In 2025, U.S. researchers learned that Op4G, a company that had conducted online surveys for scientific and commercial projects for more than a decade, had been accused of large-scale fraud. According to press release from the U.S. Department of Justice, between 2014 and 2023, the company sold clients fabricated survey results, mixing genuine responses with data generated by fake participants. Among those affected were universities, hospitals, and research institutions across the United States.

The consequences for researchers were particularly serious. Scientists at several U.S. institutions had to review previously published studies and manuscripts, with some requiring corrections or retractions. One researcher at Northwestern University, who had used Op4G data in an NIH-supported project, abandoned the results and collected and analyzed the data again. In another case, a journal retracted a study after the authors lost confidence in the reliability of its findings.

According to prosecutors, the scheme involved employees, their relatives, and fake participants from several countries completing surveys. In 2018, part of the operation was moved to another company, Slice MR. The scheme began to unravel after an internal whistleblower came forward. The case is another reminder of how critical it is for researchers to verify the origin and quality of research data: even results obtained through an apparently reliable external provider can ultimately put years of scientific work into question.
 

Source https://retractionwatch.com/2026/08/06/op4g-market-research-indictment-fake-data/

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