Moore Jessie B, Chieng Amy, Pirner Maddison C, Pajarito Sarah, Vogel Erin A, Bowdring Molly A, Bullard Lauren, Robinson Athena, Prochaska Judith J
Stanford Prevention Research Center, Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, USA.
Woebot Health, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Ann Behav Med. 2025 Jan 4;59(1). doi: 10.1093/abm/kaaf047.
Decentralized clinical trials (DCT), digital survey methodologies, and health monitoring technologies create the potential to reduce study participant burden as well as enhance sample diversity and enrollment pace. However, fraudulent participant activity poses a significant threat to study validity and data integrity.
This study quantifies fraudulent attempts at participation in a DCT of a mobile mental health intervention for problematic substance use and discusses methods to prevent and detect fraudulent activity.
Adults residing in the US reporting problematic substance use were recruited for a fully remote DCT via 2 primary channels: social media advertisements and survey panels. The DCT offered incentives totaling up to $100 for completing assessments over the 12-week study. To prevent and detect fraudulent activity, the research team utilized VPN and proxy detection, checked for duplicate identifiers (e.g., emails, phone numbers, IP Addresses), and compared age and date of birth (DOB) responses across timepoints. Descriptive statistics and group comparisons across the 2 sources of recruitment methodology were utilized to quantify and characterize fraudulent activity.
Of the 2,781 eligible screeners completed, 1,725 (62%) were determined to be fraudulent prior to randomization, detected most commonly by duplicate identifiers (65%) and/or VPN and proxy detection (47%). Of the 258 randomized participants, 51 (20%) were later determined to be fraudulent based upon age and/or DOB mismatch. Notable patterns in fraudulent activity (e.g., 42% of fraudulent screening respondents reported the exact age of 30 years; stylistic formatting of email address accounts) were identified. The fraudulent recruitment rate was higher for social media advertising (85%) than survey panels (26%).
Both social media and survey panel recruitment resulted in high levels of fraudulent activity in a DCT of a mobile mental health intervention. Researchers conducting DCTs and/or online surveys are urged to take several precautions and preventative measures to insulate against fraudulent activity including embedding identity verification procedures in consent processes. Researchers should consider making personal contact with a participant to verify identity as well as remain vigilant for fraudulent activity and its real-time dynamic potential.
NCT04925570.
去中心化临床试验（DCT）、数字调查方法和健康监测技术有可能减轻研究参与者的负担，并提高样本多样性和招募速度。然而，欺诈性参与者行为对研究有效性和数据完整性构成重大威胁。
本研究对参与一项针对物质使用问题的移动心理健康干预DCT的欺诈性尝试进行量化，并讨论预防和检测欺诈活动的方法。
通过两个主要渠道招募居住在美国且报告有物质使用问题的成年人参与一项完全远程的DCT：社交媒体广告和调查小组。该DCT为在为期12周的研究中完成评估提供总计高达100美元的奖励。为了预防和检测欺诈活动，研究团队利用VPN和代理检测，检查重复标识符（如电子邮件、电话号码、IP地址），并比较不同时间点的年龄和出生日期（DOB）回答。利用描述性统计和两种招募方法来源之间的组间比较来量化和描述欺诈活动。
在完成的2781名合格筛选者中，1725名（62%）在随机分组前被确定为欺诈，最常见的检测方式是重复标识符（65%）和/或VPN和代理检测（47%）。在258名随机分组的参与者中，51名（20%）后来基于年龄和/或DOB不匹配被确定为欺诈。识别出了欺诈活动中的显著模式（如42%的欺诈性筛选受访者报告的年龄正好是30岁；电子邮件账户的格式风格）。社交媒体广告的欺诈性招募率（85%）高于调查小组（26%）。
在一项移动心理健康干预的DCT中，社交媒体和调查小组招募都导致了高水平的欺诈活动。敦促进行DCT和/或在线调查的研究人员采取多种预防措施，以防范欺诈活动，包括在同意过程中嵌入身份验证程序。研究人员应考虑与参与者进行个人联系以核实身份，并对欺诈活动及其实时动态可能性保持警惕。
NCT04925570。
