Across my 25 years working in AdTech, MarTech, and digital engagement industries, I’ve seen firsthand what happens when incentives outpace protections…fraud moves in fast.

Whether it’s ad impressions that never truly reach a human eye, leads that don’t actually exist, or survey scams, fraud distorts data across channels. And if left unchecked, it erodes trust between buyers and brands, creating a lot of waste in its path.

As fraud has matured in the research space, fraud detection has evolved too. With checks like identity verification, behavioral monitoring, and even AI-powered oversight (a bit meta, isn’t it?)—Dscout is going toe-to-toe with imposters.

We’ve long invested in systems to guard against fraud, fake responses, and low-effort engagement—because when folks rely on human insights to drive decisions, quality isn't optional.

How Dscout protects research

We built Dscout to help researchers, designers, and product teams connect with real people—thoughtful, authentic participants who show up with care.

To ensure that our participants are who they say they are, we weave quality checks into every part of the process:

• Well-designed screeners and video questions that help customers hand-pick participants.
• Built-in checks to detect fraud, bots, and low-effort submissions.
• A vetted panel of Scouts who meet our Scout Experience Standards.
  

Because teams can’t build the right products without hearing from the right people.

Transparency and control, from the start

Every Scout (participants in the Dscout panel) builds a full profile—name, email, photo, demographics, and we use first-party verification to make sure teams know who they’re hearing from.

With Dscout’s Recruit tool, customers can:

• Screen, shortlist, and hand-pick participants.
• See full profiles and videos before inviting anyone.
• Ensure strong alignment and accountability from day one.

They have the control to review and choose each participant to fill their study with real, engaged, participants in their desired market.

Our safeguards in action

Whether customers are launching a mission or wrapping up analysis, our built-in protections are working behind the scenes—and often right up front—to keep data reliable and research safe.

Our multi-layered protections kick in early and stay active:

• Device and behavior checks: Catching suspicious activity like duplicate accounts or GPS inconsistencies.
  
• Effort detection: Surfacing low-effort or AI-generated submissions before they reach the project.
  
• Ongoing monitoring: Reviewing behavior patterns to detect and address fraud quickly.
  

And where automation stops, humans step in for manual moderation.