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How to recognize GPT scams

Updated on March 27, 2010

Everyone likes to earn money online. GPT (Get Paid To) programs are an easy way to do that. You sign up and you get paid to read emails, paid to click, paid to surf, get money for surveys, test products and more, and a small amount of money will be put into your account as a reward. But some GPT’s are scams. They will never pay out and keep all the money advertisers pay them for themselves. Since there are hundreds of GPT programs out there, how do you know which ones are legit and which ones aren’t?

Google the program

Before signing up, do a google search on the program. Type ‘program name’ or ‘program name scams’ into the search engine and see what comes up.  If you find a lot of negative reviews, do not sign up with the GPT.

Check GPT-related forums

There are lots of different forums on GPT’s. Google for a forum and do a topic search on the program. There probably already is thread on it, so carefully read what the forum users say about your program. If you cannot find the answer to the question you are looking for, start a new topic and pose the question to the forum users. Most communities are very helpful!

Check referral and downline sites

The best way to earn money on GPT-sites is if you have a few referrals. It can be quite hard to find these, so several people have set up sites to trade referrals. The basic idea is you earn points by clicking on links and signing up to GPT-programs under other people. With these points you can buy referrals for your own GPT’s.

These sites usually have a rating system for the programs. With http://www.downlinerefs.com/?ref=meika for example, every user can vote on the program. Check out these statistics and decide for yourself whether you want to sign up or not. You can also have a look at how many points people offer for signing up to a program under your name. The best programs will be the most competitive and earn you the most points. Plus, if you are signing up to programs anyway, why not do it through their referral system and earn some points to buy your own referrals. If you sign up through this link, you will be listed as referred by me and I get some points for that, it has absolutely no influence on the points you will earn. I would be very grateful for that.

Send them an email

The last method to test if a program is reliable is to send them an email. Ask them a question. Something about how much they have already paid out to their members, what the pay-out limit is, if your country is eligible for joining, or something else you want to know. If they respond quick and with a satisfactory answer that is a good sign. If they do not reply at all, or you do not like the way they answer, it is probably best to stay away as it might be a scam.

My personal recommendation

Over the past few years I’ve been a member of a lot of GPT programs. Some have paid out and I’ve made some good money. Many more however turned out to be scams and never paid a dime. And sometimes they are good for years, or months, and they just turn into scams. They stop paying out, due to a change of owner, loss of interest by the owner, or another reason. Even if you perform all the above tests, there is no guarantee a program that is good will stay good.

My recommendation at the moment is Neobux as the best Get-Paid-To-Click program. They have been consistent and have been paying out for a few years now and earned me some good money. If you sign up, you could list me as your referral, just type 'mieka' in the referral box. This does not make a difference for you, and will not in any way influence what you earn. It will however give me a little bonus, so would make me very happy. If you do not want to be my referral, simply do not list me as your referral.

I hope I’ve helped you out with this article. Please tell me about your experiences in the comments section!

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