I recently received an email from Deltagroup Research GmbH concerning
an opportunity to be paid for completing surveys. They state that they
are an "organization for on-line maketing research."  They charge
$29.95 for access to their database.  I am looking to earn some
part-time funds from home.  Is this a legitimate proposal from
Deltagroup or a future major headache & financial loss for me?  I am
not interested in  "tier" type employment. I am a parent in my early 40s and
work full time during the week.

I urge you to use great caution before paying anyone for an Internet
work-at-home scheme.

Please read through this archive of many people's experiences with
online "paid surveys" services:

Acidics: Paid Surveys Online
http://www.acidics.com/archive_paidsurveysonline.htm

It's enough to make your hair curl, if it isn't curled already. This
kind of business is so often a scam that it is difficult to find
anyone (other than the business's own site, and advertisers connected
with such businesses) who will say a good word about it. I speak from
experience. I'm not able to work outside my home because of a chronic
illness. Desperate to generate some income, in the years 1999 and 2000
I spent nearly $500 on various Internet work-at-home programs. My
income in return? Zero. One of the companies apparently sold my credit
card information and private data, causing me an identity theft
nightmare. I joined two "paid online survey" companies. One folded
within days of having received my money, and the other never provided
me any useful information. Please don't let this happen to you.

Here is some excellent advice that I found posted on an online forum:

"I represent the leading journal for the marketing research industry
in the United States and want to clear up some confusion.

Legitimate research firms will sometimes compensate you for your
time/effort for participating in a survey, but you will not make much
money doing survey work.

The compensation is a token of their appreciation for participating
(think of it as a gift). Only participate if you are interested in
giving your opinion -- it is not a way to make any real money.

NEVER EVER pay to participate in surveys/mystery shopping. 

Legitimate marketing research firms do not charge for participation!!
In fact most research firms have no association with "pay"
organizations or Web sites. My company has been listed on these sites,
and I have requested to be removed numerous times and never get a
response.

Additionally, research firms generally find their participants from
customer lists based on the project they are conducting -- not from
the Web sites found online.

So, please do not blame the marketing research industry for the
unscrupulous behavior of others. The vast majority of marketing
research firms are legitimate!

My advice is that you should wait until you are contacted about
participating in a survey or focus group -- don't seek out
participation. A legitimate firm will have specific details about the
project and the compensation if any.

If they just give you vague promises, I would cautious. Only
participate because you want to give your opinion -- the money (if
any) is just a perk."

Voy Forums: Marketing Research Journal says NEVER pay to participate in surveys!!
http://www.voy.com/113109/77.html

Here is domain name information on deltagroup.org:

"Domain ID:D99602762-LROR
 Domain Name:DELTAGROUP.ORG
 Created On:31-Jul-2003 06:13:36 UTC
 Last Updated On:24-Jan-2004 13:41:42 UTC
 Expiration Date:31-Jul-2004 06:13:36 UTC
 Sponsoring Registrar:R39-LROR
 Status:OK
 Registrant ID:DBA81ED13B7331CB
 Registrant Name:Timothy Hill
 Registrant Street1:21 Fulton Street
 Registrant City:Poughkeepsie
 Registrant State/Province:NY
 Registrant Postal Code:12601
 Registrant Country:US
 Registrant Email:info@deltagroup.org
 Admin ID:DBA81ED13B7331CB
 Admin Name:Timothy Hill
 Admin Street1:21 Fulton Street
 Admin City:Poughkeepsie
 Admin State/Province:NY
 Admin Postal Code:12601
 Admin Country:US
 Admin Email:info@deltagroup.org
 Tech ID:DBA81ED13B7331CB
 Tech Name:Timothy Hill
 Tech Street1:21 Fulton Street
 Tech City:Poughkeepsie
 Tech State/Province:NY
 Tech Postal Code:12601
 Tech Country:US
 Tech Email:info@deltagroup.org
 Name Server:DNS1.NAME-SERVICES.COM
 Name Server:DNS2.NAME-SERVICES.COM
 Name Server:DNS3.NAME-SERVICES.COM
 Name Server:DNS4.NAME-SERVICES.COM
 Name Server:DNS5.NAME-SERVICES.COM"

The information above was obtained from this site: 

AllWhoIs
http://www.allwhois.com/

Since Deltagroup is operating out of New York State, I checked the
online records of the Better Business Bureau of New York. Not
surprisingly, Deltagroup is not listed as a member of the Better
Business Bureau. Here you'll find some advice from the BBB on
work-at-home schemes:

Better Business Bureau: Work-At-Home-Schemes Now Peddled On-Line
http://www.bbbhou.org/computers/com_wkathm.html

Some more sensible advice:

"Back in 2000 there were 150 active Get Paid to Do Surveys programs,
because very many regional market-research firms went online. Now
there are 100 Get Paid to Do Surveys programs. As a result of tough
competition even a nation-wide Get Paid to Do Surveys mogul won't send
you more than 2 surveys a month. Consequently you won't be able to
make much money - just some $15 a month or even less."

Acidics: Get Paid to Do Surveys
http://www.acidics.com/get_paid_to_do_surveys.htm

"1. Never, NEVER pay for the chance to work! 

This is the cardinal rule. You should treat working at home just like
you would treat working for an employer at their place of business.

If you were going for a job interview in the 'real world,' how would
you react if the interviewer asked you to pay $50 or $100 to land the
job, for starter materials, or for a 'good faith' payment to make sure
you were serious about the business?

You'd think it was absurd. No legitimate company charges employees a
fee for a job.

Whenever you're asked to pay for the chance at a job, or information
about work-from-home jobs, you know it's a scam."

Scambusters: 10 Tips on Avoiding Home-Based Business/Work-At-Home Scams
http://www.scambusters.org/Scambusters62.html

"Although it's hard to tell with absolute certainty which
opportunities are scams and which are legitimate, there are several
warning signs that can indicate you should proceed with caution. These
include:

...You have to pay a fee just to find out what the oppportunity is
about. Information should be provided to you up-front so that you can
make an informed decision about whether or not you want to pursue the
opportunity."
 
Lil Hangout: Work-At-Home Schemes: How to Identify the Warning Signs
http://www.lilhangout.net/article155.html

Google search strategy:

Google Web Search: "paid" + "surveys" + "fraud"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=paid+surveys+fraud

Google Web Search: "work-at-home schemes" + "surveys"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=%22work-at-home+schemes%22+surveys

I hope this information will be useful in helping you to make your
decision. If anything is unclear, or if a link doesn't work for you,
please request clarification; I'll be glad to offer further assistance
before you rate my answer.

Best wishes,
pinkfreud

Very thorough with resources to back up question.

pinkfreud,
Please help. I am a college student who is normally very bright but
suffered some kind of lapse of judgement and fell for this Deltagroup
thing. I paid 10 bucks. This was recent and I immediately thought,
"WHY did I do that??" Please tell me what I can do to prevent what may
follow!

Dear howdykid,

I'm afraid I can't help you to get your money  back. You may want to
consider it an expense of your education: you've now learned not to
invest in something before you check it out thoroughly. No college
class is likely to teach this lesson nearly as well as the School of
Hard Knocks, to which you've paid ten dollars of tuition.

You're smarter than I was. You caught on fast. I threw away nearly
five hundred bucks before the lesson registered on me.

~pinkfreud