In response to questions from residents, the Chester County communications director sent out tweets and a Facebook post warning about official-appearing surveys that arrived in the mail but did not come from the county government.
“We understand that many Chesco residents have received a Chester County Opinion Survey sent by Sequoia Research, LLC,” Rebecca Brain, a spokeswoman for the county said in the tweet. “This survey is NOT connected with Chester County government. The @bbb *Better Business Bureau advises ‘extreme caution in completing this & similar surveys’ from this company.”
A spokeswoman for Montgomery County also said these official-looking surveys did not come from the county.
“The surveys were not sent by the county. They were sent by a research firm and are political in nature,” said Kelly Cofrancisco, Montgomery County spokeswoman.
The survey directs recipients to a website where they are asked a variety of general and political questions. At the end they are offered $2 at the end if they will type in their email and consent to further surveys.
Residents in Northampton and Lehigh counties have also received the surveys, according to The Morning Call. A Bucks County spokesman said he had not been contacted about any surveys and the Delaware County spokeswoman said that she has not heard about this from any residents.
A Minnesota BBB warning said this in 2020: “According to information provided by consumers, an entity calling itself “Sequoia Research LLC” is sending a “(name of state) Opinion Survey” letter to residents of various states, directing them to a website with the promise of $5 gift cards after completion of “follow-up” surveys.
‘Sequoia Research’ itself is registered as a corporation in Delaware, and its name is registered as an LLC with the California Secretary of State. It appears Sequoia rents post office boxes to be able to associate a ‘local’ address with each state survey.
“As the site’ privacy policy’ indicates that filling out the survey requires providing personal information such as full name, email, and year of birth — and that this information can be shared with third parties — BBB would advise extreme caution with this and similar survey offers.”
“Understand who the survey is coming from before sharing any personal information. Check the return address and Google it if unsure. According to information provided by consumers, an entity calling itself “Sequoia Research LLC” is sending a “(name of state) Opinion Survey” letter to residents of various states, directing them to a website with the promise of $5 gift cards after completion of “follow-up” surveys.
‘Sequoia Research’ itself is registered as a corporation in Delaware, and its name is registered as an LLC with the California Secretary of State. It appears Sequoia rents post office boxes to be able to associate a ‘local’ address with each state survey. As the site’ privacy policy’ indicates that filling out the survey requires providing personal information such as full name, email, and year of birth — and that this information can be shared with third parties — BBB would advise extreme caution with this and similar survey offers.”
Kelsey Coleman, spokeswoman for the BBB, recommends that people beware of prize offers.
“Political survey companies rarely use prizes, so that is a red flag (especially if they ask you to pay for shipping or taxes in order to claim it),” she said.
“Don’t give out personal or banking information: Political pollsters may ask for information about your vote or political affiliation, and even demographic information such as your age or race, but they don’t need your Social Security number or credit card information. Understand who the survey is coming from before sharing any personal information. Check the return address and Google it if unsure.”
Also, she advised reporting suspicious activity to BBB’s Scam Tracker.
Tracy English, who is listed on the Sequoia survey as the local manager, did not respond to an email asking for comment. The Delaware Valley Journal was not able to locate a website or phone number for Sequoia Research LLC, which filed a San Francisco address with the California Department of State.
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