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IQ test scams are another old but very popular method of fraud that is actively developing and taking on new forms in 2024. Let’s take a look at how these scammers work.
So, we enter “Take an IQ test” into the search engine and come across headlines like “The most accurate test” or “Recommended test”:
The first page looks very attractive, which immediately inspires trust.
Next, you are asked to complete twenty simple questions that are clearly inferior in complexity to the real test. You’re given only 20 minutes to answer, which adds to the tension and forces you to stay focused – a classic scheme to prevent users from running away early.
After completing the test, you’ll be asked to enter your email address to send the result and even a certificate. But here’s a spoiler: you won’t get anything.
A window appears right there: if you want to know the result, pay for it. The price is symbolic – only $1.99. But the text hints that others would charge a whole lot of money for such a test – $600, and here you have it all for a couple of dollars.
They also promise a certificate with a score of 134 points – simple psychology, because a person feels that he or she has passed the test well and wants to brag about his or her result, even if the certificate is fake.
One user on Pikaboo shared his story: he took an intelligence test, and then he was offered to pay for the result. But after he linked his card, unpredictable debits began without any warning.
This simple cheating scheme is even discussed on women’s forums. One of the participants told how she spent a lot of time taking the test, and at the end she was told that she had to pay 5 euros to get the result.
Given the number of requests per month (as seen in the screenshot) and the small amount of money asked to be paid, one can only imagine how many people have fallen victim to this scam. The scammers specifically write off small amounts so that victims do not go to the police.
You can now come across scammers on Telegram who try to deceive you when you take an IQ test. If you enter the right query in the search for this messenger, you will find a lot of bots:
One of these bots offers to subscribe to three channels to get access to the tests.
After subscribing, you get 25 simple tests.
After passing the tests, the result really appears – it looks like the bot works fine. We tested several similar bots and, surprisingly, all of them work honestly. The cost of the tests is just a subscription.
We also tried to find fraudulent offers in app stores, but we didn’t find anything like that. This leads us to conclude that platforms and messengers are thoroughly testing and preventing fraudsters from penetrating their systems. However, the same cannot be said about fraudulent websites that quickly rise in search engines and occupy top positions.
Be careful, read reviews about the sites you use, and do not link cards to suspicious platforms. Good luck!