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Let’s be honest, when we hear stories about falling for e-mail lottery schemes or phone call frauds, most of us shake our heads in disbelief at how gullible some people can be. But the truth is that not a single one of us is immune to being tricked, no matter how smart or savvy we may be. After all, our daily lives are full of seemingly innocent services and products that are just sneaky ways of luring us with promises and scamming us for every penny they can.

Thankfully, Redditor Doctor_Engineer recently decided to arm us with knowledge about the biggest gambits we should look out for. They reached out to fellow members of 'Ask Reddit' with a short but interesting question: "What is 100% a scam?" Needless to say, the thread immediately became a hit.

From questionable "free" seminars to multilevel marketing companies to malicious phishing tactics, people wasted no time in reminding us that we should never let our guard down. We at Bored Panda scoured the thread and gathered some of the most memorable responses to share with you all. So continue scrolling, upvote your favorite ones, and be sure to share your own takes about the big fat frauds that need to be exposed below in the comments.

Click here & follow us for more lists, facts, and stories.

#1

Scientology

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    #2

    A collection of old and new mobile phones illustrating common tech items that many people realize are 100% scams. Planned obsolescence

    User Report

    #3

    Set of essential oil bottles with labels like Peace, Motivate, and Passion, often considered a scam by many users. Essential oils, and anything claiming to "detox" you, like you don't already have a liver.

    jinkies3678 , Magda Ehlers Report

    Let’s be honest, when we hear stories about falling for e-mail lottery schemes or phone call frauds, most of us shake our heads in disbelief at how gullible some people can be. But the truth is that not a single one of us is immune to being tricked, no matter how smart or savvy we may be. After all, our daily lives are full of seemingly innocent services and products that are just sneaky ways of luring us with promises and scamming us for every penny they can.

    ADVERTISEMENT

    Thankfully, Redditor Doctor_Engineer recently decided to arm us with knowledge about the biggest gambits we should look out for. They reached out to fellow members of 'Ask Reddit' with a short but interesting question: "What is 100% a scam?" Needless to say, the thread immediately became a hit.

    From questionable "free" seminars to multilevel marketing companies to malicious phishing tactics, people wasted no time in reminding us that we should never let our guard down. We at Bored Panda scoured the thread and gathered some of the most memorable responses to share with you all. So continue scrolling, upvote your favorite ones, and be sure to share your own takes about the big fat frauds that need to be exposed below in the comments.

    Click here & follow us for more lists, facts, and stories.

    #4

    trickle-down economics

    cricky101 Report

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    #5

    Modern church building with a cross on the roof under a clear sky, illustrating a concept related to scams. Mega Church tithing.

    User , Akira Hojo Report

    #6

    Credit cards scattered on a red carpet in front of a laptop, illustrating common scams people don’t realize. The credit score system. How it should work: pay back loans early/on time, higher score. Don't pay back loans or pay back late, lower score. How it actually works: Pay back a loan too quick, score goes down. Open an account, score goes down. CLOSE an account, score goes down. You even ask for a copy of your credit report, your score goes down. It's ridiculous. It's not about your reliability, it's about how profitable you are to creditors looking to milk interest payments as long as possible.

    User , Dylan Gillis Report

    Let’s be honest, when we hear stories about falling for e-mail lottery schemes or phone call frauds, most of us shake our heads in disbelief at how gullible some people can be. But the truth is that not a single one of us is immune to being tricked, no matter how smart or savvy we may be. After all, our daily lives are full of seemingly innocent services and products that are just sneaky ways of luring us with promises and scamming us for every penny they can.

    ADVERTISEMENT

    Thankfully, Redditor Doctor_Engineer recently decided to arm us with knowledge about the biggest gambits we should look out for. They reached out to fellow members of 'Ask Reddit' with a short but interesting question: "What is 100% a scam?" Needless to say, the thread immediately became a hit.

    From questionable "free" seminars to multilevel marketing companies to malicious phishing tactics, people wasted no time in reminding us that we should never let our guard down. We at Bored Panda scoured the thread and gathered some of the most memorable responses to share with you all. So continue scrolling, upvote your favorite ones, and be sure to share your own takes about the big fat frauds that need to be exposed below in the comments.

    Click here & follow us for more lists, facts, and stories.

    #7

    The Jehovah's Witness religion. Its definitely a cult, I was raised in the religion until my 20s. Dont recommend joining them

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    #8

    Man in a dark suit holding a microphone and books, speaking about common scams many people don’t realize. Anyone - A-N-Y-O-N-E - promising to teach you the secrets of becoming wealthy at a free seminar. I have a family member that got sucked into the Kiyosaki b******t vortex. It's a [darn] cult.

    throwaway3544219 , wikipedia Report

    #9

    Bikini set laid on sand next to a seashell illustrating 100% scam products many people don’t realize exist. Low stakes but bikinis. There is no way that little fabric/stitching should be like $80 for each individual piece 🥵

    Girlrockpearl , Pixabay Report

    Let’s be honest, when we hear stories about falling for e-mail lottery schemes or phone call frauds, most of us shake our heads in disbelief at how gullible some people can be. But the truth is that not a single one of us is immune to being tricked, no matter how smart or savvy we may be. After all, our daily lives are full of seemingly innocent services and products that are just sneaky ways of luring us with promises and scamming us for every penny they can.

    ADVERTISEMENT

    Thankfully, Redditor Doctor_Engineer recently decided to arm us with knowledge about the biggest gambits we should look out for. They reached out to fellow members of 'Ask Reddit' with a short but interesting question: "What is 100% a scam?" Needless to say, the thread immediately became a hit.

    From questionable "free" seminars to multilevel marketing companies to malicious phishing tactics, people wasted no time in reminding us that we should never let our guard down. We at Bored Panda scoured the thread and gathered some of the most memorable responses to share with you all. So continue scrolling, upvote your favorite ones, and be sure to share your own takes about the big fat frauds that need to be exposed below in the comments.

    Click here & follow us for more lists, facts, and stories.

    #10

    Smartphone displaying a gaming app with Charizard, illustrating things that are 100% a scam most don’t realize. Kids iPhone/iPad games. My kid is downloading these “free” games that constantly ask her to buy an extra skin or a treasure box of thousands of coins to upgrade and keep playing. It’s really scummy because they know exactly who their audience is, children who have no concept of money.

    0wlBear916 , Anton Report

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    #11

    Man in suit and striped tie pointing finger, illustrating concept of scams and deceptive practices. We can’t give you a raise yet because (X), but if you work hard and prove your competency, there will be a raise next year.

    deja_vuvuzela , Lukas Report

    #12

    Man lighting a cigar next to stacks of money, representing common hustlers and scams people don’t realize are real. Those Alpha Male courses

    Ethan-Samurai Report

    Let’s be honest, when we hear stories about falling for e-mail lottery schemes or phone call frauds, most of us shake our heads in disbelief at how gullible some people can be. But the truth is that not a single one of us is immune to being tricked, no matter how smart or savvy we may be. After all, our daily lives are full of seemingly innocent services and products that are just sneaky ways of luring us with promises and scamming us for every penny they can.

    ADVERTISEMENT

    Thankfully, Redditor Doctor_Engineer recently decided to arm us with knowledge about the biggest gambits we should look out for. They reached out to fellow members of 'Ask Reddit' with a short but interesting question: "What is 100% a scam?" Needless to say, the thread immediately became a hit.

    From questionable "free" seminars to multilevel marketing companies to malicious phishing tactics, people wasted no time in reminding us that we should never let our guard down. We at Bored Panda scoured the thread and gathered some of the most memorable responses to share with you all. So continue scrolling, upvote your favorite ones, and be sure to share your own takes about the big fat frauds that need to be exposed below in the comments.

    Click here & follow us for more lists, facts, and stories.

    #13

    Homeopathy. Watering something down to the point you may not even be able to detect a single molecule of the 'active' ingredient is not medicine. It's a circus attraction and there is a sucker born every minute.

    crystaloftruth Report

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    #14

    Hand holding smartphone with YouTube app loading, illustrating common scams many people don't realize online. Pretty much all youtube ads these days. If it starts with "this one trick can" or anything like "doctors hate this" doctors hate it because they have to explain green tea doesn't cure typeone diabetes. [to be honest] its flat out dangerous false advertising but youtube doesn't care.

    neoben00 , freestocks.org Report

    #15

    Most products peddled by influencers, hence the need to influence people into buying s**t

    Mellopiex Report

    Let’s be honest, when we hear stories about falling for e-mail lottery schemes or phone call frauds, most of us shake our heads in disbelief at how gullible some people can be. But the truth is that not a single one of us is immune to being tricked, no matter how smart or savvy we may be. After all, our daily lives are full of seemingly innocent services and products that are just sneaky ways of luring us with promises and scamming us for every penny they can.

    ADVERTISEMENT

    Thankfully, Redditor Doctor_Engineer recently decided to arm us with knowledge about the biggest gambits we should look out for. They reached out to fellow members of 'Ask Reddit' with a short but interesting question: "What is 100% a scam?" Needless to say, the thread immediately became a hit.

    From questionable "free" seminars to multilevel marketing companies to malicious phishing tactics, people wasted no time in reminding us that we should never let our guard down. We at Bored Panda scoured the thread and gathered some of the most memorable responses to share with you all. So continue scrolling, upvote your favorite ones, and be sure to share your own takes about the big fat frauds that need to be exposed below in the comments.

    Click here & follow us for more lists, facts, and stories.

    #16

    Joel Osteen's church

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    #17

    Nazism and all the similarly crazy racial supremacy ideologies. Not only do they sell on ideas that are demonstrably false (that certain ethnicities are both an omnipresent enemy that controls the world and cause everything bad but who also are in all ways inferior to the "master race") but if they ever win - congratulations loyal brownshirt, you are now a peon under a regime that uses extreme violence to solve issues both real and imaginary. Nothing to gain and everything to lose.

    User Report

    #18

    Multi-level marketing. We see it ruin families and turn people into vapid shells of their old selves all the time, but somehow these schemes are still up

    onetinysquid Report

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    Let’s be honest, when we hear stories about falling for e-mail lottery schemes or phone call frauds, most of us shake our heads in disbelief at how gullible some people can be. But the truth is that not a single one of us is immune to being tricked, no matter how smart or savvy we may be. After all, our daily lives are full of seemingly innocent services and products that are just sneaky ways of luring us with promises and scamming us for every penny they can.

    Thankfully, Redditor Doctor_Engineer recently decided to arm us with knowledge about the biggest gambits we should look out for. They reached out to fellow members of 'Ask Reddit' with a short but interesting question: "What is 100% a scam?" Needless to say, the thread immediately became a hit.

    From questionable "free" seminars to multilevel marketing companies to malicious phishing tactics, people wasted no time in reminding us that we should never let our guard down. We at Bored Panda scoured the thread and gathered some of the most memorable responses to share with you all. So continue scrolling, upvote your favorite ones, and be sure to share your own takes about the big fat frauds that need to be exposed below in the comments.

    ADVERTISEMENT

    Click here & follow us for more lists, facts, and stories.

    #19

    Person shuffling tarot cards on a black cloth with candles and mystical objects, highlighting common scams and frauds. Fortune tellers.

    Saint_Jackie , Mikhail Nilov Report

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    #20

    Tips. Companies need to pay people fair wages. Period.

    User Report

    #21

    Working 40 hrs a week until you are 65 so you can finally enjoy life.

    User Report

    GOZ
    Community Member
    32 minutes ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Working a 40 hour week is not fraud. That was the agreement you make with an employer. Working an 80 hour week and only getting paid for 40 hours (we call it "salaried" in america), now THAT is fraud. Also, if you work those 80 hour weeks, there isn't much left of your body & mind to enjoy if you make it to 65.

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    Let’s be honest, when we hear stories about falling for e-mail lottery schemes or phone call frauds, most of us shake our heads in disbelief at how gullible some people can be. But the truth is that not a single one of us is immune to being tricked, no matter how smart or savvy we may be. After all, our daily lives are full of seemingly innocent services and products that are just sneaky ways of luring us with promises and scamming us for every penny they can.

    Thankfully, Redditor Doctor_Engineer recently decided to arm us with knowledge about the biggest gambits we should look out for. They reached out to fellow members of 'Ask Reddit' with a short but interesting question: "What is 100% a scam?" Needless to say, the thread immediately became a hit.

    From questionable "free" seminars to multilevel marketing companies to malicious phishing tactics, people wasted no time in reminding us that we should never let our guard down. We at Bored Panda scoured the thread and gathered some of the most memorable responses to share with you all. So continue scrolling, upvote your favorite ones, and be sure to share your own takes about the big fat frauds that need to be exposed below in the comments.

    ADVERTISEMENT

    Click here & follow us for more lists, facts, and stories.

    #22

    Payday loan businesses. Straight up predatory legal loansharking. It’s gross.

    1980pzx Report

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    #23

    Designer and most luxury brands. You're paying considerably more money for an often worse product all to show off to some of the worse people society has to offer. Shallow, materialistic, and empty people.

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    #24

    Paying for college in the United States. College tuition is a full-on scam in the U.S. The thing I hate about the current educational system in the United States is that it is designed to put a college student in debt. As of 2022-2023, the average a student can expect to pay for one year's in-state tuition, school-related expenses, and fees is $25,707 at a four-year state university, and for an out-of-state student it's $43,421. As of 2022, the maximum amount of Federal Pell Grant money a student can get [per year is only $6895. That leaves the in-state student with $18,812 they have to cover somehow--and that almost always means borrowing the money. As a result, it's common to see a student graduate college with a bachelor's degree, and well over $50,000-$60,000 in debt that they'll have to start paying off about six months after they get out of college. The government knows this, and the lending institutions know this. Students are actively getting screwed by this system.

    User Report

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    Let’s be honest, when we hear stories about falling for e-mail lottery schemes or phone call frauds, most of us shake our heads in disbelief at how gullible some people can be. But the truth is that not a single one of us is immune to being tricked, no matter how smart or savvy we may be. After all, our daily lives are full of seemingly innocent services and products that are just sneaky ways of luring us with promises and scamming us for every penny they can.

    Thankfully, Redditor Doctor_Engineer recently decided to arm us with knowledge about the biggest gambits we should look out for. They reached out to fellow members of 'Ask Reddit' with a short but interesting question: "What is 100% a scam?" Needless to say, the thread immediately became a hit.

    From questionable "free" seminars to multilevel marketing companies to malicious phishing tactics, people wasted no time in reminding us that we should never let our guard down. We at Bored Panda scoured the thread and gathered some of the most memorable responses to share with you all. So continue scrolling, upvote your favorite ones, and be sure to share your own takes about the big fat frauds that need to be exposed below in the comments.

    ADVERTISEMENT

    Click here & follow us for more lists, facts, and stories.

    #25

    A large open office with many people working on laptops, illustrating common scams and deceptive work practices. Work 110% at your job and you will be successful. Yeah you'll be successful alright doing the work of 3 people while the people who don't work as hard get promoted because you are too valuable in your position.

    NoSpray2890 , Alex Kotliarskyi Report

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    #26

    Person holding smartphone displaying dating app profile, illustrating online scam risks and misleading profiles. Online dating services with monthly subscriptions. Any business that gets more money by failing than succeeding will be designed to fail, succeeding *just* enough to make users feel as though they can succeed. Basically the same principle as casinos.

    IndigoFenix , cottonbro Report

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    #28

    Healthcare worker measuring blood pressure of patient, highlighting common scams people don’t realize exist. US health care system

    MyWorkAccountMSA , Hush Naidoo Jade Photography Report

    GOZ
    Community Member
    40 minutes ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The american healthcare system is not inherently fraudulent. However, there are a lot of people using the healthcare system to generate fraud.

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