Think before you click – how online ads mask millions of subscription traps

Sneaky online tactics are locking people into subscription services they don’t want, need, or use, warns Which?.

Subscription traps consistently dominate reports to the Which? scam sharer tool, while a National Trading Standards survey in October 2025 estimated that more than 20 million UK adults have signed up to a subscription without realising it.

We aren’t talking about Netflix and Spotify here – these are online subscription businesses that typically pay to appear in your social media feeds. You could be offered a ‘free’ trial or asked to pay a modest £1 fee but, in reality, you’ll face outrageous weekly or monthly charges for questionable services. 

Here we take a look at one prominent subscription trap reported to Which? and explore some of the sneakiest tactics at play.

Online personality tests and hidden pricing

In the first three months of the year, Which? received 32 reports about unwanted IQ test subscriptions to our scam sharer tool. Most named MyIQ, a self-described ‘cognitive development platform’, accusing it of setting up recurring card payments without consent, though it strenuously denies allegations that it charges customers without authorisation or deliberately hides pricing information. 

Dennis and Yvonne recently took the MyIQ test after clicking on Facebook adverts, happy to pay a nominal fee for the results. They were outraged when they realised the company had taken two lots of 50p and planned to charge them £29.99 per month, apparently for access to further quizzes that they didn’t want.

Michael tried MyIQ last July and received a welcome email detailing the results. He hadn’t realised it was taking recurring payments until the following February. ‘I noticed a pending payment of £14.99 on my credit card and checked my statements. They actually took 31 payments from my account in nearly seven months, some £464 in total.’ Which? understands that MyIQ offered a temporary payment plan for £14.99 per week, set out in the welcome email Michael received. 

All three were refunded by MyIQ when they complained. But we think this provides a neat example of why it can be so effective to use a ‘fun’ online quiz that might disguise a subscription model.

It promotes the test on Facebook, Bing, Google, Instagram and YouTube to entice curious users from all over the world without clear mention of any recurring fees. When we clicked on a MyIQ advert to complete its test on a mobile phone, we could only find brief details of its monthly fee of £29.99 if we scrolled to the very bottom of the webpage. 

Even sneakier, when we selected the ‘Get My IQ Score Now’ button, this ‘jump link’ instantly shifted us down the page to the payment options, asking for £1 with no mention of further or recurring charges. Crucially, this meant we skimmed right past details MyIQ seemingly didn’t want us to notice – that £1 only covered a seven-day trial and we would be charged £29.99 every month until we cancelled.

We shared a video of this with MyIQ, which said it had ‘identified scope’ to improve how its pricing information is positioned on some mobile device and browser combinations. When we checked again, it had shifted its pricing to a more prominent position.

Dubious reviews compound the problem

A casual glance at online reviews for MyIQ.com on Trustpilot would suggest it’s a reputable business, with a ‘Great’ score of 4.2 at the time of writing, based on 121,007 reviews. A closer look revealed that, while 63% gave it the full five stars, most of the 13% of reviewers who gave it one star had no idea they would be charged every month, and many accused it of being a scam. 

We also spotted Trustpilot reviews for websites that don’t exist – my-iq.com and myiq.co.uk – describing unwanted subscriptions for 'MyIQ' using words like ‘scam’, ‘dishonest’ and ‘disgraceful’. These two profiles have no five-star reviews whatsoever. MyIQ.com told us it has nothing to do with these domains.

MyIQ – or Envest Research, Inc, as it’s known legally – shares a postal address (a commercial mail-forwarding service) and most of the same terms as another IQ test called CerebrumIQ, run by a company called WinTech Digital.

We asked Trustpilot to check MyIQ and associated profiles for fake reviews. It said CerebrumIQ had previously been subject to enforcement action for review manipulation and identified further breaches of its guidelines, resulting in a formal warning to the business. 

It is in ongoing dialogue with MyIQ and said it is ‘not in a position to comment further at this stage’.

MyIQ and WinTech Digital maintain that they do not purchase, fabricate or incentivise reviews in any form. They told us pricing, including recurring subscription details, is clearly displayed on the checkout page before purchase, and subscribers can cancel at any time. CerebrumIQ added that it offers refunds for up to 120 days and has a refund rate below 5%. 

MyIQ.com said: ‘The trial price and recurring subscription terms are presented on the checkout page before purchase and confirmed in the welcome email. Customers can cancel via the welcome email, the online portal, the website FAQs or by emailing help@myiq.com.’

A complex web of ‘advertising partners’ 

While businesses can operate multiple brands and work with marketing partners, affiliates and third-party service providers, we found MyIQ to be less than forthcoming when we pressed it about these connections. 

MyIQ and CerebrumIQ both insist that they operate independently, but this doesn’t ring true. 

Various adverts for MyIQ posted on Meta platforms in late April 2026 named WinTech Digital as a paying advertiser, along with a tech company called Ruby Labs Ltd. WinTech Digital previously paid to promote a ‘love language’ test called LoveStrive on Google Ads in August 2025. The website for LoveStrive listed Envest Research, Inc as its legal name in May 2026, the same as MyIQ. 

WinTech Digital told us that although Ruby Labs was an 'early-stage investor’ in its business and previously provided a marketing budget for CerebrumIQ, both relationships ended in January 2025. 

It didn’t deny the connection to LoveStrive, telling us it has not been actively developed or marketed for more than six months. 

When we pressed it about the ongoing nature of its relationship with MyIQ we were told ‘the terms of that agreement, including its termination provisions, are confidential’. MyIQ said it does not comment on individual commercial relationships, including advertising partners. A cofounder of Ruby Labs declined to answer our questions, telling us only that any statement or response should come from MyIQ.

We noticed that MyIQ removed reference to a Bali-based company called PT Synergy Indonesia Labs from its T&Cs shortly after we contacted it about our concerns. It said this was previously a payment processor for certain users in Indonesia.