Surveys are a must-have tool in every researcher’s arsenal. This long-standing, popular form of data collection enables marketers to glean valuable insights. While you’d expect your respondents to answer every question to the best of their ability, fraudulent responses are becoming more prevalent. 

Given that surveys are often incentivized with a payout, there will always be toxic tricksters who try to cheat the system for their own gain. One of these types of fraudulent responses that market researchers need to tackle is a phenomenon known as “ghost completes.”  

There are many ways to fight fraudsters, but these poltergeists are crafty and quickly learn to skirt traditional methods. This is where the superheroes pioneering S2S integration come into play. Let’s explore this new standard in market research alongside PureSpectrum, a premier marketplace and sample management platform.  

What are ghost completes? 

Thankfully, ghost completes are easier to define than their elusive namesake. It’s where a user manipulates the survey link to qualify for the incentive without filling it out. No data is collected. This is the primary driver of global sample fraud, which makes up between 15% and 30% of all data collected.  

Impact of survey fraud 

While directly impacting sample providers, the effects of ghost completes haunts the rest of the market research industry. 

PureSpectrum: Ghost completes impact everyone in the market research ecosystem from suppliers to buyers to brands. They reduce conversion impacting buyer reputation and the overall operations that are needed to maintain a healthy insights industry.

Without secure links, sample providers face erratic transaction accounting, leading to issues with respondent payments, buyer payments, and field reporting accuracy. Common problems include large end-of-month reversals of completes, disrupting accounting and planning. Sometimes, if suppliers have already paid respondents, this harms buyer reputations and can drive up costs if not addressed. 

That’s where the heroes who aim to vanquish these specters for the good of the industry come into play.  

Server-to-server (S2S) integration  

A server-to-server (S2S) connection creates a secure, direct link between us (Forsta), the sample providers, and buyers, enabling instant sharing of participants’ survey response statuses. By creating one secure data-sharing pathway, S2S blocks fraudsters from bypassing the system and skipping the survey. Ultimately this benefits market researchers by preventing waste and leakage and reducing research costs.  

In short, S2S enhances data security by adding server-to-server validation between providers and platforms, reducing reliance on secure keys, and stopping potential link manipulation. 

PureSpectrum: S2S ensures a secure transaction process which helps eliminate ghost completes and prevents operational misalignment between buyers and suppliers. A secure connection is crucial for buyers and suppliers when fielding, as it affects their reputation and performance. 

Forsta’s approach to survey fraud  

Forsta has extensive experience with S2S and has fully embraced it. As the market research industry begins to catch up to the benefits of collaboration, we’ve eagerly seized the opportunity to enhance market research for all our clients. 

“S2S brings stakeholders together in a way not currently seen in the industry. By creating a secure connection with the sample provider in Forsta Surveys, it is simple and efficient to safeguard the integrity of data while optimizing resource utilization.” – Kyle Ferguson, CEO of Forsta. 

This is what Forsta’s S2S integration looks like:  

With ghost completes effectively eliminated, market researchers will benefit from a healthy and secure sample flow to their surveys. One of the most attractive benefits is reduced research costs for everyone.  

Panel suppliers will also benefit by avoiding the distribution of incentives for ghost completes. 

If you can create, share, or adopt an S2S integration, do it for the strength of the industry. It’s great for sample providers and ultimately will reduce costs for market researchers. S2S is the best weapon we have against fraudsters right now, so the more people strapping on the scabbard, the better. 

About PureSpectrum: 

PureSpectrum offers a complete end-to-end market research and insights platform, helping insights professionals make decisions more efficiently, and faster than ever before. Awarded MR Supplier of the Year at the 2021 Marketing Research and Insight Excellence Awards, PureSpectrum is recognized for industry-leading data quality. PureSpectrum developed the respondent-level scoring system,  PureScore™, and believes their continued success stems from their talent density and dedication to simplicity and quality.

In the few years since its inception, PureSpectrum has been named one of the Fastest Growing Companies in North America on Deloitte’s Fast 500 since 2020, and ranked for three years in a row on the GRIT Top 50 Most Innovative List and the Inc. 5000 lists.