Pssst, wanna make an easy $20? Just give all your bank account and personal data over to ConsumerSay, a consumer opinion and behavior tracking firm owned by Lightspeed Research. Jen, who sometimes fills out surveys for freebies and cash, got an email from them offering her $20 for only 5 to 10 minutes of her time. Oh, and all of her financial transaction data.

Basically, the company tracks your spending habits by collecting data directly from your credit card statement. But rest assured, they say, that the data is in good hands:

Registering these accounts simply authorizes secure collection of monthly information from those accounts for research purposes only. Your specific credit card information will be collected through an infrastructure that ensures the highest level of security with a world-class network, data, and physical security system.

So what’s up with this infrastructure? Here’s what they say:

Password and statement data are stored and transmitted in encrypted format at all times. All data is securely housed in the Exodus© Vault™, a revolutionary Internet server hosting space that provides enhanced physical security, fire protection and electronic shielding.

Do any of you security types out there know anything about this? Or is it just a marketing term used by Lightspeed? It’s not going to become self-aware, is it?
 
But back to the original email. Jen adds that she’s pretty skeptical of the offer:

My credit card information. My online financial statements. What the hell?! Even if this is legit, there’s no way.
 
Thought you’d like to know. If this is a scam, I’d like to know, and I’m sure so would some other people. I’m sure the survey site won’t like me sending this, but it’s not like I make anything of value from watching pre-production commercials or telling people how often I buy shampoo.

We don’t think they’re a scam, Jen. We just think they want you to fork over the keys to your past and future financial history for twenty dollars. Pass.
 
ConsumerSay.com

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