Excuse Me, But That's Just TMI!
@Ruby3881 (1963)
Canada
March 31, 2016 7:34pm CST
Do you ever feel that someone or some agency is asking way too much personal information? I felt that way just now, and the feeling was strong enough that I quit the activity at hand, and I closed the tab.
I was taking one of the surveys that can be found in the MyLot offers. At first it just asked for my email address (promising of course, that the site wouldn't actually send any mail - they were just using it as a sort of username.) I was not keen, but as I do have an email I reserve for that sort of thing in case of spam, I entered the addy.
On the second page, the survey wanted my full postal code, my complete birth date, and several other bits of info about my work and marital status. OK, a bit more detail than usual, but maybe it's OK.
Do I have kids in the house, that sort of thing. OK, they're wanting to target the right surveys. No big deal, as it was just yes/no questions with no specifics.... Until I got to the next page!
Now I'm being asked for each child's exact birth date, our household income, and a bunch of other rather specific info. Whoa! This is just getting too personal!
I don't care whether this survey was vetted or not, it's creeping me out! It feels way too much like a phishing scam - or at least some internet marketer's attempt at getting far more personal info than necessary.
So yeah, I closed the tab. I don't care if the survey pays 23 cents or $23,0000. Some things just aren't worth it. My privacy and that of my family are just too precious.
Have you ever walked away from an earning opportunity because it just didn't feel right?
9 people like this
13 responses
@Ruby3881 (1963)
• Canada
1 Apr 16
I like to keep an email account just for such occasions. If I want to send an e-card through a site, sign up for a service I'm not too sure of, or do a survey, I can use that address without worrying too much about the spam. I have really good spam filters on it, too.
@Blondie2222 (28611)
• United States
1 Apr 16
Yup especially survey's that ask for your social like why would they need it ? I don't enter any of that info and i don't do those type of surveys anymore.
1 person likes this
@Ruby3881 (1963)
• Canada
1 Apr 16
Yeah, that's really going too far! I don't think I've ever been asked for anything like that. But birth dates, yeah, I've seen a lot of surveys that ask that or a postal code or phone number.
@allknowing (136457)
• India
1 Apr 16
When these offers first appeared here there were a volley of concerns of the kind you have expressed in your post. Many have stopped filling up those forms. And as for me India is not blessed with attractive offers, any way.
1 person likes this
@allknowing (136457)
• India
1 Apr 16
@Ruby3881 You will have to search for 'needle in the haystack'. Why not anyway if you are going to earn might as well. Good Luck with your search as not all could be survey oriented.
1 person likes this
@Ruby3881 (1963)
• Canada
1 Apr 16
@allknowing I think I will likely stick to posting discussions and interacting, for the most part. I'm not usually one to go for offers, but was wanting to bolster my earnings in the end of the month crunch.
1 person likes this
@Chellezhere (5738)
• United States
30 Apr 16
I stopped doing surveys online because if I am honest and just say that I've had "some college" I am inundated with emails and phone calls about going back to school.Seriously, it's been decades since my college day, so if I was really interested in going back to school, I would have done that by now.
1 person likes this
@Ruby3881 (1963)
• Canada
1 May 16
Yeah, I suppose sometimes people fudge so things like that won't happen....
@maezee (41988)
• United States
1 Apr 16
Ill give up some of my info like income and number of children and zipcode but I dont like any more info than that. I dont trust offers as much because I know most of them sell information to companies. I generally trust the non offer paid survey sites though as they dont get into specifics. But I agree I would probably stop doing the offer as well at that point. Good job.
@akalinus (43196)
• United States
1 Apr 16
Whatever you might earn on that survey is not worth putting your child at risk. They might end up disqualifying you anyway. There is no guarantee that you will get points. I would not do it. If it does not seem right, you should skip it.
1 person likes this
@jillybean1222 (6407)
•
2 Apr 16
Yes, I have had ones that have just felt too prying.
1 person likes this
@Ruby3881 (1963)
• Canada
2 Apr 16
I'm starting to wonder how these survey sites stay afloat! It seems most folks won't participate once the questions become intrusive.
@Morleyhunt (21744)
• Canada
1 Apr 16
I have decided that the surveys in the other opportunities option are too time consuming and then I get 190s of unsolicited offers. No more surveys.
1 person likes this
@Margielynn (693)
• United States
1 Apr 16
OH yes, I have stopped a lot of surveys, not here but other sites. I have unsubscribe to most of them too!
@josie_ (10034)
• Philippines
1 Apr 16
I have done surveys before and did answer those questions you mention. I've never encounter any that ask for my credit card acct, tax acct, or bank acct. if that should ever happen I'll simply end my participation in the survey. I also look up the offer page here in myLot but it was not appealing. I would suggest the owners add CrowdFlower. They are a credible online job outsourcing company.
1 person likes this
@Ruby3881 (1963)
• Canada
1 Apr 16
I like the slide shows I saw. There were some seriously delicious looking desserts in one of them, and another was some cool board games (along the lines of Risk, but a lot I'd never heard of) in another. I do sometimes enjoy the quick surveys - like SurveyMonkey ones that people make for their web sites. But I generally do avoid the big, official ones. I find most ask too many personal details, and I often end up not qualifying anyway. It can be a big waste of time.
I've never dealt with CrowdFlower. It's an appealing name! What are they like, Josie?
@Ruby3881 (1963)
• Canada
1 Apr 16
Exactly. I could see asking for an age range so they can target surveys appropriately, but whey would they possibly need the children's exact birth date??
