A very strange and suspicious survey
By Koalemos
@Asylum (47893)
Manchester, England
June 18, 2016 4:05pm CST
I supplied my mobile phone number to the Passport Office last year when applying online to renew my passport. Yesterday I received a text message from them asking me to visit the provided link and complete a short survey.
I copied the address to my desktop computer and opened the site, which stated that a survey was being conducted in order to improve the service they supply. This seemed rather odd because they only serve one purpose, leaving no real scope for improvements.
The survey asked where I lived and what type of passport I held. Next I was presented with a list of 17 countries and asked which of these I have visited over the past 3 years. The next screen asked me which of those 17 countries I was likely to visit over the next 3 years.
At first I was perplexed because the selection of countries mentioned was far from representative on a global basis. Finally it occurred to me that all the countries stated were predominantly Muslim countries.
I am now quite intrigued as to what the actiual purpose behind this is.
16 people like this
20 responses
@Asylum (47893)
• Manchester, England
19 Jun 16
@JudyEv That would be the obvious thought if a wider selection of countries was involved, but these were all Muslim countries such as Syria, Tunisia, Iran, Iraq and so forth. There was no mention of places such as USA, Canada, Australia, China or Russia etcetera.
1 person likes this
@celticeagle (189927)
• Boise, Idaho
18 Jun 16
In most cases when we receive emails from places we are told to call the company and see if this is legit. I would also wonder if the security department is trying to get a handle on where people are going and get more on top of such things. Maybe they are making an effort to keep a handle on such things.
2 people like this
@celticeagle (189927)
• Boise, Idaho
20 Jun 16
@Asylum ....How weird. Is that Securities way now?
1 person likes this
@ElizabethWallace (12069)
• United States
19 Jun 16
I hope you did not hit send when it dawned on you that this was a little "funny".
1 person likes this
@Asylum (47893)
• Manchester, England
19 Jun 16
@ElizabethWallace I did not use the link but visited the site independently. This is something that I always do so that I know that the link is genuine.
1 person likes this
@ElizabethWallace (12069)
• United States
19 Jun 16
@Asylum I wonder if surveys are really from those who "say" they are the real deal. I avoid any that do not make it through my spam filter. It only lets in authorized addresses.
1 person likes this
@maezee (41985)
• United States
25 Jun 16
That seems strange. I have answered questions on surveys about where I plan on traveling, but usually they give options of all around the world, not just certain muslim countries. Is it a trusted site you were using? Maybe email the administrator...That does sound a little fishy to me.
1 person likes this
@arthurchappell (44941)
• Preston, England
19 Jun 16
unless it was mandatory I wouldn't complete the survey - does seem rather odd
1 person likes this
@Asylum (47893)
• Manchester, England
19 Jun 16
It is extremely rare for me to complete any survey, but I was curious to find out what type of information the Passport Office could possibly be interested in. As you are aware I have made a few trips to Tunisia last year and a vast number of trips to Turkey, which borders Syria. Of course I had no qualms about stating this because it is in anyway.
@BelleStarr (61463)
• United States
19 Jun 16
Well you have just returned from a Muslim Country perhaps that put you on a suspicious list since many would be terrorists have used Turkey as an entrance point to Syria and ISIS.
1 person likes this
@Asylum (47893)
• Manchester, England
20 Jun 16
@BelleStarr It still does not fully explain what value the survey would be because despite my many visits to Turkey and Tunisia I have no affiliation with terrorism.
1 person likes this
@BelleStarr (61463)
• United States
20 Jun 16
@Asylum I think you have your answer.
1 person likes this
@garymarsh6 (24028)
• United Kingdom
20 Jun 16
Hmm a bit odd there. I am not sure I would have completed the survey.
1 person likes this
@missjessicadawn (3286)
• United States
20 Jun 16
It sounds like some sort of scam...
1 person likes this
@Jeanniemaries (8237)
• United States
19 Jun 16
Wow. I guess they want to know who is going to travel to Muslim countries so they can keep an eye on them.
1 person likes this
