(Update 12/5/21: Reposting)
A lot of people complain about Swagbucks and Topcashback deactivating their accounts. Even worse, they end up losing whatever money they had stored up there. I used to hear this complaint often regarding Topcashback, and have recently been hearing it regarding Swagbucks.
From what I gather, the trigger to this issue is usually opening a new account and immediately taking part in a money-back offer. These are offers where you get a set amount of money after doing a certain activity, and they are limited to be done once per account.
The portals are concerned that someone is opening up multiple accounts to do the deal on each one which is against their rules. I don’t know why some people get flagged and others don’t. It could have to do with IP addresses, name similarities, and other factors.
Best Practices
The best way to deal with this issue is to season your account. Don’t do a money-back offer on your first day after signing up. On Swagbucks you can spend a week doing a a few internet searches and other stuff. On both Topcashback and Swagbucks you can try using their shopping portal for a small purchase.
Even just letting the account sit for a few days or a week might help this issue as it won’t look like you opened the account solely for that offer. Some of these money-makers we post on Swagbucks last a few days or longer. Try waiting a few days, even at the risk of missing out on the deal.
I can’t give clear guidance on how long to wait or how much other activity to do before taking part a moneymaker deal, but do what you can and hope for the best. We’ll link to this post in future Swagbucks moneymaker deals as a warning and explanation.
Another thing it might be worth avoiding logging into the account internationally, particularly in the case of Swagbucks. Since the accounts are only for US users, they might misconstrue you as an international user. Even when in USA, don’t use a VPN.
If you got an account closed down:
- Try contacting them to see if you can clear it up with them. Mention that you don’t have another account with them. With Topcashback, maybe mention their Fair Play Policy for good measure.
- Try opening another account sometime later and season it slowly to see if you can get back in their good graces.
Note, each person can have their own Swagbucks or Topcashback account, and there can be multiple accounts in the same household. BUT each person can only have one account. If your spouse is considering opening a new account, considering doing it early to give it some down time instead of waiting for a deal to jump on. It might also be worth using two separate IP addresses, if possible, to avoid the appearance of impropriety, though technically this should not be necessary.
If you are signing up for either of these portals, you can support Doctorofcredit by using our referral links:
- William’s Swagbucks referral Link and Chuck’s Swagbucks referral Link
- William’s Topcashback referral link and Chuck’s Topcashback referral link
