CT BBB: Snail Mail Survey for Gift Cards

CROMWELL, CT — You get a letter in the mail offering you a gift card to a popular big box store in exchange for filling out a survey. After filling out the survey you’re directed to fill out follow-up surveys in order to receive the gift card. The invitation from Sequoia Research, LLC calls the Connecticut Opinion Survey, "a confidential, nonpartisan survey of people in Connecticut." However, Better Business Bureau investigations dating back to 2020 indicate that this company has sent similar “name of state” opinion surveys in other parts of the country. It appears Sequoia rents post office boxes to be able to associate a local address with each state survey. Sequoia Research is registered as a corporation in Delaware and its name is registered as an LLC with the California Secretary of State.

According to a BBB ScamTracker report, the survey sent to Connecticut residents recently included a personal QR code and encouraged participation by either entering the personal login code provided or by scanning the code with a smart phone. In 2020, BBB of Minnesota posted a consumer warning online advising extreme caution with this and similar surveys noting that the site’s privacy policy indicates that filling out the survey requires providing personal information such as full name, email, and year of birth, and that this information can be shared with third parties.

Better Business Bureau Serving Connecticut reached out to the email address listed for the contact of the Connecticut survey but did not receive a response.

• Remember that scammers conceal their identity. Many scam surveys are very vague about their purpose and who is running them. If you can’t figure out who or where the survey is coming from, don’t take it.

• Do some research. If you aren’t sure about a survey, do an internet search to find out more information. Look for links to the survey on an organization’s official website. You can also do a search using the survey name and the word “scam” to see if there are any reports about it being a fake.

• Do a Google search of the address listed on the survey. Be leery if the address shows the name of another business, a vacant property or parking lot, a USPS P.O. Box, or a FedEx/UPS drop box.

Learn how to avoid phishing scams: https://www.bbb.org/article/news-releases/16758-bbb-tip-phishing-scams

If you have been the victim of this or another scam, make others aware by filing a report on BBB.org/ScamTracker.