CHARLOTTE, N.C. — We all get random letters or junk mail in our mailboxes, but one viewer got a specific letter asking to fill out a survey for the greater Charlotte area. They wanted to know if this was a scam.
THE QUESTION:
Stan and Faith D sent WCNC Charlotte a picture of a letter they received in the mail, asking them to fill out a survey giving their opinions about the greater Charlotte area. It also said they can receive up to $2 in gift cards if they fill out the survey.
They wanted to know if it's a scam.
THE ANSWER:
No, this is not a scam.
However, Juliana O'Rork with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) of Southern Piedmont and Western N.C. said to proceed with caution when taking any survey that asks for your personal information.
OUR SOURCES:
WHAT WE FOUND:
WCNC Charlotte looked up the survey, which took us to a website saying recipients have been randomly selected from public lists of registered voters in the Charlotte area.
The site explains that the survey asks for opinions about issues recently covered in the news and considered important to the community.
"It does seem like it's legitimate," O'Rork said.
At the very bottom of the page, the site said the survey company, GCJ Research LLC, is not affiliated with any government entity or political party.
"If you research online, you are not going to see any scams, but you're also not going to find as much information as you would like," O'Rork said. "They are not a national survey company."
When WCNC Charlotte looked up the survey company, we found a website with a description saying, "GCJ Research conducts surveys on a variety of topics, including interests, daily habits, media consumption, and politics."
However, O'Rork said you should proceed with caution when taking this survey because it does ask for a phone number.
"You want to check out the privacy policy to understand what they are doing with that data and that information," O'Rork said.
Contact Meghan Bragg at mbragg@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.
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