In this new era of online research, more and more companies are testing public opinion and basing important business decisions on what they learn from interacting with consumers on the web. Fast, easy online survey technology makes this possible, but it can be a risky proposition. That's because companies are making important decisions on the assumption that the people responding to surveys are who they say they are.
 
Recent real-world experience shows that this is often not the case. In fact, 29 percent of people who join survey panels fail basic fraud tests. Are they real people (and not made-up personas)? Have they joined under aliases? Do they pay attention or just click away on the survey? Even worse, some accepted methods for identifying and discarding fraudulent respondents don't do nearly enough to ensure an accurate, clean and representative sampling on which companies can base decisions with confidence. Published research has found these survey-takers can triple the risk you make the wrong business decision.
 
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