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I've received a message from Prolific. Is this legitimate?

How to check whether a message claiming to be from Prolific is genuine, and what to do if it isn't.

Occasionally, Prolific will message you directly through our messaging service. Here's how to check a message is genuinely from us, and what to do if it isn't.

How do I know a message is really from Prolific?

All correspondence sent by Prolific comes from one of these sender IDs:

  • 5bdb32d43d7077000127bccc

  • 601bc7bda43df85b211b2734

  • 5ed6502170d30105170ff525

  • 602b87e03306192c9deea264

  • 67ab6b6f9fb8bc4e7d9654d8

  • 664b12e29e076fd031b9c2fc

  • 668e593793449803e5e22870

  • 66a0b2ec8747ed028402e05f

  • 65c1f9cef3aa724a71c8616c

  • 68519274497fdd597a396265

  • 6852b6f36f2919876a05e96c

  • 68ef8ec2fca7debab90a77bb

  • 664b185a9a8890f5feb201bc

  • 6908fdc1a35d6589116cbef2

  • 6908fe344c8f7388aa4f2150

  • 690cfff6d0ad9828234bf346

  • 6737648577a96cc28696889f

  • 68935559942cb5134fb2287f

  • 614c2da8bd3bdabd4ef2fcde

  • 664b15034d9001c1b12b5a9c

  • 69ca815d8371c897a865e43c

  • 682c502c7b065ddd3edebea

You'll find this ID at the top of the message and in the left side panel, as shown below.

What will Prolific never ask for?

In our communication, we will never:

  • Ask for any login details

  • Ask for identity verification or personal documents

  • Ask for any personal information

  • Ask for verification within a study, verification only happens through your Prolific account and Onfido (an Entrust company)

What do impersonators look like?

Prolific impersonators may:

  • Offer "exclusive study access" in exchange for your login details

  • Offer tools or browser extensions to reserve study spots or alert you to new studies

  • Pose as Prolific employees on Twitter, Telegram, WhatsApp, or unofficial Facebook groups

  • Claim to boost your earnings faster or "guarantee" approvals

  • Claim to specialize in Prolific account recovery

What should I do if a message looks suspicious?

Contact us immediately using the chatbot icon in the bottom right of your screen, and don't reply to the message.

If you've already replied or shared anything sensitive, especially your password, reset it right away:

  1. Go to www.prolific.com

  2. Click "Sign in"

  3. Select "Forgot password?"

  4. Follow the reset instructions

You can also reset it from inside your account, under Preferences.

Important emails to look out for

As well as messages within your Prolific account, we'll occasionally send important emails directly to your inbox. To make sure you don't miss these, add [email protected] to your safe senders list, this keeps our emails out of your spam or junk folder.

For a fuller look at keeping your account secure, including passwords and multi-factor authentication, see Account protection on Prolific.

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