How to stop scammers in the age of AI

Team PFR

18 Sep 2025 — 4 min read

From AI bots to cunning humans, fraudulent participants are on the rise

In the age of intelligence, participant recruitment has never been more complex. The upside is that online sign-ups, global reach, and attractive incentives have made research more diverse and accessible than ever.

The downside is ever-more-sophisticated attempts to infiltrate and compromise research studies.

The result? Fraudulent, duplicate, or unsuitable participants have greater chances of slipping through the cracks, squandering budgets and obliterating stakeholder trust.

Fake is the new normal

Across the industry, recruiters are noticing an increase in fraudulent applications.

This is a particular issue where volume over depth is prioritised, with the aim of building vast participant databases. This model is increasingly vulnerable to bots and fraudulent responses.

And the attack isn’t just machine based. Global economic shocks and the ongoing cost-of-living crisis have driven more people to make fraudulent applications to receive the financial incentives.

So, what can be done?

Why verification really matters

If you’ve ever had suspicious participants slip through, you’ll know the havoc it causes!

Insights are skewed, budgets wasted, and timelines stretch when sessions need to be re-run or samples rebuilt. Ultimately, stakeholder confidence dips when research findings are questioned.

For these reasons, early screening and ongoing verification aren’t a “nice to have”. They’re critical.

Concerns around AI-powered attempts to subvert the research process are well founded, but at People for Research we know our model provides the antidote.

Our “human in the loop” solution

The only thing AI can't fake is human interaction, and that’s what we invest in.

We combine cutting-edge technology with human expertise to ensure that only verified, genuine and engaged participants take part in your studies.

Our multi-layered verification approach

We use six layers of security to protect our clients:

Mobile number verification
We verify every participant’s mobile number at the database sign-up stage. This stops bots from creating fake accounts, prevents duplicate sign-ups under different names and ensures participants can’t use false numbers to appear UK-based when they’re not.
Human to human telephone screening
For moderated studies, all longlisted participants are screened over the phone before being put forward. Our expert Project Managers ask carefully designed screening questions to spot and flush out unsuitable or dishonest participants. Our team receives extensive training to spot the subtle signs of fraud that algorithms can miss.
Caution notes and participant flagging
In the unlikely event that someone makes it through initial checks, we flag every suspicious or unsuitable participant, excluding them from all future research. Any false information triggers a human investigation, and in the extraordinary event someone gets as far as the research stage, we’ll replace them at no cost to you.
Tracking participation history
We monitor participant activity across every project and cap moderated participation at five sessions per person. This keeps your research fresh by avoiding “professional participants.” It also reduces research fatigue, improving the quality and authenticity of responses, ultimately ensuring you hear from a diverse pool of voices.
Document and platform verification
When needed, we go beyond standard screening. Participants may be asked to provide proof of residency, task completion, or platform usage, including usernames for digital studies. This means higher confidence that your participants truly meet the criteria, ensuring validated, credible results, especially for niche or sensitive projects.
Technical safeguards
Finally, we employ sophisticated technical safeguards to protect our website and database from malicious traffic, scammers and bots.

By using a mixture of technical and human power, we catch fraudulent participants before your research project even starts. This means none of your time, money or credibility is wasted in dealing with them later in the research process.

Strong relationships create powerful insights

Our “human in the loop” approach starts with our friendly team, who are passionate about delivering for clients. We genuinely care about the people we work with, and pride ourselves on excellent attention to detail and customer care. This includes actively asking for feedback throughout the project lifecycle and implementing suggested improvements to our processes.

Russell, our Head of Unmoderated, says:

“We don’t just fill quotas, we build trust. Every call, every check, every conversation is about making sure our clients get real people with real stories who genuinely want to take part. There’s nothing more rewarding than helping to deliver research that our clients can rely on. That starts with caring about every single participant we put forward.”

Our promise

With over 25 years’ experience, we’ve moved with an ever-evolving industry and are proud to be one of the leading recruiters of engaged, relevant and genuine participants.

We have the pleasure of working with a wide range of fantastic clients including a global home furnishing brand, leading UK supermarkets, a digital automotive platform, and an innovative appliance technology company.

Every month, we recruit over 1,000 participants through a process that’s rigorous, human-led, and designed to ensure quality and authenticity. People, not machines, are at the heart of what we do. And that’s what enables us to continue delivering relevant, highly qualified participants at pace, with precision and confidence.