Under titles such as “Quick Profit,” or “The Easiest Ways to Make Profits,” advertisements for companies specializing in conducting “paid” opinion polls are spread on social media pages and some websites and phone applications, trying to lure their victims – by enticing them to obtain financial incentives and prizes. In kind – to register on the websites of these companies, in exchange for providing information and personal data about the participant and his family, in order to ask him at a later stage to answer other questions, included in questionnaires with vague objectives.
Dealers with these companies confirmed that they were exposed to fraud, pointing out that they registered their personal and family data, according to what they were asked to do, but they did not receive the financial or in-kind compensation that they were promised, while others reported that they registered their personal data and did not receive questionnaires to answer, doubting the corporate identity, and wondering about the fate of their personal information.
Experts specialized in information security warned of the danger these companies pose to individuals’ privacy, as they are inconsistent with the concept of information security in the country, stressing the need to be careful when dealing with unofficial questionnaires, or those not approved by the government or local government, due to the possibility that they may have suspicious purposes, or be The aim is to exploit personal information and data for commercial purposes, without the knowledge of its owners at best.
«Emirates Today» sought to learn closely about the activities of some electronic public opinion polling companies, and the way they work, through a practical experience of registering on one of these sites, and it also tried to communicate with those responsible for them, but it did not receive responses, especially since the only means of communication with them is mail. Email.
“The profit reaches 15 dirhams for one poll.” With this sentence, a website that claims to be affiliated with an international company specializing in public opinion poll research was promoted to attract social media pioneers, citizens and residents of the country, to work with it, through the paid advertising service, explaining that “ All someone wishing to subscribe has to do is click on the link to the page on the company’s website, and start registering.”
The first step of the registration process requires writing the personal data of the subscriber and his family, such as full name, email, postal code, address, date of birth, and other precise details, while other sites request more detailed data about personal identities, jobs, religion, phone numbers, and other questions. Personality.
Once the registration form is completed, the next step appears under the title “Pledge,” in which the company warns against providing any incorrect data about the subscriber’s identity, claiming that it has special means that allow it to verify the accuracy of the data. The warning message states: “The information you provide must be correct, and this is due to the importance we place on selecting honest forum members and honest answers. We have secure tools to detect any incorrect information you may have provided to us, and if this is confirmed, your account will no longer be active, or will be canceled shortly after activation. If you refrain from providing correct information about yourself or your family, your membership will not be accepted.”
In order for the company to ensure that the subscriber’s email is not fake, it sends a link via email to complete the registration process and access the site to complete the last step, which is choosing the type of questionnaires that the subscriber prefers, while recording all information about his academic qualifications and additional detailed data.
What raises suspicion about these companies is the lack of a means of direct communication with their officials or representatives, or even customer service (such as phone numbers or addresses), as the sites concerned with these surveys are united in limiting themselves to e-mail addresses, or a form of an e-mail message sent by anyone who wants to communicate with them. .
Also, the majority of companies market themselves on social media sites as branches of British, American or European companies. Or sometimes to an Arab company, without revealing its identity. While it remains anonymous to subscribers, it obtains all the personal and general data and information it requests.
“Triple trap”
“The more data you provide, the more you earn.” This is how the company tries to entice and attract visitors to its sites, pointing out that the person collaborating with it will receive a smaller number of opinion polls if he leaves the information fields required about him blank, as the company confirms, through the advice, a copy of which was posted on On its website for those wishing to register, it states that “this step is important and worth taking some time to do,” stressing that increasing the amount of demographic information that market research companies receive about subscribers increases the number of opinion polls that are sent to them, and thus increases profit, she said. In an attempt to encourage subscribers to complete personal data.
Emirates Today spoke with people who had experience dealing with these companies to determine their credibility or not. Shaima Samir, who described herself as one of the victims of “fake companies,” said: “I learned about the company through Facebook, where I found an advertisement about the possibility of working from home and earning huge amounts of money monthly without effort, by answering opinion questionnaires in various fields.”
She added: “I did not hesitate to fill out the personal data for myself and my family, but I was surprised that I had to pay a fee to ensure the subscriber’s seriousness to complete the registration, according to the policy of this company, so I paid the fee in the hope of obtaining a job opportunity that suits my personal circumstances. After completing the steps required of me, I waited for me to receive any questionnaire or message from this company, but this did not happen. I was also unable to access any information about the company, its headquarters, or any of its employees, so I became certain that it was just a fake company, the goal of which was to obtain a subscription. What I paid, and my personal data, which I don’t know what it will be used for.”
Amal Ayesh recounts a similar experience: “I was looking for a job opportunity on employment sites, until I received an advertisement in my email about an opportunity to work from home by answering a short questionnaire in exchange for a sum of money,” noting that “the advertisement specified three ways to profit.” The first is to obtain monthly amounts of cash by collecting points that can be exchanged for money, the second is to obtain gift cards, and finally to enter a draw for valuable prizes.”
Ayesh added: “I registered with the company, which sent me about three questionnaires a month on different topics, some of which were social, about lifestyle, markets, or some products, and some of which were personal questions about my preferences and hobbies. The questionnaires did not take much time, so I completed them all and waited.” To receive the promised financial compensation, but that did not happen despite the passage of more than three months. When I contacted her via email to ask about the reasons for this, the response was that there is a minimum number of questionnaires required of me to send me $100, as it is the least amount that can be sent, and they advised me to intensify my activity so that I can collect the amount. Ayesh confirmed that she decided after this letter to stop dealing with the alleged company, and did not send her any new questionnaires, stressing that she had been subjected to a fraud aimed at obtaining personal information.
Electronic profit
Naima Saeed Al Zaabi stated that she sought to cooperate with one of the companies, and as soon as she completed registration and wrote down her data and contact numbers, she received a message containing an electronic link that took her to an inactive page, adding that she tried to communicate with the company, but to no avail. Muhammad Khaled did not learn about opinion poll companies through direct advertisements, but rather reached him through special forums called “Electronic Profit.” He says: “I found an account for a person named Islam. He wrote a long post on the forum about the credibility of a company specializing in opinion polls that he works with, and he talked about how he was able to make huge sums of money through it. The post also contained advice on the necessity of subscribing through what is known as a referral (subscription through a person who is already involved in the company so that both of them can earn more money).
Khaled added: “The purpose of the post was not only to encourage subscription, but to promote the idea of Referral, by convincing his friends to subscribe to increase the chance of profit, and to achieve his goal, he posted a picture of a money transfer receipt for him that he claimed was from the company, which is what motivated me to subscribe, and I also convinced a number of people.” I ask my friends to follow my example, hoping to invest the time we spend online in profit and increase income.
He continued: “I started receiving questionnaires and answering them, and after about five months of work, the company sent me a message stating that I had won six dollars, and that I had to upgrade my membership in exchange for a monthly subscription of six dollars to rent Referral, any other participants working under my account, in order to expand my chances of earning a profit.” More money.”
Khaled confirmed that he realized, after receiving this message, that he had fallen victim to an exploitation attempt that lured him into making a quick profit, while the company’s goal was to obtain monthly memberships and the sums it collects without a real return for subscribers, stressing that “this type of advertising is considered misleading to those looking for a quick profit.” ».
Saeed Al Dhaheri said: “Although the topic is tempting and does not require time, according to what companies announce, I backed out of completing my registration when a company requested very personal information about my family, phone numbers, and e-mail, in addition to requesting detailed information about my job and the nature of the company in which I work.” » Pointing out that he felt the danger of giving all these details without having any information about the company or knowing its headquarters, or even direct contact numbers.
Data traders
Experts and specialists in information security have warned of the danger of random opinion polls that do not rely on the privacy of individuals, as they are inconsistent with the concept of information security in the country, stressing that these companies follow the “phishing” method to trap their victims who hand over their personal and family data and other information without realizing the possibility of using it. For commercial, unknown, or suspicious purposes, without being subjected to any accountability or legal prosecution.
A member of the Federal National Council, who specializes in information technology and security, Saeed Saleh Al-Rumaithi, said that opinion polling companies and institutions are widespread in Western countries, and some of them offer financial compensation to those who actually cooperate with them. Al-Rumaithi said: “There are companies that misuse the information they obtain from their collaborators, especially since this information is two-fold: the first is security in terms of information security, and the other is related to financial and economic transactions, in addition to the fact that it may be a means of determining the location in which the cooperating person lives.” ».
He added: “There is a type of company that collects information for unclear goals, and the danger lies in that most of them do not give privacy to the information they obtain.”
This was supported by the information technology expert, Secretary of the Emirates Intellectual Property Association, Dr. Abdul Rahman Al-Muaini, warning of the repercussions of using the information for illegal purposes.
Al-Muaini said that most companies collect the personal data of their collaborators with the aim of selling them as databases to marketing companies. He added that the companies operate illegally, because any questionnaires conducted within the country must be conducted through official sources or with their prior permission, such as the statistics centers in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Otherwise, these questionnaires are considered illegal, and citizens and residents must not deal with them, regardless of the temptations. .
The security expert at an information security company, Talal Wazani, spoke about what is known as “phishing,” saying that it is a form of social engineering, where the attacker claims to be a trusted person or entity in order to be able to steal people’s private information, for various purposes, most of which are hidden.
Wazzani added: “In their work, these parties rely primarily on the human element, away from interaction and work on hacking accounts and devices, through what is known as social engineering.” It is a term that was defined by information security technician, Hisham Muhammad, as “a type of manipulation and deception of humans with the aim of obtaining data, information, or money that would have remained private, secure, and inaccessible.” Muhammad said, “The person who targets you has certain motives, and therefore any information you provide to anyone cannot be taken lightly, regardless of the temptations, because the losses are often huge.”
Electronic banks and phone applications
Emirates Today followed a number of electronic profit forums and browsed them, and found advertisements from companies explaining the method of transferring money, in an attempt to reassure those wishing to cooperate with them that their procedures are sound.
The account of one of the companies stated that those wishing to cooperate with it must register in an electronic bank (the newspaper keeps its name) and register the required personal and family information.
The activity of these companies was not limited to social networking sites, but rather expanded to include mobile phone applications in order to reach the largest number of subscribers, especially since some of them facilitated registration procedures to entice those who were hesitant to complete the personal data fields that they had been ignoring on the website, whether due to boredom with the steps, Or even the fear of providing detailed data. The alternative was to reach the targets via phones, where the company obtains information about those wishing to cooperate, by simply installing the application on the personal phone.
Talal Wazzani:
“Phishing is a form of social engineering, where an attacker pretends to be trusted so he can steal other people’s private information.”
Hisham Mohamed:
“Whoever targets you has specific motives, and any information you provide to him cannot be underestimated, no matter the temptations, because the losses are often huge.”
Victims:
“Most companies remain anonymous to subscribers, while they obtain all the personal and public data and information they request.”