Disclaimer: Getting paid via spam surveys is not a recommended practice in case your account gets frozen by authority. Spam surveys are also dangerous and participating in such surveys can lead to various risks, including privacy breaches, identity theft, or being scammed.
I watched a video from a Youtuber (Kelvin) that spam surveys are paying him. I have received and blocked so many and think it might be fun to try the surveys and have the opportunity to earn 15 SGD as a reward.
Although it seemed suspicious, my curiosity decided for me to click on the provided links in the scam. I did 2x surveys and got SGD 30 so far.
- The WhatApp survey appeared legitimate at first glance, with questions about my shopping habits, experience, and age group. As usual, the numbers start from overseas (i.e. +1 XXX YYYY ZZZZ) and from a WhatsApp business account.
- Ignoring the warning on WhatsApp, I replied to the WhatsApp Business Account with a simple "A B C" and provide my details to get a special code and link to a Telegram "receptionist" or "finance" team.
- Before replying to the account in Telegram, I changed all the settings in my account privacy to only "Nobody" so that they don't get to add me to random groups or channels or call me.
- Giving the Telegram receptionist (with a typical stock Chinese photo) the code from WhatsApp, I just need to answer my age, and occupation again before giving my PayNow number to get paid.
- It became clear that the questions were not the key and instead, the spammer aimed to get you hooked on daily activity that might pay you. I completed the simple survey twice and got PayNow twice to my number from different spammers and stopped there.
- If you are greedy, you will be directed to another Telegram group that has "commission tasks". I saw that some online people tried and did get paid. But knowing myself, I didn't try further as it involved risking money for "commissions" (e.g. paid scammer $55 to get $75).
Even though I don't know the scammers, I will probably keep doing this until scammers stop asking me to do surveys for SGD. I hate scam calls, and watching even Youtube videos of how scammers got caught. It is my pet peeve to see scammers fail for some reason. My country, Singapore, is probably a good playground for scammers as they even end up "investing" SGD 15 to scam people now.
For this scam, it was pretty straightforward and hard to get cheated. The other scams I saw involved
- Installing an unknown Android app (sideloaded via APK) that siphons money from the bank accounts
- Link to phishing websites (e.g. fake bank websites) and being given lots of fake money which the scammer told you to refund them back via Gift Cards (limited now given that convenience stores in SG are not supposed to sell beyond a certain value)
- Link to phishing websites (e.g. fake bank websites) for payment (I saw this via Carousell) and told to log in to the fake bank websites. I didn't enter but supposed they want your OTP code too eventually.
This experience served as a reminder of the importance of staying vigilant online and avoiding spam surveys. It's crucial to verify the legitimacy of surveys and not to disclose personal information unless you trust the source explicitly. Falling for spam surveys can potentially lead to significant consequences, and it's better to err on the side of caution when encountering such offers in the future.
My biggest fear is how AI can mimic our loved ones, creating fake videos and voices about them in distress and creating panic. It is probably a good idea to come up with some secret codes offline, to verify the identity of your loved ones if spam can advance to such a stage.
In "The Age of Surveillance Capitalism", Shoshana Zuboff delves into the pervasive world of surveillance capitalism and its impact on our privacy. With meticulous research and compelling analysis, she explores the implications of our digital lives being monetized and offers thought-provoking solutions to safeguard our autonomy and human rights. As Zuboff aptly states, "We thought that we search Google, but now we understand that Google searches us."
Income reports can be a great source of inspiration and motivation for those looking to start a blog or grow their existing one. They provide a look into the behind-the-scenes of a successful blog and offer insights into what works and what doesn't. Take a closer look at my income report and see what we can learn from it.