to studies inside the app. We don't recruit through WhatsApp or Telegram groups, and we never message strangers offering tasks.
• After your session, the reward goes to the mobile money number on your profile. The research team has a day to report a problem, then our team sends it within 2 working days.
• We only ever send money to you. We never ask you to send any to us.

Rewards are fair pay for your time, not a way to get rich. A short test pays a modest amount. That's normal, and it's a good sign.

To pay you, a research platform needs some details. Some things, nobody genuine needs.

• Fine to share: your name, email, city, age, the devices you use, and the mobile money number you want to be paid on.
• Never share: your mobile money PIN, your passwords, codes sent to your phone, or your bank card details.

On myUsersInsight, research teams see your first name and last initial, the profile details that matter for their study and your screener answers. They never see your password or your mobile money number. If a study's questions ask for a PIN, password or payment details, don't answer, and tell us.

For your safety, we also wait 24 hours before paying a mobile money number that was just added or changed. If someone gets into your account and swaps the number, you have time to notice.

1. Look at the website address. Make sure you're on the real site, not a copy with a slightly different name.
2. Read how payment works before you sign up. It should say clearly when and how you're paid, with no fees.
3. Check who is behind it: an About page with real people, and a way to contact them.
4. Look for a help centre, Terms and a Privacy policy that explain what happens to your data.
5. Search the name with the word “scam” and see what other people say.

Stop, don't send money, and don't share any codes. Then:

• If it's about myUsersInsight, or someone is pretending to be us, tell us from the Contact page at myusersinsight.com/contact.
• Report the scam to Ghana's Cyber Security Authority: call or text 292, free, any time.
• If you've already sent money or shared your PIN, call your mobile money provider straight away and change your PIN.

Being targeted isn't your fault. Scammers are good at what they do, and reporting them helps protect the next person.

1. Never pay to join a study or to get your earnings.
2. Never share your mobile money PIN, passwords or codes sent to your phone.
3. Be careful when the pay is too good, or you're being rushed.
4. Apply to studies inside the platform, not through WhatsApp or Telegram groups.
5. Check your balance yourself before you believe a payment message.
6. Report scams to the Cyber Security Authority on 292.