The Harris-Decima survey finds 38 per cent of respondents complained of such illegal calls.

Under the Competition Act, telemarketers are obliged to identify their company and disclose the real purpose of the call at the beginning.

Brendan Wycks, executive director of the Marketing and Research Intelligence Association said that any attempt to sell or raise money following a survey request is a scam and added that it really is a serious illegal offence that not very many Canadians are aware is punishable by up to five years in prison.

The penalty is under review and could be increased to 14 years.

Making sales or donation pitches under the guise of a survey is known as “sugging'' for soliciting under the guise of interviewing, or "mugging" for marketing under the guise of interviewing.

The survey indicates that telemarketing survey scams are widespread across Canada.

Provincially, people in Alberta appear to have been hit hardest by the scam, with 44 per cent saying they had received such calls. British Columbians, at 33 per cent, reported the fewest such calls, according to the survey.

A similar study done two years shows the situation has barely improved.

Wycks said that legitimate survey researchers never sell anything or ask for money. Anyone receiving bogus survey calls is urged to immediately report the company's name and, if possible, its phone number to PhoneBusters.