
Survey Says – Ehh!
Survey Says – Ehh!
Several years back, a friend of mine received exciting news. He had just won a major award! No, not some lamp shaped like a leg, but a huge amount of money in a major sweepstakes that would set him up in style for a long time to come.
All he had to do was take care of some upfront fees …
OK, I can feel all of you nodding from here. We’re all thinking of the same four-letter word, the one I shared with my friend before he did anything irreversible: “Scam.”
They’re out there. And they flourish on the internet. Lotteries you never entered. Prizes you never heard of. Cool stuff that’s supposedly yours to claim if you just take this quiz, pay this fee, follow this link … you know the drill.
Why am I bringing this up? Because it’s springtime. And every spring, we hear from NextLight customers who just saw a pop-up ad inviting them to take a survey in exchange for prizes – a survey supposedly offered by “Longmont Power.” Or maybe “Longmont Power and Communications Service.” Or even “Longmont Power and Communication NextLight.” Is it from us?
No way. No how.
These sorts of pop-ups are like a Mad Lib – the ad just fills in the name of an internet provider and launches. They have nothing to do with us, and may even have a buried disclaimer saying so. And it’s not uncommon for unsolicited surveys to be identity theft scams, asking for personal information in order to claim your prize.
Do we ever do surveys? Sure. But not like this. We email you to find out how well a NextLight installation went or how satisfied you were with a tech support visit. Neither one of those just pops up randomly on your screen or offers a prize for your participation. We’re your neighbor, not your door-to-door solicitor.
Be aware. Be careful. And be ready to call us if you’re truly not sure whether a message came from us or not; our customer service team at 303-774-4494 will be glad to help you sort it out. You can also contact the Federal Trade Commission if you want to make a complaint about an online scam (and if you think your identity’s been compromised, it’s a good idea to check your credit report with one of the three major credit bureaus).
A little common sense can win a lot of peace of mind. And that’s the real prize.
No fee required.