Jonathan E. of Omaha, NE asks: “How do I know if I will actually be paid or not? How can I tell if a website that promises money is legitimate?”

Well Jon, this is perhaps the most popular question among new-comers to the GPT industry. If you have just heard about this prospect of completing short offers for money, with the potential to gain hundreds (and even thousands) of dollars, you are probably a non-believer. How can a website honestly be trusted with paying you to fill out your name and address on a few forms? Well truth be told, some cannot. However, most of these self-proclaimed GPT (get-paid-to) sites have great reputations and customer service to ensure you get your payments in full.

First things first, how can GPT websites actually give you money for seemingly unrelated offers? What is basically happening here is that the managers of these websites search around the web for different companies willing to pay for new members. By having you, the user, sign up for their services, they provide the referral GPT website with a commission. Some of this commission is then given back to you. In other words, the GPT company is getting paid for having you fill out these offers, they pass some of the profit down to you! The extent to which they do this, however, varies strongly from site to site anywhere from 80% to 30%.

Secondly, once you understand this concept, how do you know when a website is legitimate or not? The general rule of thumb goes as follows: in order to verify a websites legitimacy, first look in their user forums for a section related to “payment proof.” If you can confirm that people are reporting being paid for at least a year standing, then it is generally okay to trust the website. But don’t stop there, you are smarter than that. Either check this blog site or run a google search for “(site name) scam.” If you find several verifiable sources explaining how so-and-so’s website is a rip off, don’t trust that website with your time. It’s as simple as that.

Big communities are for the most part legitimate, while those that are “new” or simply do not have much traffic should not be trusted with your valuable time. Remember, time is an investment. If you choose to use some of your spare time doing offers (I’ve made hundreds personally) then you sacrifice doing other things such as betting on sports, investing in the stock market or mowing your lawn. Be logical and you will know when a website is trying to trick you.

-The Net Fool

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