Liar! Liar! Identifying eligibility fraud by applicants in digital health research

Online studies enable researchers to recruit large, diverse samples, but the nature of these studies provides an opportunity for applicants to misrepresent themselves to increase the likelihood of meeting eligibility criteria for a trial, particularly those that provide financial incentives. This study describes rates of fraudulent applications to an online intervention trial of an Internet intervention for insomnia among older adults (ages >= 55). Applicants were recruited using traditional (e.g., flyers, health providers), online (e.g., Craigslist, Internet searches), and social media (e.g., Facebook) recruitment methods. Applicants first submitted an interest form that included identifying information (name, date of birth, address). This data was then queried against a national database (TransUnion's TLOxp) to determine the application's verification status. Applications were determined to be verified (i.e., information from interest form matched TLOxp report), potentially fraudulent (i.e., potential discrepancy in provided information on interest form versus TLOxp report), or fraudulent (i.e., confirmed discrepancy). Of 1766 total interest forms received, 125 (7.08%) were determined to be fraudulent. Enrollment attempts that were fraudulent were detected among 12.22% of applicants who reported learning of the study through online, 7.04% through social media, 4.58% through traditional, and 4.27% through other methods. Researchers conducting online trials should take precautions, as applicants may provide fraudulent information to gain access to their studies. Reviewing all applications and verifying the identities and eligibility of participants is critical to the integrity of online research trials.

Automated summary

Online studies can recruit large and diverse samples, but also present risks of applicants providing fraudulent information to gain eligibility for trials. This study found a percentage of fraudulent applications originating from online sources, highlighting the potential risks in online research trials.