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Whether we're traveling or just browsing the internet, scams are everywhere around us. Granted, some of them are less sophisticated than others but we people can be really gullible.
To show everyone what happens when we let our guard down, plenty of Reddit users have shared stories about falling for schemes so obvious, they are still embarrassed to admit it.
From grandma's no candy policy to a lucrative job opportunity, here are some of the most memorable ones Bored Panda discovered across various posts all over the platform.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
When i was like 14 (maybe?), i saved up all of my money all year from my paper route to get people nice gifts at Christmas.
When i went to the mall, there was a man there who was "deaf."
He handed me a keychain with a note that read "i am a deaf person, and am unemployed. Will you please buy this keychain for $5?"
Being naive, i pulled out my wallet with like $500 cash. The guy was so happy that i wanted to help him that he taught me a secret handshake. When i sat down, i noticed my wallet was gone.
Literally 8 months of savings gone to some scam artist in exchange for a 25 cent keychain.
I wish i could say that i didnt cry.
Kanuli 4 years ago
Omg. Shamelessly robbing a CHILD. I seldom give deathwishes, but I’m sure that would be a reason I would.
Monday 4 years ago
I don't want to wish death upon people either, but my first thought was "I hope that bastard got hit by a truck".
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Matthew Lauricella 4 years ago
being deaf doesn't give you the right to rob a child.... Gosh Damn
Emi Johnson 3 years ago
I was approached by one of these types of individuals, so I started communicating in ASL. The dude just stood there like “oh s**t, this didn’t go the way I was expecting”. He then just walked off.
One of the posts we looked at belongs to a Reddit user who goes by the name of u/thatdrunkchef. We managed to get in touch with them and they were kind enough to have a little chat with us about what inspired them to make it.
"I just like asking people about stories of their life that they won't usually tell anyone," u/thatdrunkchef explained to Bored Panda. "Reddit is a great place for that. You are in your 'safe zone' because nobody really knows who you are, so you can talk about anything without being judged."
"Let's say something stupid happened. Like a scam. You are not proud of it or maybe you are even ashamed of it and can't talk about it with your friends or family, but want to warn other people. [In this case, Reddit is perfect to share your story] and support each other."
RELATED:
#2
I got duped into paying close to 100 thousand dollars to some people who told me that if I took a bunch of chemistry classes, along with some random philosophy and literature classes thrown in there, I would almost be guaranteed a high-paying job. All I had to do was pay the money and pass the classes. They said I could take out a loan for the 100k and would easily pay that off with my fat paychecks.
Turns out almost no such jobs exist. Fortunately, I was able to get some good scholarships and owe a fraction of that. In any even I was scammed out of four years of my life and still owe a few thousand dollars to a lender. The scammers laughed all the way to their Cancun vacations and luxurious homes with my scholarship and loan money. I'll never see that money again.
Sam 4 years ago
Why did I read that at first as hundred dollars then went back and read a 1000 dollars finally my mind registered 100,000 dollars 😬 😬 😬 yikes
Craig Reynolds 3 years ago
Because of the mix of numbers and words to describe a monetary amount! "100 thousand dollars" reads differently than either $100,000 dollars or one hundred thousand dollars. It tricks our brains because we do not expect it to be mixed the way the person did it.
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Loki’s Lil Butter Knife 4 years ago
The cost of University in the United States is one of the largest scams. It is disgusting that some universities cost upwards of $50,000.00 (~36,600 GBP) a year for tuition not including books. So many people are in debt due to student loans in the United States just so they could get a "good education" to get a well-paying job. Go to University abroad--there are so many wonderful options, you get to be exposed to a different culture, and it often costs soooooo much less.
leigh arbuckle 4 years ago
my son went to college, 4 years. cost 60,000. 90% was residence. it'll take decades to pay it off.
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Dave P 4 years ago
Remember, when looking at a college, look at price, most charge a lot because they have luxury features no one uses and most dont realize are there. Also when choosing a degree pick one in a field with earning potential like Engineering, not gender studies, etc. Remember any college that costs over 35k after dorm and meal fees is cheating you, plain and simple. Choose affordable options.
Sunny Topia 3 years ago
International educations be like.. 🙃🥲 they are freaking expensive. One semester equal to $6K while education under government is $600... 😃
max evans 3 years ago
I'm lost, did you get scammed scammed, or are you saying going to college is a scam? On the latter I can agree. No college degrees here and by the time I was 30 I was making over 60k/year as a petroleum technician. At 35 I was service mgr at $82k. While the office staff with college degrees were making around $15/ hour. Seems like unless you are going for a masters or above, don't bother going to college.
#3
Me and my dad go into Walmart to buy some groceries. We come out and load them into the truck, and the truck won’t start? Never had problems with the truck before this. My dad is getting frustrated as we have chilled food with us and it’s summer. Suddenly, a homeless man on a bike rolls up and asks what the problem was. My dad explains that he has no idea his truck just won’t start. Guy asked to take a look.
Guy gets under the truck and in 10 seconds comes back out. He told my dad he found the problem, a small part was missing on his truck (me and my dad are dips***s when it comes to cars so I can’t remember what part he said. Also I was 10). The man said he just so happened to have the same part in his bag of nicknacks. Said if he gave him $50 he’d put it on for him. My dad, excited, agreed. The man went under the truck, another 10 seconds pops back up, says give it a try. Truck starts no problem. My dad thanks the man so much and then gives him another $40 for his trouble. It was only on t he ride home that I brought it up to my dad “you’re telling me none of that seemed off to? Random homeless man rides up just in time with just the right part we need?”
It finally hits my dad and he turns around to find the guy but he was long gone.
Devil's Advocate 4 years ago
The 50 was worth it for the part at the right time because a tow truck would have been more than that, but why oh why give the extra 40?!
Yort 4 years ago
Walmart has an automotive department, if it was just some $50 part they probably could’ve just gone inside to get it. Especially if that Walmart had the full department that also sells tires and does oil changes.
Load More Replies... Craig Reynolds 3 years ago
I guess panic fogged his brain because if the truck was missing a part it needed to run, it never would have left home. What an amazing stroke of luck the homeless guy just happened to have in his possession, the exact part needed...
Lois Matelan 3 years ago
That happened to us years ago in Mexico City. We came back from visiting the Shrine of Guadalupe to discover the car wouldn't start. A young man who spoke pretty good English rode up on his bike a few minutes later and said he knew a "reliable mechanic" nearby. Ended up charging us about $50.00 for the car's own distributor(?) painted to look new.
The pandemic has been really good for one fraud sector in particular. Nearly 1 in 3 Americans say they've fallen victim to a phone scam in the past year, like the ones where someone gets in touch pretending to be from the IRS or from a company inquiring about an expiring warranty on your vehicle.
According to a report from Truecaller, not only is the number of victims on the rise, but the expense of these scams is also up. The average reported loss was about $502 per person (which is the highest amount on record since Truecaller began tracking this data in 2014).
"It's very disappointing to me, and alarming that people are getting convinced to send criminals money," Clayton LiaBraaten, senior advisory board member at Truecaller, told CNBC. Yet it's not surprising, he added, considering how convincing scammers can be. "These criminals are incredibly clever in the way that they manipulate people."
#4
I once came down with a bout of the hemorrhoids. Well, I assumed it was based on what I knew about hemorrhoid. Too embarrassed to ask friends and family for advice, I did what most people do in these circumstances, I sought medical advice from the Internet.
This was back in the 90's so I logged onto AOL and searched for a cure. I found a website that offered a permanent cure of hemorrhoids. The curator of this site learned this cure when he was a POW in Vietnam, and for $10 I could be hemorrhoids free forever.
Ten dollars poorer and I get the email (with the cure). The cure was to stick my finger up my ass and twirl it around for ten minutes a day, every day. It was then I realized I just paid someone to tell me to stick my finger up my ass.
sofacushionfort 4 years ago
Today they’d lock you into a subscription fee for monthly tubes of finger lube.
Calypso poet 4 years ago
Pre interwebs it was a classified asking to mail $5 to learn how to make money. You would get a letter back saying to spend $10 bucks to take out a classified ad asking for $5... so technically not illegal because they gave them the instructions. You get 20 people to respond you're at $100 minus cost of ad, envelopes, paper and stamps.
eddy edward 4 years ago
(Pre-mobiles, British Telecom landline days) 'Get rid of your monthly telephone bill. Send 5 quid, we'll show you how.' You get a piece of paper which says, 'Simply contact BT and ask them to disconnect your telephone line. You will have no more bills.' Nothing illegal!
#5
My former best friend and his dad cheated me out of my money to invest in their company. When I asked for a contract, his dad said, "Between true friends, words aren't necessary."
When they started making money, I asked for my money back, and they said they didn't owe me a thing.
Ellis Reed 4 years ago
Probably out of business now with practices like that :/
Load More Replies... WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago
That's when the endless stream of midnight calls, unwanted deliveries and subscriptions and masses of spam to their business mail accounts start.
Kantami Blossom 4 years ago
As the old saying goes "a verbal contract is not worth the paper it's written on" even if I lent money to my family I would want a guarantee and they know what I'd do if they tried to break it.
David Furr 3 years ago
My Grand-dad worked in a small town bank his entire adult life, even when he made personal loans to family he insisted on a contract, collateral, and interest.
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Scott Moore 4 years ago
Prison and jails are fill up with these type of people. We need to start shooting them instead. Two reasons, 1. better deterrent then jail and 2. they don't get to spend the money.
#6
I bought pheromone cologne in high school for like 100 dollars because it was said to cause a chemical reaction that makes women attracted to you. It smelt awful and I never spoke to a chick while wearing it. I later found out the pheromones were taken from some type of animal urine. I was spraying piss on me and was confused why chicks weren't into me.
Martha Meyer 4 years ago
Keep calling women "chicks" and you won't need this spray to make them stay away from you.
Samantha Lomb 4 years ago
In fairness that does work for non human females like goats and deer
Calypso poet 4 years ago
Yeah, I immediately thought someone sold him deer urine hunters use.
Load More Replies... BasedWang 4 years ago
Isnt piss and ambergris used in stuff like that commonly? I mean we even preserve some food with a**l secretions from Beavers
Rannveig Ess 4 years ago
Yes - "Castoreum" is an a**l secretion from Beavers (stop giggling, all of you...) Like dogs and cats, they have a**l "sacs" and from this substance Castoreum is got., It smells like really nice Vanilla, I kid you not. However, a few overseas companies and those "knock off" perfumes bought from there were not too long ago busted because they were literally putting PISS in it. Cow, dog, whatever. Ambergris is whale vomit and smells incredible and looks fascinating. Ignore the "pee and vomit" angle to these and we are blessed to have such amazing scents. Many very high end perfumes - Chanel, Dior, Red Door - use synthetic versions of this, even tho you are paying big money for them. These chemicals, especially put in the cheaper "knock offs" and body sprays, can cause severe headaches, migraines, brain fog, asthma, allergies, dermatitis, and sore throats. They have also been shown to mess with your hormones as they make their way into your body.
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Mandy Delaforce (PC Girl) 4 years ago
Umm... this is normal? The main ingredient is made from whale spit
littlesaresare 4 years ago
And did you wonder why female cats were following you around everywhere? 😁
After going through all the replies their post has received, u/thatdrunkchef were reminded of something they had already known: you need to be careful with everything.
"I can tell out of experience the most common and prevalent scammers are online, closely followed up by tourist scammers," they said. "In my opinion, just question everything. Even the dumbest question. Have everything documented. Fake-check and let other people check [everything] as well. Get some opinions from friends and family [before you make any big decisions.]"
I know, you might be thinking you're not the person who might fall for these tricks. But the before-mentioned report also found that younger men and women (between the ages of 18-44 years) are the most susceptible to phone scams.
#7
When I was little my Grandma would take me thr dentist for my regular cleanings. After the fluoride she would tell me now you're not allowed to have candy for a month because of the fluoride. She would get the dentist to agree with her.
I believed this for a couple years until I mentioned how it's not fun having to wait a month to eat candy because of the dentist to my friends at school. I knew something wasn't right when I realized noone knew what I was talking about.
I went home and told her I knew the no candy after the dentist wasn't true. Her response was "well I'm suprised I got away with that for as long as I did".
Calypso poet 4 years ago
Oh geez. It's not that big of a deal. My mom told me if I didn't eat my green beans my hair would turn 'orange' like my dad. We still laugh about the day a lady at church wore a red wig and when she saw me staring at her hair she asked if I liked it. I told her "I eat my green beans." I still love green beans and have dyed my hair auburn.
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Riley Quinn 4 years ago
When adults lie like this, they're unwittingly molding children to be skeptical and untrusting.
AnnaBanana 4 years ago
There's some truth in that one. It's in case you ate too fast and get digestion cramps, which could hinder your swimming ability.
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Laura Pantazis 4 years ago
Brushing does not remove tartar build up. Its why professional cleanings are important for both children and adults.
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#8
I was working at a supermarket and this guy came in, purchased a soda for like a dollar and some change and then gave me a $100. I was like 17. Obviously this guy is gonna get ~$97 back with the $100 he gave me. So when I’m dolling out his change, he starts requesting all these denominations, confusing the hell out of me. He also had a guy with him talking to people behind him to distract them. I have no idea how much money I ended up giving him when the transaction was completed, but it turned out he swindled me out of about $200. This is what is known as a flim flam scam. I never felt so stupid in my life. A few months later, my sister was working with me, and as I was coming in to start work, I saw the men that screwed me leaving, and they got her too. She was devastated and felt the same way I did.
Laura Pantazis 4 years ago
One time a teller thought I was trying to scam her. I gave her a $10 for something that was under $1 and she gave me change as if I gave her $1. I told her that I gave her a $10. She was insistent that I did not and I was insistent that I did. To prove her point, she took out the $1 bills to show one by one that they were all dollar bills. Then she got to my $10 bill and realized that I was in fact being honest and she had just made a mistake.
BasedWang 4 years ago
quick changing is super common. I would piss the people off by putting their big bill on top of the till until they STFU. One guy tried so hard asking me why I wasnt taking the hundred and whatnot and blahblahblah.. I said nothing to him counted his exact change took the 100 looked him in the eyes and told him "...Because your not f*****g me over"
SxS 4 years ago
In teller training, they taught us to FIRST take the person's proffered bill. Then make change. There's a great example of this scam in the film "Paper Moon"
ekcv 4 years ago
This almost happened to me when I worked at a grocery store. It was Thanksgiving and super busy with long lines all day. This man comes to buy a $0.50 pack of gum with a $50 dollar bill. I hand him his change and he's incessantly talking and making distracting hand gestures the whole time. There's a long line of people starting to get impatient because he's just taking his sweet time to check out. Then he says, "Wait, give me the $50 back I just remembered I have exact change to pay in." I held out my hand and asked for the change back first. He tried this tactic with a few other cashiers and succeeded before. We had been warned about people buying low cost items with big bills.
The Deez 4 years ago
I'm pretty sure I had this happen to me years ago when I worked at a bookstore! I remember the guy doing the exact same thing, asking for all different denominations as I was getting his change. It SEEMS like it would be hard to fall for something like that but he managed to make it very confusing!
Tracey Brogan 3 years ago
we were taught to close the till and call a manager when someone starts doing anything out of the ordinary like that.
Uchman 4 years ago (edited)
People who have never been in retail think its easy to detect and stop this. They usually target busy times and also look for the cashier that looks youngest and or naive. I only knew about it because I was retail loss prevention. It's so very common and when you're busy trying to clear a long queue sometimes you get lost in trying to please a customer, you start getting flustered. Almost got caught out once when I was in sales but it suddenly clicked what was going on as I was about to hand him his note back. I just shut the till and quietly told him to go away. He didn't even say anything more and walked away. These guys are pros
#9
My older sisters told me eggs grew on trees. I vehemently disagreed. They made me plant an egg yolk. I came back later to check, and a stem had grown. Later, leaves showed up. I started to believe. I came back again and they had put plastic Easter eggs filled with candy on the tree.
Donny Cromwell 4 years ago
Don't listen to the neigh sayers. They underestimate your son. If my dad did this we would still laugh about it to this day. I would be careful about how long it played out though
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Rannveig Ess 4 years ago
My grandpa used to tell me that marbles were the seeds of statues. Only rare ones, and you never knew which one was a seed. It was so rare it was a magical miracle. He'd buy me a little sack or box of marbles for my birthday and every year I'd plant 10 or so. There were hundreds out there in our field. On my 16th birthday I woke up to find a beautiful statue of a fairy queen, with dragonfly wings. It was the most gobsmacked moment of my young life. In hindsight it was a cheap garden decoration but if you have kids, do this. Don't wait long. The look on their faces will be priceless
Kitty Jordan 4 years ago
Okay, but this is kind of a nice prank? He got candy out of it at least!
PixxelDust 4 years ago
that's not a scam, that's just wholesome. thanks for some positivity <3
#10
I was at this bizarre fair type of thing, and I fell for going into the tent which housed the "180 pound man eating chicken." I knew it was going to be cheesy and a likely waste of $2, but I had to go see it anyway.
It was a regular man who picked up a plate of fried chicken and started eating it when paying customers came in. I wasn't even mad.
StormWolf 4 years ago
"My three favourite things are eating my family and not using commas"
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Douglas Mock 4 years ago
I loved the 300 Pound Maneating Chicken so much, they had to ask me to leave. He and I were laughing too loudly for the huckster to get any other rubes in.
WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago
A friend of mine once build a big machine with all kinds of dials and levers and switches and a slot with "Insert coin". When people inserted a coin, the machine flashed "Thank you" for 3 seconds and that was it. He got quite some money out of it.
Kanuli 4 years ago
That for 2? Sounds fair. We went to a medieval festival, and since we were larping before oursleves, we were excited to see some cosplayers. When one asked us for a hand reading in role play fashion we thought sure why not, play along and play :) (Not that we believed in it anyway) But after the session she wanted 20 bucks of each of us. Which was like most our spare money... Later they had written on signs that it would actually cost money... Don’t trust anyone...ever.
Robert Martens 4 years ago
I fell for this scam, the guy was well over 200 lbs, so misleading.
Calypso poet 4 years ago
In the 80s we paid $1 to see "The worlds smallest man" at a county fair. We thought it would be like the previous headless lady prank. Nope. There was a Black little person who appeared to be in his 40s watching a small TV to kill time. He looked up at us tweens and said hello and asked how we were doing. We froze and ran out. Even at our age It felt so wrong to pay to gawk at him. I hope he knows we weren't scared of him but just weirded out by the situation.
Grant Barke 4 years ago
Should have grabbed a couple pieces off the plate to make up for the two dollars you paid.
Trina Selleck 3 years ago
Had you not seen the movie The Little Rascals before this?? If not, you must watch it now!! Lol!!
#11
Someone calling my hotel room, saying it was the front desk, and that they had some sort of error with their payment system. The person (a male) said they just needed to re-run my card along with verify my name and address. Half-asleep, I begrudgingly gave them what they wanted, hung up the phone, and said "F**k...what the hell am I doing? I booked through Priceline."
Called the front desk and a female answered. Sure enough no men were working the front desk and nobody in the hotel staff had called requesting anything of the sort. Next call was to report that card stolen.
Should have followed my first instinct and just told them I'd come down to the front desk and resolve it there.
Calypso poet 4 years ago
I remember the hotel scams where they called and made guests break windows and other destructive things. We previously had stayed at the Hilton in Orlando it happened at so it sticks in my head. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-cost-of-hotel-pranksters/
Joanna Werman 4 years ago
Make guests break windows? How does that work as a scam
Load More Replies... Tracey Brogan 3 years ago
Never give information to someone who calls you or comes to you (door to door). Call the company directly and ask first.
Tracey Brogan 3 years ago
Same with emails from companies, like if you don't this this, we're closing your account. Contact that company directly, not through that message.
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JuJu 4 years ago
Why are you guys not afraid to give your card to any waiter, who carries it out of sight? They could all take a pic/write down number, name...I don't get it.
H Edwards 4 years ago
In every country that I am familiar with, the server brings the card machine to the table. We also have PIN codes so other people can't use our cards. Maybe you should demand the same wherever you are.
Load More Replies... #12
Right after my dad died I got a call from a number I didn't know. They left a voice mail saying they needed my social security number so they could pay out a life insurance policy to me. I was 21 and super inexperienced with stuff like this. So I did what any real adult would do. I asked my mom for advice. She told me it was legit and to give them my SS number. I had a weird feeling about it but if my mom said it was ok then it must be ok. I did it. I called back and gave the guy that answered my SS number. I never got a check but my mom suddenly did from a policy my dad "forgot" to take her off of even though they had been divorced years before. She did give my 10k but I'm 100% positive it was worth way more and she had something to do with it all. We don't talk anymore for various reasons including this one.
River Daski 4 years ago
She took the insurance out in her child's name, since she already had one on him. She needed the kid to give their social security number to the place since it was officially in their name, and had the money set to go to her accounts already.
juliana 4 years ago
who helps someone scam their kid is the real question
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Noway 4 years ago
Your mom would probably already have access to the SS number...but great story
Uchman 4 years ago
Why would her mum know or have access to her SS number?
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Riley Quinn 4 years ago
It's soooo easy to buy a life insurance policy on someone. I'm surprised more people don't do this.
Cyndi Moring 3 years ago
many large companies routinely have life insurance on their employees, with themselves as the beneficiaries.
Load More Replies... #13
I gave a guy, his pregnant wife, and their child, quite a bit of money for petrol. In return, he gave me his very convincing "engagement ring". Obviously, the number he gave me to get the money back was fake, and the ring too. It hurt so much to be preyed upon just because I was kind (read: stupid) enough to want to help. No arseholes would have been ripped off by him, only people wanting to help.
LeeAnne B 4 years ago
You're not stupid. Kindness is not stupidity. If you told them to piss off then you would have worried about it I'm sure. That's on them. Don't stop being a good person.
Wandaluzt 4 years ago
LeAnne this was posted in 2015 on Reddit. They don't get to see your reply.
Load More Replies... Kitty Jordan 4 years ago
For everyone who wants to be kind, but worries about being taken advantage of by such scams, a good - though admittedly not perfect - method is never give cash. I typically would keep gift cards to fast food joints, granola bars, water bottles, etc. to give out. In this case, I probably would have driven to a nearby gas station and bought the gas directly. If they insist that it MUST be cash, then it's usually a scam. That said, I have had people been effusively grateful for a water bottle and granola bars. So there are people out there who genuinely need help, and we shouldn't let jerks who try to scam people keep us from helping those who need it.
Charlotte Leaver 4 years ago
I say that when I die my grave should read: "No good deed goes unpunished".
Mazer 4 years ago
I will buy people food, groceries or s restaurant meal, that’s it. I refuse to give pan handlers cash, it’s usually all they want in order to feed their addiction, but once in awhile I run across someone grateful for the meal.
Calypso poet 4 years ago
Good for you. Early 90's. A cousin had dropped out of school and got in some minor trouble as a teen but got a job at a small manufacturing plant that took chances on people down on their luck. They went to a McDonald's for lunch and saw a guy with a 'Will work for food' sign so they stopped to give him a meal and offer to take him to their boss to get a job. The man told them he didn't want the food or job, but to just "give me some fvcking money!". It's a shame it made my cousin and his friends so jaded at a young age. I'm sure there is a man somewhere who would have appreciated the food and chance at a job.
Load More Replies... Joanna Werman 4 years ago
I've been ripped off three times getting money to people that I thought were friends. They were actually just acquaintances but they made all these promises and they really needed it at the time. It took me three times to learn not to loan money
AnnaBanana 4 years ago
At least you learned. Some people never do - took me til my 40s to stop being so gullible!
Load More Replies... Ripley 4 years ago
This scam can, in fact, be used on aerosols (intentional misspelling - I'm sure you get the drift). An engagement ring is likely to be worth more than any spare cash someone is going to hand out, and so someone giving them money might actually see it as an advantageous trade. Give them $200, sell the ring for $500. Not necessarily suggesting that the OP was seeing things this way, but why would you take someone's engagement ring in exchange for cash? Better to give them $20 to get them to where they need to go where they can legit sell the ring for a better price.
Calypso poet 4 years ago
My dad gave $20 to someone before the waitress at the diner could intervene and kick out the guy who did the same thing every weekend. It was off a highway so most people weren't regulars. My dad saw him again and the guy took off in his car that was supposedly out of gas. My dad is a passive guy and wouldn't do anything except warn others!
Alex the Country Dog 4 years ago (edited)
I've fallen for the "out of gas" scam in Philadelphia. Man in a business suit, and he even had nice fake business cards. I actually had a *feeling* it was a scam, but I will probably always err on the side of helping someone (within what I can afford and as long as I'm not in danger) rather than risk not helping someone. I did get that sadness when I knew for sure it was fake though...sadness that the only people being scammed would be the *nice* people.
David Furr 3 years ago
Similar thing was tried on me. A nicely dressed guy walks up to while I'm mowing the lawn, and tells me "I'm on my way to a job interview and the oil pressure light in my car came on, can you loan me 20 bucks to get some oil so I can make it?" I said "No problem" went into the garage and come back with 3 quarts of 10w30 said "This should get you there!" Guy got p_ssed, said "NO MAN, IWANTED THE $20!" and stormed off down the street.
#14
Walked down the tunnel to DC Metro and approached a ticket machine to get my Metro fare card; found a well dressed lady confused by the machine, and not quite a full English speaker. Convinced me to buy her a ticket as she was to meet her daughter at office downtown. Finally bought her a damn ticket, and then she asked if the ticket was enough to get her back too? Gave her an extra $5 bucks as that's all I had other than large bills and told her to be sure and have her daughter explain all this too her. Guess what? A few days later I went back to that same Metro spot, and she was in the process of scamming some other dude using the same story. I stood behind them until she played off the "will this get me back?", then busted her right there. She gave me an excellent cussing for someone who didn't know English.
Wandaluzt 4 years ago
Posted on Reddit 2017. So you're replying to noone.
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Queen Jackson. 4 years ago
Am I misunderstanding this comment, or is it as shitty as I think it is.
Load More Replies... #15
I got pulled into an Amway meeting. When I was in college I was working as a waiter at a Pizza Hut, and a customer came in and struck up a conversation. Eventually he pitched me on a possible new job. He described it as "kind of like an internship."
The first red flag should have been he wouldn't give me any specifics other than something about "running a business." Next he gave me a date/address of where to meet and he told me to dress in a suit. That also seemed weird since we were meeting at 7pm. Who interviews at 7pm?
Anyway I get there, and about a hundred other people are there. I was getting a weird vibe and I should have run at that point, but I was desperate for something other than waiting tables. After an hour of parading different motivational speakers they finally announced they sold Amway to achieve their goals. I then went home older, wise, and destined to serve pizza for many more months.
Hiker Chick 4 years ago
Oh, Lordie. My ex and I got invited to one of these by his coworker. We sat through the whole meeting and had no idea what the company was because no one mentioned "Amway" the whole evening. The coworker then said he wanted to come to our house to give us more information and I kept asking him "what is this" and he would not tell me! He finally did when I kind of yelled at him because I was a bit freaked out. Needless to say, we did not join up.
Jayne Kyra 4 years ago
Guys, avoid MLM (aka Pyramid schemes) by all cost! On Reddit you can find more info on what is/isn´t an MLM on r/antiMLM. (You don´t have to have an account to view the page.)
Calypso poet 4 years ago
During the automotive crisis part of the recession my husband and I were both laid off. I forget what the ad said I responded to but it ended up being those people who would go door to door with a backpack full of junk. You had to pay for the stuff first but got to keep whatever amount you sold it for. The irony is that those people used to get kicked out of the dealerships we worked at for bringing the junk toys, books, curling irons etc to sell on fridays, payday! Just like the flower ladies. I listed it on my unemployment as a job search and wrote exactly why I did not take the 'job' and was not questioned or penalized.
DuchessDegu 4 years ago
I fell for this too, my best friend from primary up to high school (when we lost contact after that when she moved somewhere else - it was many years before social media) suddenly showed up at my door, I was really happy, we chatted for ages, she gave her new address back in town, all was brilliant I thought. Then one day she invited me for a "party", yeah bring your friends from college, it'll be great to meet them. It was an Amway meeting. I cut her off straight away. Sadly that was the least stupid thing she's done as an adult
Mean Red B 4 years ago
Actually Amway products are good. But this whole fuss around it is annoying and should be illegal.
Riley Quinn 4 years ago (edited)
Despite all the bad press on MLM/pyramid schemes, they continue to flourish. I'm surprised they're legal.
#16
Got a call saying there was something wrong with my internet service. I downloaded the spyware that allowed to person on the phone to remotely control my computer. I became to suspicious when they wanted me to login to my bank account. Reset that b**ch to factory settings and felt shame I'd let it get that far.
ZAPanda 4 years ago
ahahaha I had one of these. Kept him on the phone for about an hour asking him details about microsoft and their head office. I pushed him back and forward about systems asking him why I had a virus if i didn't have a windows computer but he stuck to his story that my windows was infected. I had a mac. Eventually after google street viewing his stated location and telling him it was just a house in california, I could hear the panic set in. I then informed him that microsoft is in fact in redmond, not california, and I was going to tell the feds. He dropped the call quickly.
4 years ago
One of them called and said "press the Windows key on your computer" have a Mac so was like "there is none what do you mean??" "It's next to the spacebar " "I have no idea what you're talking about??!?" Kept them on the phone for about 1/2 hour!!
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Walter Brameld 4 years ago (edited)
I love to string these guys along. I'll tell them that the download is going very slowly, updating them with every percent. When I get to 99% I tell them the download failed and I have to try again. Repeat. Then I tell them I open the program and, when they ask me what I see, I say there's a message. They ask what, and I say, "It says 'The Indian person you are speaking with on the phone is a liar, a thief, and a bad person who is too ashamed to tell his mother what he really does for a living.'"
Tee Witt 4 years ago
Could not that be regarded as racist? it would in the UK even if they are crooks
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WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago
Despite millions of warnings, TV-campaigns, constant reminders of banks that they'll never call, mail or text you, newsletters from ISPs warning for new methods of scamming, people will allow scammers to do their thing. Seriously, stop and think for 10 seconds before giving criminals access to your bank accounts.
AnnaBanana 4 years ago
The big problem with scam calls is so many elderly people fall for them. My 84 year old father has. Luckily he called me straight away after realising he'd been scammed and I told him the steps to take (informing banks, telco, internet provider, cops etc.) But not all elderly people have kids, or kids who care.
Grant Barke 4 years ago
You would be surprised how many intelligent people with degrees fall for internet scams in Australia.
Load More Replies... Kitty Jordan 4 years ago
If you ever get a call from someone like this, hang up, look up the company on the Internet and find their phone number, and you call them. So if you get a call from "AT&T" saying your internet's not working, find the number online through the AT&T website and give them a call. I don't give out my SSN or credit card number to anyone who calls me.
Tee Witt 4 years ago
I always feel sad when I get one of these, fair enough I can blow them away but some old or less knowledgeable could be badly scammed.
Load More Replies... Riley Quinn 4 years ago
I've had several of these types of calls. A friend of mine with lots more computer knowledge happened to be at the first, so I was saved from being sucked into the scam. Since then, I like to play with them until they're sputtering with frustration.
Cathryn Cade 4 years ago
A family member fell for this. I was able to uninstall the spyware for them, and instruct them to tell the scammers they would be getting no payment, ever. Nothing at all wrong with the computer.
#17
A year ago (I’m 17 now) I wanted to get into the stock market and met someone online through a mutual online friend who was old enough to open a broker. I did all the research and, at the height of corona, I invested 3k, all my savings, into a stock that eventually multiplied. Guy took my money and the profits and both ended up blocking me :/
DrGirlfriend 4 years ago
Please report to the FCC. And BBB and to the police you. Being a minor will destroy them
Kanuli 4 years ago
Omg. This is no joke sadly, but here is a true story like it from a close acquaintance, sadly not close enough that she trusted me before it was too late: She most likely fell for one of these emails. All she said was she invested in bitcoin via a weird company. I googled and it did sound fishy, but not outright scam. When they wanted her to sell her house it did become quite obvious though. She invested something 300-400k (yes thousand), and also signed a paper legitimizing the „deal“. Police and banks could get like 100k back more or less, and they still call and write her and use remote control on her computer and stuff. She was also in love with one and to this day can’t 100% understand she was scammed. Cost her all her life savings, her husband, and most likely relationship with her kids.
Tamra Stiffler 4 years ago
Am I the only one wondering how a 16 year old had $3,000 in savings? Still, tough story though.
Riley Quinn 4 years ago
No, this sounds highly illegal, esp. since she was a minor. Hope she sought legal advice.
Rannveig Ess 4 years ago
Please call the police and FCC - you can report it online via a form. It is also illegal for a minor to trade or invest in stocks without parental co-sign or legal approval. This guy will be hunted down
#18
Shipping companies online. This could probably classify as much as a TIFU as a scam, but moved back from Ireland to Canada. Company never provided a proper packing list (first tip off) and then went "bankrupt" several days after picking up everything from my home. PC gaming rig with 2 monitors, PS3, games for both, book, rpg and comic collections, entire music and movie library, autographs, ticket stubs and set lists from concerts, clothes, cameras, figurines like Clouds bike from FF7 Advent Children movie, etc. Only stuff they didn't get, which wasn't much, was what I packed up to take with me on the flight home.
AnnaBanana 4 years ago
That's devastating. I'm sorry that happened to you! I thinking how I'd feel if all my stuff got stolen when I moved overseas about twenty years ago - I took my whole life, bar the actual house itself, and I can't imagine how bad losing everything would be!!
Wandaluzt 4 years ago
Posted on Reddit in 2018, you're replying to no-one.
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Zedrapazia 4 years ago
As a figurine collector who never got the chance to get the Advent Children Fenrir bike with Cloud ... S**t, THAT hurts to hear.
Danielle 4 years ago
I had this too. I packed everything and they took it. Then after I arrived in my new country, they wouldnt give them without another payment. So the quote they gave was a complete scam. I at least got my stuff in the end. (I wouldve given up if there wasnt the antique china dishes from my great grandmother).
Riley Quinn 4 years ago
Oh, this is the worst of the lot. This is worse than losing everything in a natural disaster.
#19
My mom was so close to falling for the 'soldier' scam.
She started talking to some army guy through a dating site and very quickly he got romantic and almost in love over messages. She started to really fall for him.
Then he asked if she could buy phone credit for his daughter as he couldn't use his money abroad whilst he was stationed... She had no money and told him so and he got a bit weird over it. She googled this situation as something didnt sit right and discovered the popular scam of Nigerian men using photos of soldier's, setting up profiles and getting older women to part with cash. They start off small like phone credit and it escalates to life savings and all worldly possessions.
When we looked over his messages after finding out, it all seemed so obvious. The messages were a bit disconnected and seemed scripted. She realised he wasn't really answering her questions or responding to specific thing she had said.
It seems silly now as people are so aware of these type of scams but at the time it really wasn't that obvious.
ZAPanda 4 years ago
Had this happen about 5 times on Tinder. Attractive woman, peculiar style of english. You ask for a location and they give one near you. You check the app to see the ACTUAL reported location and it says they're about 1000km away. Shortly after "hi" they want your contact details - phone number. Dutifully hand it over, still thinking with the genitals at that stage. Well, just the first time, at any rate. The message comes through on whatsapp. Voila, the profile picture slightly mismatches the profile on Tinder. First question is where to meet for a date. Er... no woman here ever does that. Ever. They have a rough time here with GBV so they're super cautious. They'll first engage in lots of back and forth. Not with these. Shortly after getting the whatsapp they agree to a meetup location. Then come the sob stories. I need petrol, I need data, etc etc. At which point you just block them.
StormWolf 4 years ago (edited)
Thanks for teaching me the acronym GBV, I'd never heard it before, surprisingly. Re your story: not quite the same but back when I still used Facebook (Meta?) I used to receive these overly complimentary and flirtatious messages from people with very poor English who peppered me with questions of a very personal nature immediately. My first thoughts were: identity theft
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Susan Bosse 4 years ago
I've had this attempted on me several times through Facebook. Number 1, we did NOT go to high school together. Number 2, our servicemen and woman CAN use their paychecks overseas. I know way too many military people to know this is an absolute lie. One sent me a poem. I googled it because it was so freaky cheesy. Sure enough, the first result was tying the poem to scammers. Lmao
Susan Bosse 4 years ago
Now my Facebook is set to only friends of friends can send me friend requests now. Even then I Facebook stalk them to make sure they're legit. At 52, I now seem to get more requests for people wanting to sell me crap than guys but it's still annoying. Lol
Load More Replies... Cyndi Moring 3 years ago
this happened to me occasionally while I was on Match. I insisted on talking to one guy by phone and he had a thick accent. I asked a few questions.....easy to pop that bubble.
Riley Quinn 4 years ago
I wish more people had more self-love and confidence. These types of "romantic" scams would die.
Sunny Topia 3 years ago
Bruh.. I got one in telegram... the problem is... I am a girl but I put my profile as a guy (my crush xD) then a random girl texting me bla bla bla.. (full of sht) and I ignored her. Pff
#20
I gave half my nights tip money to a woman who said her car broke down and she had to go pick her kids up from daycare. I believed her because she was standing in front of a car getting towed. I told someone about it later and they described her to a T and said "yea that's Kimbo, you just bought her a weeks worth of crack". I've met like six people since then that she's done the same thing to.
WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago
No matter how sad the story is, I never give money to strangers without double checking their identity. And even than I won't accept their golden ring as collateral, but I happily take that golden necklace and watch and silver bracelet they are wearing. They always suddenly remember that they have some spare money in the car.
Chucky Cheezburger 4 years ago
Yep, Ive been hit up so many times at the gas station I used to stop at. Several times by the same person a few days in a row. SCAMMER: Please sir, can you help me? Im trying to get to (other state) to see my mother and I ran put of gas. She's dying of cancer and this is my last chance to see her...blah blah blah.. ME: Really? Wow, thats so sad. Thats the same thing you told me yesterday and the week before. You could have walked there by now... I won't give money, I don't care how bad the sob story. Now if someone asks for food, I'll buy them some food. Hell, I'll buy the little dog they have with them some food. I don't go hungry, I don't think anyone else should either. But I'm not handing them money.
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Susan Widomski 4 years ago
It's like the homeless person with a dog. If I leave any money, I always tell them it is for the dog. They didn't ask to be homeless. Especially hate seeing them on the streets in the summer here in Phoenix.
Lillukka79 4 years ago
Like they care what you say. Just by some dog food, that is the only way to make sure.
Load More Replies... #21
Back on the early 2000s I fell for the Russian Bride Scam... to a degree. I didn't send money but I did believe for a short while, a few weeks, that I was being contacted by a Russian hottie in the Ukraine or Estonia or somewhere and that she was interested in me. What killed it was that she asked me to wire a few bucks so she could pay for time at an internet cafe. I copied and and pasted text from her email into Google an quickly discovered it was the first step in a larger scam where they escalate what they ask for over time eventually asking for a few thousand dollars to purchase a plane ticket to come visit the US. It was early 2000's back when the internet was a bit more "Wild West" even before Facebook was a thing. What kind of hurt my feelings about it all was that I realized that my online presence must have reeked loneliness.
Chich 4 years ago
Had a friend who actually married a mail order russian bride. Got her feet on the ground here, got citizenship then took him for as much as possible and took off. Poor sap went from having his own house to living in a trailer.
StormWolf 4 years ago
The dad of a friend in high school had a mail order Thai bride. This was back in the 90s. She was lovely, but very demure and subservient. A bunch of us girls couldn't stand to see how she bowed and scraped to this man and how he relished it. We took it upon ourselves to teach her a bit of sass and that the word "no" is an acceptable answer. It was wonderful to see her gain self confidence and learn her self worth.
Load More Replies... Kantami Blossom 4 years ago
The was a guy fae Scotland that fell for a similar scam with a Thai woman. he brought her back to Scotland, married her, helped her get citizenship, and then he woke up to discover she'd disappeared with some money and had also stolen his blender😂 I know I shouldn't find it funny, but the fact she took the blender of all things had me in stitches.
Grant Barke 4 years ago
Nothing like drinking a rum smoothie counting all that loot.
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Hugh Walter 4 years ago
There was the guy who strung one along for months, yeah, he'd say it'll all be fine, but can your brother find me an arctic tiger, ohh, I'll have to postpone our meeting I'm looking after my friends alligator . . . that sort of thing, it became a book I think?
Susie Kamper 3 years ago
I had a friend waiting and waiting in the airport. He’d bought roses and dressed up. I knew it was a scam and warned him several times. I asked him why a supermodel doctor from Moscow would even join a dating site and then not have money for anything and decide to come to a tiny town in Denmark, to be with a random guy. But he was so convinced she was real. It still breaks my heart.
Anne McKinney 4 years ago
My brother fell for this. We all kept telling him he was getting scammed but he wouldn't listen. He spent thousands on these women. Now that same brother won't get vaccinated. Can't fix stupid I guess.
Shauna Greymoon 4 years ago
Fwiw, it doesn't mean you seemed lonely. They'll try it with just anybody, but they were especially bad back then. I don't think many of the ones that contacted me even read my profile.
#22
About 10 years ago, when I was euro-tripping (my dad is a truck driver), we stopped at this parking lot in Italy. We had a break and this guy knocks on our window, says he has a laptop for sale. He presents it to us, shows us its specs, I must say it was a pretty good laptop for those times. And we even lowered the price so he was going to sell it to us for 100€. We were both hyped, so we were getting the cash while the guy was packing the laptop in the case, we made a deal, shook hands and he was gone. Eager to test it ourselves we proceeded to open the case, but there was something wrong with the zip. It was welded/melted in one point so it was pretty hard to open, it took us about 2 mins to open the case and there was no laptop inside. Just two boxes of salt. That guy was long gone, and we were sitting there cursing at him and laughing at how we got tricked. It was the most expensive seasoning I've ever tried.
Caro Caro 4 years ago
You both must have known that the laptop was hot so this is your own fault.
Aleksandra 4 years ago
even if he really sold the laptop, you just don't buy stuff like that on the parking lots etc. If they are selling electronics on parking lot, for a low price, it is for sure stolen or fake.
Gerard Neaux 4 years ago (edited)
Paying 100 for a good laptop amounts to scamming the owner. So what, you're upset they didn't let you scam them?
H Edwards 4 years ago
That much coke would be worth more than a hundred bucks, so nah.
Load More Replies... Kantami Blossom 4 years ago
Should be grateful it was a scam, the alternative is a possible charge for receiving/handling stolen good.
Eglė Bukauskaitė 3 years ago
Also You two were willing to buy a stolen laptop (even naive american would think twice about the price)
#23
Not 100% sure I got scammed but 99.99% sure I got scammed over baby formula. I was at the grocery store and some guy speaking broken english came up to me with a sob story about losing his job and having a baby with a special diet and needing to feed him. It felt odd right off the bat but having just become a dad myself I felt compassionate enough to begrudgingly agreed after he said he didn't want money, he just needed someone to buy some formula. I walk him to the self checkout and he scans all his stuff, the total was like 350 dollars. I looked at the total looked at him and he pulls the think of the baby card. So I swiped my card. He tried to take the receipt at the end but I said since it was my card I'd keep it. As I walked away to finish my shopping i noticed he was lingering. I took a lap around one of the aisles. He was still there but talking to the self check out supervisor. He has her do something at the checkout we used and then he finally leaves. I was just gonna let it go but I had a gutt feeling something seemed off so I went up to the supervisor and asked what the gentleman needed. She said he claimed his receipt didn't print and needed a copy. That's when I figured it out. Mofo was gonna return it all and ask for it on a GC. I was so annoyed I didn't even finish shopping.
Kat Zwingle 4 years ago
Same happened to me at Walmart. Mother with child, special formula because of allergies, oh, can we get diapers too? Just over $100, wanted my receipt, because she "was going to do more shopping. No, I took my receipt. Don't know what happened, but decided I meant well, the "bad karma" was on her.
Devil's Advocate 4 years ago
So he couldn't afford baby milk, so you paid for $350 of shopping? Wow, smart!!
Riley Quinn 4 years ago
Should've showed the supervisor your receipt and credit card so when the guy comes back they could reimburse your card.
Rick 4 years ago
Gosh, you’re naive. Unemployed and desperate for food, my eye. 350 dollars worth of alcohol and cigarettes more like (although I don’t know if they sell alcohol and cigarettes in the supermarket in the USA like they do here, so that may not be applicable).
Load More Replies... #24
Was headed to a concert in CLE and found a parking garage. Dude was standing out front and said 20 dollars. Garage was right across from the venue so I agreed, payed him his 20 and he turned and sprinted down the street. Dude didn't work for the parking garage...I couldn't even get mad, just shook my head in awe of the chillness that the dude used to take my 20...
WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago
There's a channel on youtube about people parking their cars in a private space despite 10 signs telling them they will get towed. He had a video about a guy who ushered people into parking there for a fee, said he had an agreement with the owner of the lot. People parked and paid him. He stood there waiting for the tow truck, so he would have room for another victim. Eventually the police caught him. But a lot of people ended up paying to get their car back.
Walter Brameld 4 years ago (edited)
I had something similar happen at a subway station in Atlanta, GA. As I approached the ticket machine, a guy came up to me and said the machine was broken so I should just give the money directly to him and he would let me through the gate. So I did, and he reached behind the gate and undid the latch and let me in. As I was walking down the steps to the platform the guy sprinted past me and got on the same train and ended up sitting a few seats down from me across the aisle. It dawned on me that he had just stolen my fare from the subway company, and that the way the gate was designed anybody who knew how could have opened it.
#25
I fell for the white van speaker scam around 2005 ish. I was leaving Wal-Mart with some groceries when a guy in a van approached me. He said he just installed a fairly expensive stereo in a client's house nearby but the buyer did not want an extra set of speakers and subwoofer. He said he would sell them to me for half of their value, something like 500 bucks. I told him I didn't have that kinda cash and would he take 200, which is all I had on me. He acted like he couldn't go that low but ultimately I ended up with them. Yeah, they lasted about a week and sounded horrible. Ended up being some super cheap Chinese speakers that sold for like 40 bucks.
Ryan-James O'Driscoll 4 years ago
If it's off the back of a van it's either fake, stolen or both
Kantami Blossom 4 years ago
I'm starting to suspect people have never heard the saying "if it sounds too good to be true, that's because it is"
Randy Klefbeck 3 years ago
I had a guy try this with me one time, and he got real nasty when I made it plain I wasn't having any of it. Called the police with his license plate numbers, and informed them that it was a possible stolen property scam/sale. Did not hear back about any of it, but it gave me satisfaction that he had some explaining to do later.
#26
Fell for paying $10 for a crappy CD from some dude at Hollywood. He was nice at first by "giving out" free CDs of his music, then got really pushy about wanting a "donation" for it. I didn't want trouble so I gave him $10. I've always wondered what happens if you just walk away. I never ended up listening to the CD, I have an irrational fear that it's someone saying "lol, you're an idiot" on repeat. :/
WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago (edited)
Got in an interaction with some Krishna dude. He offered me a free cd. I accepted and walked away. He started asking for a donation so I told him no, got in my car and drove off. I saw him performing some weird dance moves in my rear view mirror, shaking his fist and stomping on the ground. The music on the CD was weird too.
Joan Alemany 4 years ago
A guy did the same to me, I knew he probably would expect something in return, so I said, for sure it's for free? And he was like, yeah, yeah, my friends where like let's go, but I was like no, no, he is saying free right? The guy signed the CD for me (the plastic cover) and gave it to me. Then he asked for a donation, I said, oh sorry I don't have cash on me, but thank you for the free CD, then he got super angry and started pushing me into giving him a donation, I refused so he took the CD away.
Thrill.Seeker 4 years ago (edited)
I experienced these scammers both in NYC and San Francisco. The dude in NYC stopped me at Times Square. Had a fat stack of CDs with no labels. Asked me my name (I told him) and he decided to call me J-Boogie and signed that name on the CD top. Then he gave me the whole music spiel and placed the CD in my hand, as I tried to take it and walk off he said he needed a $5 donation. It was that moment that I knew this was a scam and told him I either kept the CD for free or he could have it back. He kept persisting so I gave him his now ruined, poorly signed CD and walked off. The person I ran into in San Francisco was a different story. She stopped me before I saw the CD's and had strikingly beautiful eyes. She was super nice and easy to talk to. Then came the unlabeled CDs and the whole "trying to get my music out there" bit. The CDs did come with cases with actual printed pamphlets with her picture and a web address. I ended up giving her $2 for 2, and when I played them they were blank
Aleksandra 4 years ago
In Europe there is a rose scam like that, always done by Gypsy people, usually at old town plazas. They hand out roses to women or couples, and then suddenly want you to pay them, I'm not sure how much they want, never really took it but saw people getting scammed (too far to tell them not to pay them) and they have little notebooks for some signatures? In conclusion: Never take roses from people in Europe, especially kids!
Debbie Burton 3 years ago
I was given a 'free' book many years ago (I was 17)... after thanking him and starting to walk away he stopped me and asked for a donation 'for the children'. Said sorry don't have any money and kept walking....with the book.
#27
Young horny teenage me took a wrong turning looking for stimulation and ended up paying the 'FBI' £30 to not arrest me and tell my parents.
Kantami Blossom 4 years ago
My faither got caught with one of those sort of scams, the thing locked his computer and demanded money to unlock it. To this day he claims he was on YouTube when a video redirected him to a pornsite, he knows without a shadow of a doubt that I know he's lying but still maintains his claim😂
Dave P 4 years ago
These are the small time scammers, they get a virus on your computer saying they are the FBI or similar and to wire them a small amount of money to unlock your computer and them to remove the virus. Common scam you get from using shady sites. You see it happen on the big level with major corpotations and real criminal gangs
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#28
I was in Nicaragua. A group of 7-year old boys asked me for money because they were "starving". I gave them what I could. That same day I saw them all smoking cigarettes.
Monday 4 years ago
It could also be the case that they're "employed" by one of their parents. Kids are more likely to get money by begging than adults. So the kids go beg, get the money, take the money back to parent and parent "rewards" them with a cig. It's sad but it's the reality for some people.
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Maurettis 4 years ago
Pretty much did the same to me except I knew they were trying to scam me. Had a rough morning at work and at lunch, eating outside the office , I was enjying the peaceful hour of lunch, they come telling me they're hungry, and this heartbreaking story about them. Gave them 20€ before they could add more stupid details and they left me alone, even though they bought cigarettes right away. But they went away and left me alone enjoying my lunch.Best 20€ ever spent
Kiara Eagar 4 years ago
I studied Child and Youth Care a d we had to take a unit on Community Development. We learnt that if you give a homeless person money they will often buy drugs, because drugs will numb all the pain they are experiencing, hunger, cold, disease, depression. If they used the money for anything else, well it only enough to help relieve one aspect of their pain and discomfort. Where as drugs and alcohol numbs it all.
Cyndi Moring 3 years ago
why are the above pictures of african people? The story is about being in Nicaragua.
#29
Ebay was pretty new at the time. Got contacted by the seller of an item on ebay that I didn't win. Top bidder bailed. I could have it for the amount I bid. "Send it Western Union." I had to act fast. I mean, his dad was in the hospital and needed the money. I never saw that camera.
WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago
Never use Western Union to pay for stuff on the internet. You are being scammed if the seller insists on using Western Union.
Fluffy Griffin 4 years ago
I got scammed on eBay, but as a seller. I was selling a "collector edition" game. Winning bidder asked me to email him the code so he could start playing right away. I shipped the box, emailed the code, then was notified by eBay that it was a hijacked account and eBay was going to take back the money. Luckily I had ACTUALLY shipped an item and had proof, I was able to keep the money. Other people who were also scammed had just sent a code with no product so they lost out 100%. A month or two later the box I shipped was returned to me as "undeliverable". It was useless to me at that point (since the code had been used) but at least I still had the money.
Riley Quinn 4 years ago
Western Union is a red flag. Followed this nice guy who had a lot of followers on one of the earlier FB-like sites for months. That's when his tone began to change eventually leading to a WU request. I ghosted him long before I knew what it meant.
#30
I fell for a really weird scam at my old job. It was a very small office so we all picked up the phone when the main line rang. I answered it one day and this guy told me he needed to send me a new manual for our printer/copier. I thought it was a little weird, but he insisted it was free and the only piece of information he was asking me for was the model number, so I gave it to him. He thanked me and said we'd receive the new manual in the mail shortly.
We never did receive anything in the mail, but afterwards I read about the scam online. Apparently they ask you for the model number and then start shipping you sh**ty off-brand toner and charging you insane prices for it. If the business is paying attention, they'll throw out the toner and refuse to pay for it, and no real harm is done. But plenty of offices just assume it's their regular toner, start using it and end up paying the jacked up prices to this sketchy company.
Ellis Reed 4 years ago
Don't you pay for the ink before it arrives? I've never worked in an office that pays for an office product after it gets shipped. Maybe it's different elsewhere in the world?
WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago
In the Netherlands it's quite common to order office supplies like toner and paper and get the bill later. Not paying the bill will always cost you a lot more, so there isn't much risk involved for the sender. But of course, this only happens when the sender knows that they are dealing with a legit company. Otherwise it's payment in advance.
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kay s. 4 years ago
i got this one a lot when i worked in an office setting. as the manager, the calls would funnel to me and they would always be the same: "hey, it's john from upstairs! we're doing a toner order for everyone and i just need your model number so we can make sure you guys are all set." "John from where?" "John from uPsTaIrS. i just need your MoDeL NUmbEr for ToNEr" "omg awesome! I'm on the top floor of the building too and i have no idea where to look for the number - i've tried! can you stop by my desk and help me look for it?" *click* haha! good times.
ZAPanda 4 years ago
similar thing happened here a few years ago. Guys would rock up, say that there was an order for lawn fertiliser, and dump a whole truckload (tipper truck) on the pavement grass. They'd then refuse to leave until they were paid.
max evans 3 years ago
Simple solution. " you can leave now, or leave in handcuffs"
Load More Replies... Richard Willis 3 years ago
When I was at work and covered office management we used to get callers that said ‘Just calling to see how much toner you need this month.’. My reception staff fell for it once, but then I told them to put them through to me! We also had a printer that printed large engineering drawings. The ink cartridges were branded by the printer manufacturer, ‘only available from us’. They shot themselves in the foot, though, as after many months we were sent a message saying that they had supply problems but were supplying an alternative make that I had never heard of. Being a wicked cynic, I banged the details into a comparison chart, and found that a bog standard, Canon cartridge was identical at half the price.
Celtic Pirate Queen 4 years ago
I had a company try that on me in the late 90's. I smelled a rat as soon as I'd given them the model number, & sure enough about 3 weeks later this toner shows up at almost 3 times what I'd been paying our regular vendor. I called the company and refused it saying I'd never authorized the purchase. They tell me "oh, so & so ordered it" using the fake name I'd given them when they called. When I informed them no such employee worked there, they just hung up. I seem to recall their scam got busted at some point.
lisa thomas 4 years ago
It used to happen more frequently years ago. I used to get these types of calls all the time. They would insist that the prices were for that day only and 50% off!
Stephanie Cunningham 4 years ago
We get these calls at my office all the time. They vary a little--sometimes it's a manual they're offering, sometimes toner, sometimes a service contract. They get very unpleasant when I tell them that all of our copiers are managed through IT and I have no say in the purchasing.
#31
I was about 11-12 and very interested in sign language. A guy came up to me and pulled the old I'm deaf, buy this card con. I tried to sign "no, I'm sorry". He didn't seem to get it. I felt so bad about my signing being so terrible, I gave him my only $10.
Fluffy Griffin 4 years ago
Not all deaf people sign though. My cousin was raised to only lip read; she didn't learn to sign until maybe 7-8 years ago as a 45 year old adult.
Loki’s Lil Butter Knife 4 years ago (edited)
First of all this wasn't begging-- this was a flat out scam. It's actually very common and horrible scam that is much more common in Europe--tourists are even warned about. The woman who got scammed even said so. Someone will pretend to be deaf and will try to sell you an item. You purchase said item and they get "angry" if you don't purchase more. These scammers ARE NOT DEAF. They are just truly horrible people faking disabilities to swindle people out of their money.
Load More Replies... #32
I remember being in computer class in elementary school and an ad came up for me to win $1000: "You are our millionth visitor, call this number to win money.". I was so upset when the teacher told me it was fake because I already planned on what new video games I was going to buy.
#33
An email something like "You're paypal has been accessed from an unknown source, click here to update your password." It looked official and asked for me to login to update my password. When I realized the website didn't allow me to view my profile I panicked. I then spent the day taking the nessassary precautions. Lesson, always go to the website yourself and don't click links in emails.
WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago
I get frequent mails from my municipality telling me that I could collect over €10 000 on subsidies for solar panels, wall and roof insulation and replacement of my gas heater for more eco friendly heater. I just have to fill out a form with all kinds of personal data. The link always is a site in Russia, Vietnam, Korea or Nigeria.
#34
When I was in high school (early '70s), my English teacher announced that a publisher was having a poetry contest, and the best entries would appear in a poetry journal. Several of us in class submitted our work and anxiously awaited the results. Surprise! ALL our entries were accepted -- the good ones and the really bad ones. At first we were ecstatic. Then we found out that each of us had to pay to get a copy of the journal. What a scam. Even our English teacher got snookered.
Kitty Jordan 4 years ago
I actually just had a discussion with a woman who wrote a book and was asking questions about getting it published. I was giving her the general information that I knew when she asked if it was customary to pay the publisher. I said absolutely not, and she was relieved. Apparently she nearly paid over $1,000 to a publisher who promised to use the money to illustrate, promote the book, etc.
Julia Atkinson 4 years ago
Publishing is a mystery to most people, including teachers - that's why fake contests and "agents" are always around. And don't get me started on self-publishing, which in most cases is no better than vanity publishing except that the writer ends up buying and trying to re-sell their own print-on-demand books rather than paying up front for a box of printed copies.
Jaclyn Levy 4 years ago
I remember this, it was still going on in the 90s! I didn't enter, but I remember my English teacher being really pissed off when she discovered it was a scam.
#35
I went to a tiny fair in a mall parking lot with a few of my friends two years ago, and one of my goals was to win a tiny stuffed animal for my boyfriend. I came up to this booth that “guaranteed a prize every time, even if I lose” and the man gestured to all the small stuffed animals on display. So of course, I thought I was getting one of those. I win a prize as guaranteed, but this dude pulled out this dinky little emoji plush that was maybe 3 inches in diameter and gave it to me with a sly smirk. I wasn’t that happy but I wasn’t going to fight either. What a scam. Luckily though, I was walking around and saw a tiny stuffed animal that happened to be my boyfriends favorite animal, I asked if I could trade my stupid emoji for it and the guy said yes. He probably couldn’t care less but at least he was nice. Always ask which prize you’d win.
#36
That guy who just ran out of money but needs to buy a train ticket to go home and see his family.
At the time I was like, "gosh, even if there's a chance he is lying, I want to help."
About thirty seconds later I was like, "I am an idiot."
ZAPanda 4 years ago
Yeah here it's "my car has run out of petrol, please can you give me fifty bucks"... er... no.
WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago
I tell them to sell their car so they have enough money to fill it up.
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BoredHuman 4 years ago
Happened to me on Christmas day. Guy came running out of a coffee shop. No money and is stranded. I give him 20 for lunch and all my buss tokens. It was Christmas day and i felt so bad . A few days later and the buss stop is crowded. There he is again with the same story. I spoke up and said don't do it people he scammed me with the same story . The guy got very mad and told me to f**k off.
#37
Not really a scam but a joke. Buddy gave me one of those very real looking fake scratch tickets and it had said I won $5k. I was about 2% skepticism mixed with 98% elation because I was thinking "S***, $5k I can pay off all my credit debt and even start an RRSP." I was gutted when he revealed it was a joke card. Went from feeling like my life had changed and I finally got that little bump I've been waiting for, to feeling like an embarassed ass for falling for it. Now when anything good happens to me I automatically assume its a joke someone's playing on me.
Ashley Lynne 4 years ago
Jokes like that are Cruel! If I'm going to joke with someone it would be opposite - they would think they didn't win or something then would reveal they did (whatever and however id do it)
Jessica Rabbit 4 years ago
My husband gave one of these to his dad when he was younger, and he said he felt terrible after because he could see the excitement in his dad's face, then the realization that the ticket was fake.
StormWolf 4 years ago
An ex of mine once thought he had won millions on the lotto. We were watching the live draw with his daughter and he leaped up, screaming and jumping up and down. He was a big guy so he was literally making the room shake. His daughter and I realised pretty quickly that he had heard "5" instead of "9" though and were just looking at each other with amused dread, like: which one of us has to break the news...? He was crushed, when he finally calmed down and realized we were not celebrating with him. Checked the numbers. Almost cried, poor sod
#38
Was desperate for a job, looked at the newspaper ads (it was like 15 years ago) and saw this "Marketing opening opportunity". I called the number and the guy I spoke to was really enthusiastic, almost instantly gave me an appointment for what he said was an interview a couple of days later. Of course when I asked what did the position involved exactly, they replied "We'll explain everything once we meet you." So I get there to find a room full of chairs and a small stage with a cardboard saying "Please take a seat". I now think this must be some kind of group interview as more people are coming and sitting in the half empty room. Two guys takes the stage, while two others in the back closes the doors, then locks the doors. A woman asks why they are locking the doors and one of the guy says "Well we wanna make sure you get ALL the information before you make a decision". That sounded pretty weird, and by then I knew I was in some s**tty situation. Is this some kind of bats**t religious group? What the hell am I doing here... Then one of the guys on the stage puts a large box on a table, and starts the classic "We are happy to have you here today, in fact we're really excited, because you will be the first in the whole city to make this much cash, you just won't believe it"... he opens the box to show a set of knives and says "We welcome you to Cutco". Now I wanted to get out, but looking at the door the two guys were standing by it like security guards. "Sorry for locking the doors, but this opportunity is so great we can't take any risks, we don't know, one of you may well be a spy." Had to sit through an hour of listening to him talking about his freaking knives and how nice they were.
kay s. 4 years ago
this scenario, i think, is illegal in the US as it would fall under false imprisonment as soon as the doors were locked. you would have every right to call the police at that point. this is why escape rooms cannot, legally, lock you inside. they always say you're NOT locked in and you can open the door ANYTIME you want, but the "locked in" feeling is part of the fun of the rooms.
Chucky Cheezburger 4 years ago
Yeah, if you try to leave and they won't let you leave, then yeah, you can call the police and tell them your being held against your will and hope you remember the address. If the scammers were smart, they had this go down somewhere that doesn't allow firearms. If not, some hothead could make it a very bad day for the scammers ,the other victims of the scammers and possibly themselves.
Load More Replies... WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago
Should have called the police and tell them there was a hostage situation going on. There were mobile phones around 15 years ago.
ZAPanda 4 years ago
MLMs are all scams. Please see mlmwatch.org. Anyone who advertises a great opportunity and wants to hard sell in person, avoid like the plague. Save your friends from this as well, create awareness. MLM is in fact a cult. It works the same way. Unquestionable leader, great promises in a later life, lots of people praising, can only join through another member, have to pay a tithe, very difficult to leave, etc. It's literally a cult.
Fluffy Griffin 4 years ago
Also, it's a fire hazard. The scam I got suckered into actually put you on a bus and drove you out of the city (timeshare investment opportunity! ) but you had to sit through the 2-3h event to get bussed back to town.
BoredHuman 4 years ago
I read something similar where one woman called the police and the recruiters were arrested.
#39
Finally my rage can hopefully be heard. I just left a career in mental health - was prowling for work that paid anywhere above $35k when all of a sudden John Doe from my high school a decade ago who created and maintains a multi-million dollar Japanese steak house asks me to "come to his house personally around 9pm because we needed to catch up. Maybe work if you are interested." F***ing BAM right? Here I am thinking God, all my hard work was finally about to pay off and here comes a what I thought would be MGMT position or something relevant but no.....nonononono it simply wasn't. This dream of job turned out to be a MLM scheme and I knew it when I saw the casual pretzel bowl with like salsa dip and s**t in the basement on the table, with a projector and a room full of people. I fell for the scam - which is why I hate MLM in the first place. You are supposed to target close people in your life and it makes for bad business.
ZAPanda 4 years ago
MLMs are all scams. Please see mlmwatch.org. Anyone who advertises a great opportunity and wants to hard sell in person, avoid like the plague. Save your friends from this as well, create awareness. MLM is in fact a cult. It works the same way. Unquestionable leader, great promises in a later life, lots of people praising, can only join through another member, have to pay a tithe, very difficult to leave, etc. It's literally a cult.
Julia Atkinson 4 years ago
There's a reason why Salt Lake City is a paradise for MLM scams - they have an audience already primed to be taken in
Load More Replies... #40
My old roomate got thrown in jail one night - he went out drinking with a bunch of friends and was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Anyway, I go with his girlfriend to bail him out. We get to the jail and some guy approaches us and ask if we need a bail bondsman. We have no idea what we're doing so we say yes and then go to some bonds place. He asks us for $300 for the bail then goes inside - and never comes out. So my roomates girlfriend goes inside to see where he is and nobody's ever heard of him. So we lost all his money and he's stuck in jail for 2 days until they release him. He wasn't happy that we lost his money and failed at getting him out. I was 17 at the time so didn't think people would be that cruel - I know better now.
ZAPanda 4 years ago
which country? we have the same system here. In the majority of cases, bail greater than $1 is not affordable so the perpetrator stays behind bars. Generally we hear about it when it's a rich guy who murdered his wife or something. Then the bail is high.
Load More Replies... #41
I got into Scientology for a while. The thing you have to understand about Scientology is that when they pitch it to you, it sounds really f**king awesome. They make it sound like there's something easy to fix with your brain that, after you fix it, will improve every area of your life. Oh, and they have a navy. There was a time in my life when I wanted nothing more than to join the Sea Org and help make the world Clear.
Chich 4 years ago
Years ago I was stopped on the street by two who looked like students. They wanted me to take a 'personality" test. Figured they were pshyc students from the local university and as I had time to kill said sure. Took me to a storefront and gave me this list of questions. Did that and they had me wait in the outer room while they 'marked' it. No indication of anything until I happened to look at the door. Small sign above : "Church of Scientology" Stayed anyway to see what they would do. Of course the test came back amazing and I should take some seminars to reach my true potential. Noped out but got phone calls for a long time afterwards. At least I learned not to put my real contact info on sketchy forms.
Julia Atkinson 4 years ago
This happened to me in London back in the 70s. These people are scum.
Load More Replies... ZAPanda 4 years ago
... of body thetans, being possessive spirits that were dumped in a volcano 50mya by an evil galactic warlord called xenu who drove dc3 aircraft... sure, totally believable.
ZAPanda 4 years ago
Here's the corridor of mirrors. It just takes a brain cell to work it out. If thetans are what make you unhappy, because they're unhappy, because they were genocided and atom-bombed in a volcano... what makes the THETANS unhappy? Do they have meta-thetans?
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Grace and Lucy 4 years ago
Look closely at Scientology. If it worked so well we would all be doing it. This is what they want from you: your bank account and your brainwashed mind.
#42
Lost $700 to a housing scammer. Back in May this year I inquired about a CL ad for a house for rent. It was a perfect match for me. Nice house, good neighborhood, owner would let me have whatever pets I wanted without any fees. Should have realized it was too good to be true. Made the mistake of wiring them the deposit money without signing anything or meeting with anyone.
The worst part is that I was being so careful the whole time, researching and verifying any information given to me, and I still made a stupid mistake that cost me money I couldn't afford to lose.
WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago
With an enormous shortage in housing, this scam is now very active in the Netherlands. Especially foreign students and immigrants are targeted because they don't know the procedure is in the Netherlands and they end up paying large sums of money to scammers who promise them priority in renting a flat or a house. Surprise: you can't bribe your way into a place to live over here.
#43
When I was young and slightly drunk a man accosted me at the cashpoint and convinced me to give him £40. He said he would pay me back and gave me an address and phone number. When I returned to the cashpoint the next day I realised he had Keyser Söze'd the streetname directly behind me. I did not get back the £40, although the amount of money that guy has saved me since by making me realise how innocent I was means it's probably one of the best investments I ever made.
#44
Hit a bad shot on a golf course. heard a thump sound. man came out not angry, but seemed sad and said i broke his window. his kids were in the other room, so nobody was hurt. still he threatened legal action. (i now realize he LIVES ON A GOLF COURSE so this s**t must happen to him all the time) long story short, i was shook up and gave him all the cash in my wallet about $150 to get him to calm down. he took it said he'd fix the window, we exchanged info so he could see if the window cost more or less than i gave him. I was still scared of getting sued. called/emailed him the next week to see what was up, both were fake. Yes, i should have asked to see the window. Yes, i should have not been such a shook up wiener. I got scared and thought i was doing the right thing. Sometimes, i am not a street smart man.
#45
I wouldn't say I fell for it but while walking around Tokyo I was stopped by this monk who explained that he was traveling the country on foot and asked for a monetary donation. When it was clear I'd help him out, he pulls out a money book and shows me what people generally give him and to write my name down next to them along with the money amount. It was full of big numbers clearly going into the hundreds and thousands of dollars. It's implied that I should match those donations otherwise I'm clearly not a good person. Realized it was an immediate scam, and a very obvious one. He then waits for me to pay up and I gave him the equivalent of $5. 500 yen. He kinda looked at me like I just insulted him and I walked away. I checked google later that night and apparently he was a well known scammer in the area.
Alex the Country Dog 4 years ago
Ooh I actually enjoy these ones. They can make up some interesting stories about their "travels" and I don't mind throwing $5 toward a good story.
WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago
He still got your $5. 10 x 5 still makes $50 for scamming people.
Kitty Jordan 4 years ago
Why on earth would you still give him money after you realized it was a scam, I wonder?
#46
A guy asked me for $5 because he was out of gas. He told me if I gave him my address he would mail it back to me. I told him, no problem keep it. Then I watch him walk down the street and into a bar.
Kristin Ingersoll 4 years ago
Once cash leaves your hand, you no longer have any say in how it's spent. Enjoy the good karma on your end and move along!
Alex the Country Dog 4 years ago (edited)
I will ALWAYS give to someone "out of gas" EVEN IF I believe it's a scam. I have been the recipient of that scam, AND I have been the person genuinely out of gas when I was young, and was really grateful for someone believing I was out of gas (when my car was nowhere in sight).
#47
I fell for the "Become a supermodel" scam. I was 15-16 at the time with little self confidence. I've got stopped on the street by this guy saying that he works for a modelling agency and I have a great look etc. I ended up registering with the agency (even though I am like 5 foot 3 on tall days), even paid a registration fee which meant that they did a "book" for me, with 10 professional photos and they taught all the models how to walk. One week before the fashion show (that would skyrocket all our careers) was supposed to take place they disappeared. The registration fee was quite hefty, there were like 150-200 girls registered with them when they packed up.
ZAPanda 4 years ago
jesus you are lucky you dodged a bullet there. Here if that happens it's often a human trafficking scam.
Kitty Jordan 4 years ago
Where I'm at, this is commonly targeted toward 18-year-olds who are old enough to be legal but maybe not old enough to know better, and the "modeling" jobs are actually adult films/modeling, which the girls are then pressured into doing (usually they are told that it's the way to get to the usual kind of modeling jobs).
Load More Replies... kay s. 4 years ago
a million years ago, i went to one of these modelling cattle calls at the local 3-star hotel and did the whole photo thing for a Zed card (are those still around?) but i actually ended up doing a ton of local stuff and made way more than i invested in the pics. i had gone with 2 friends and 2 of us were picked but the other girl who signed up only ever did a couple of jobs before quitting. i was lucky i guess!
#48
This was a close call at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam. I arrived with my girlfriend, she's a photographer, and we stopped by to grab a burger jn one of those places from the arrivals foodhall. My girlfriend left her camera on the table with me and went to the toilet. At one moment an old lady came from my left and started asking me stuff with an awful accent, I couldn't understand anything she was saying. By the third or forth attempt I understood she was looking for the toilet. I didn't know where the toilet was but my girlfriend was just coming back from it, from behind me, I saw and asked where the toilet was but she was frozen like "what the hell is going on?". I turned my back again to the table and there was a guy with his hands on her camera. By this time the old lady had already vanished. The guy patheically moves his hand to the napkin holder and asks if it was ours. I don't even think he waited for an answer, he just turned and went away. It was all very quick, took us some seconds to realise we almost lost the camera and the whole thing was a scam.
Chich 4 years ago
Was in Amsterdam in the 70's. From getting off the train to getting out of the station we were offered several drugs, prostitutes, "deals" and a few invitations to "wild boat parties" . We'd luckily talked to a few friends before going so althouhg young and stupid we were well briefed on the scams.
Danielle 4 years ago
Had this is Spain with a little boy trying to grab my phone. I understand decent spanish and he wasnt even saying anything. He was trying to put his pamphlet over my phone ao he couls snatch it without being seen. I casually moved my phone between me and my new husband and the boy moved to the next table. I explained it to my husband and he was shocked. Poor boy feeling he needs to steal like this.
#49
Guy at the gas station said he and his cancer ridden wife broke down a mile up the highway, needed $10 to get them gas for a 30 mile trip to the city. I just got paid was feeling rich so I gave it to him. Went to the same gas station two days later and the guy was there again with the same problem.
#50
When I was a little kid, my dad drew several circles on a sheet of paper. Then, he would have me roll a quarter down my nose to try to get it to land in certain spots for more points. The goal is that when the quarter lands, you trace the quarter with a pencil, then you roll, trace, roll, trace etc until you get a certain number of points. The joke is that the person rolling the quarter ends up with a streak of graphite down their nose and looks like an idiot. I wasn’t happy. It was embarrassing and I felt betrayed.
#51
A guy I went to high school with scammed a town full of people in the next state over by pretending to be a Food Network chef. He claimed that he was setting up a barbecue in their town with people such as Bobby Flay and Robert Irving in attendance, then proceeded to charge $35 a ticket to the tune of $10,000. The charade fell apart when he did a presentation and people realized he had no clue how to make most of the stuff he was demonstrating. People did a little digging and realized he wasn't a chef and had never been employed by Food Network. The police agreed not to press charges if he gave everyone their money back.
Walter Brameld 4 years ago
I wonder what sort of fuckery this guy has gotten up to since then.
#52
I worked serving food at a country club. The management decided to prank my young, naive, wholesome self. Basically my supervisor asked me to go inquire to the head chef about the state of the ‘dingleberries.’ I assumed it was some type of fancy berry and did as asked. Head chef had me pass the message back to her that they were still “too dirty” and not ready yet. You can’t imagine how I felt once I figured this out years later.
#53
High School kids were selling magazine subscriptions in the parking lot of the strip mall. I felt sorry for them and placed an order. Never received the magazine - apparently they were just scamming peeps.
ZAPanda 4 years ago
did this once to a kid at a mall... he was 'collecting money for his church', replied, 'oh sorry i don't give money to christians' --- should have seen the utter shock on his face.
Tamra Stiffler 4 years ago (edited)
LOL! Also, it's rather despicable for a church to make kids ask strangers for money, if this was legit.
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#54
" Hey man. If you type your password, it'll bleep out. Look. My password is *******" I lost my first runescape account this way. I ended up recovering it about a year later, but I felt bad and didn't keep it because the guy had made that account a member and was nearly level 80 in everything.
JuJu 4 years ago
You were a little fraud and thief. Not really a reason to *lol*
Load More Replies... #55
When I was 18 I sent +/-$100 in cash to China for a fake ID. The lady at the post office even said "Be careful sending cash to China, it's probably a scam!" and I thought "Pssssht, it's okay, I read reviews online and it's legit." It wasn't legit, the reviews were fake. I literally sent cash to China for nothing. I am not a smart man.
#56
One of those "I'll fix your bumper, right here in this parking lot" scams. These guys would prowl the parking lot outside of shopping centers, looking for any car with a dent. When the driver shows up, they make their sales pitch, which is something along the lines of: "Hey, I work at this body shop at [random place that likely doesn't exist]. I fix up dents like yours all the time; my shop usually charges [made up figure], but i'll tell you what, i'm actually just getting off work and I have all of the equipment I need to fix your bumper on the spot, for a fraction of what it would cost you." I like to think of myself as a rational person, and I have never fallen for anything so transparent before. But for whatever reason, I fell for it. Not my proudest moment.
BaconBenchPress616 4 years ago
What actually happens when you agree? Do they take the money and run?
ekcv 4 years ago
I was at a self car wash and this guy approached me and said he could clean my car's headlights, making them look like new for $5. I agreed. He asked to borrow a shammy towel I was using to dry the car. When he was done he said, "That'll be $10." When I reminded him he said $5 he said, "It's $5 EACH." I guess looked at him with pity because when I paid him the $10 he snatched it out of my hand and angrily asked to keep the shammy towel . I realized he scammed me by quoting a misleading price but I felt sorry he thought that's how it had to be done. He did a pretty good job, though.
#57
I fell for the penny auction sites. "Buy $50 in credits and bid on these super expensive items for a penny" Spent all of my credits in like 10 minutes. BULL
Joe Blowe 4 years ago
The way the penny auction scams work is you pay usually $1 for 1 credit. Each credit is worth 1 cent more on the item being auctioned. However, each bid also adds 30 seconds to the auction time. On the commercials when they show that this person bought a ps4 for $45, the auction site made $4500 (1 cent x 100 cents in a dollar x however many dollars the item sold for.)
#58
There was a company advertising that they would help people wipe out predatory student loans. Long story short I blew $800 on a company that got shut down by the Gov't for fraudulent practices and was denied a refund.
#59
I went to buy a Rolling Stones ticket from a scalper years ago (i know, i know) and he talked me into a VIP Backstage Pass. He said that's all I need! Free food, booze, all the perks. He insisted the sticker was all I needed to get in, no paper ticket necessary. So a few hours later I go to the show, obviously can't get in - it was a VIP pass from the night before. There was no date on it, just a different shape. I try every single gate hoping someone won't notice/not care and finally try the media entrance. The nice lady ushered me right in, I took an elevator up to the main concourse and I was free as a bird. I didn't have a seat obviously but I snuck down to the floor and ended up having a great show.
#60
i was working at costco, checking reciepts at the door. it’s boring as f**k, then a woman walked by with an incredibly low shirt that looked like it had been pulled down even further to where her breasts were almost out. i didn’t leer at her, but it certainly caught my attention, as well as my female co-worker doing the same thing across from me. didn’t notice the bottle of jack daniels tucked in her purse, i got honey-potted :/
Poppy 4 years ago
My sister and I used to do something similar to sneak alcohol into a club. I had a jacket with a waistcoat inside which hid the bottle of booze in my inside jacket pocket. My sister and all her better looking friends would distract the door staff by showing them their tattoos in *ahem* hard to reach areas, whilst I was only glanced over and allowed in without being searched. Cheap club nights were fun.
#61
Working as a gas station cashier, a guy asked for 5 $20 lottery tickets, so I put them on the counter with the rest of his items. I asked if he had a loyalty card and he said he left it in his car and went to get it. He never came back, tickets were gone. Whoops.
BoredHuman 4 years ago
Working alone in a clothing store. Rich lady come in. High end clothes etc. uses her debit. The machine was being slow. ( this was 20 years ago before tap or speed ) the customers acts snobby and impatient and says she is in a hurry and walks out with her stuff. The card finally goes through and was declined. I honestly believed the card was good due to her clothing . The store lost 500 worth that day and I was lucky I was not fired.
#62
Taking a picture with Elmo in Times Square and paying up $20. He also kept badgering me for MORE money and saying he needed to share with his other costumed buddies. I lied and told him that was all the cash I had left. >:T
#63
Hot girl from high school hit me up when I was in Iraq. Chatted with me a couple months. Needed $500 for a new phone. Sent it to her. Never heard from her again.
#64
When I was in high school, I went to a carnival with my girlfriend at the time. We were walking by the games and she saw a stuffed animal she wanted. The carny knew how to win the game, I just couldn't do it. I lost $70 on it. I was about to walk away at $20, but he said he'd give me the money back if I was successful. I still feel like a moron about that.
Grant Barke 4 years ago
What's the deal winning a stuffed animal anyway. You can buy them cheaper at a store.
#65
I once got locked out of my car one night. I called the first name on the google search. I was given a quote of $60 so I agreed. The "locksmith" only used a slim jim to open my door and I was charged $130. I had no choice but to pay and walk away very sad.
ZAPanda 4 years ago
me too. You can buy these inflatable cushion things though (thanks wish dot com) and they work quite well. The cushion opens the door just enough to get a coathanger through.
WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago
They won't be of any use in my car. There are no levers to unlock the door. You have to use the key to open and close the lock. I skipped the option of remote opening because it just gives criminals an easy way to steal your car.
Load More Replies... #66
I'm an amateur 3D artist. I got picked up by a group that was doing a demo for a major, major video game company that just about all gamers know of, if they don't own games by that they play religiously. It was a dream job: I was gonna be a character artist. After a few weeks of awaiting a decision, I was accepted. I told my family, who announced it when my entire family was in town for my cousin's wedding. I didn't want it announced there for lingering fear of this very reason. The guy turned out to be bats**t insane, and is either leading all of us on, or is insanely ambitious but genuinely has no clue what he's doing. Either way, he's disappeared off the face of the planet, likely with a fair amount of artwork and 3D assets.
#67
A very naive 11 year old me belived that you could get free steam games with a "Steam-Key generator". It seemed easy. You just had to write your username and password into a program, then you had access to all the games you wanted. I did exactly that, and lost my account with hundreds of games. Still mad at myself. Damn it.
#68
I played Runescape when I was like 14 with this kid named Sparky every single day. He was my good friend and I trusted him. We'd chat and cut logs all the time. He asked to wear my party hat (before lending was a thing, it was a green party hat worth around 20 million gold at the time) after knowing him for like 2 years. He logged off and I never saw him again. Green party hat gone. I was sad more that I lost my friend over a dumb in game item.
BaconBenchPress616 4 years ago
That makes me very sad. Sorry you experienced that. Those early online friendships meant more to some of us than a lot of in-person ones.
#69
my dad signed me up for a “be an extra in movies” casting service he found in the paper when I was in highschool (I wanted to work in film at the time). 70 bucks and a few weeks of no calls later, he told me not to tell mom. Shouldve probably gotten the hint when they just asked for names, no photos/height/weight or any details casting would need.
#70
Bought one of those helium balloons for my 6 year old daughter on holiday in Austria. Asked in my best German how much it costs and pointed at a hello-kitty-shaped balloon. Seller pretended he didn't understand me but handed the balloon to my kid. When I asked again he named the price (oh now you understand?). It was far too expensive but of course a can't take the balloon out of my kid's hands an he knew that. My kid walked away happy with the balloon and I knew he pulled a dirty trick on me. I walked away with an international universal finger signal when she wasn't looking. €15 less in my pocket.
#71
In Lego Universe a guy told me he'd show me a cool glitch for 10,000 coins. I was young and stupid. Bastard took the money and ran.
#72
One of those “drop your business card in the fishbowl” things to win a free gym membership. Got called, got excited. Turns out they call EVERYONE in the fishbowl. They waive the monthly fee but you still have to pay a 199 enrollment fee, a monthly gym maintenance fee, and we’re required to rent a locker. My free membership would have cost about 30 bucks a month for a year. I left, tried to warn a few others that showed up to claim their prize.
#73
It was 2.5 years ago and I wanted a leather jacket...I've never had one, so I did my research online. Got directed to this seller, and I was quoted a 6 month wait-time for the jacket to be made to my measurements. I sent him a $800 payment...never got the jacket
#74
The Good Feet Store- I was working 16hr days and my feet were killing me spent $800.00 at this store for a few pieces of hard plastic that could never have worked, this was about 5 years ago and I'm still pissed off about it
#75
Guy knocked on door and convinced me to buy electricity from him. Said he works with the utility to get me the best rate and convinced me I will save money. I accepted. Next electricity bill was double what I usually get. I was essentially charged once by the utility and once by his company - which I learnt is a utility marketer. I cancelled my account with them.
#76
Young me was duped into thinking it meant anything when poetry.com said they wanted to publish my poem. They definitely implied very strongly that it was so great they wanted to publish it, and not just "hey, we'll publish this if you pay us $X." Even got audio of some dude reading it out loud (along with all the other poems written by people who paid, presumably) who pronounced my hometown wrong. I'm still a little bitter.
#77
The suit scam in Thailand aka Laughing Buddha scam. The moment i stepped into the shop I felt something was wrong. I tried to say no and make my way out but I was a weak minded person. In the end, I was pressured and bought 2 suits in the end. To be honest, i didn't think it'd arrive, i was going to do a charge back on my credit card. But the suit did come and it did fit me quite well. Material is meh but the price is cheaper than what I'd have to pay for a tailored suit but not as cheap as what I could've actually gotten. They also came to my hotel room late at night for a fitting (which i was thinking I might get robbed after leaving the place and thinking about the whole process). Giving them my hotel address and room number might not have been the brightest idea. I am not a smart man. I could've been worst off, I got lucky with only some damage to my wallet.
#78
You are the 1,000,000th visitor to this site.
I was 6 or 7 using windows 98 you do the math.
#79
I lost my wallet. I have 2 dollars and I need 3 dollars. Do you have 5 dollars?" Proceed to give 5 dollars and he just took it and go. I stand speechless.
#80
Habbo Hotel 15+ years ago. Through giveaways and smart trading, 11 or 12 year old me had accumulated several pieces of furniture. Some guy told me he could double my furniture if I gave him my password. Being an idiot kid in a less internet savvy time, I gave him my info. He took all my stuff and told me I was a retard. I was utterly crushed that I fell for it. I felt like a complete idiot for days afterwards. Obviously not a big scam or anything, but little kid me learned a big lesson about learning to apply doubt to weird claims or to-good-to-be-true promises.
memyselfandI 4 years ago
I’m gonna guess a video game, sort of like those “build your own farm” ones.
Load More Replies... #81
I feel so dumb for this. Gypsy pulls up next to my jeep and says he will take the dents out of the doors for 100 bucks. He puts some wax over the dents "to keep the paint from cracking" then proceeds to wiggle a tool through the inside of the door to push the dents out. He actually did push them out a little bit but I could tell that they would still show once I removed the wax (the wax was there to make it harder to see the dents, when the paint isn't shiny it's harder to see imperfections even if they are big). I told him he didn't actually fix it and I rubbed the wax off to show him. But now I'm standing there with just me and two gypsies with tire irons in their hand. So I paid them. I justify my cowardice with the fact that it was Christmas time
Rick 4 years ago
A gypsy asks you to help with something, ANYthing - fixing your car, paving your driveway, repairing your roof, you tell them NO, every single time. The car isn’t yours, and you rent your house, not own it.
Samantha Lomb 4 years ago
They get very nasty real quick if you tell them no though. I remember being harassed by a woman when I declined a fortune telling in the street. She called me all sorts of vile things. With tire irons it might be safe just to pay. I dislike negative stereotypes of people but the Gypsies I've met have been nasty thieves.
Load More Replies...
#82
The whole 'Kony' thing. I remember being so keen to paint my town red and then found out they were pretty much keeping all the money..
Da Stew 4 years ago
It was a self produced documentary from a few years back about an NGO in Africa. It's leaders fleeced the donors for hundreds of thousands, if not millions. One of the primary producers became involved in the gun and drug trade as well.
Load More Replies... #83
I hate it and always used to fall for ads in sites you expect to download a file from showing a download button in their as to get you to download their malware
WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago
Not really, a growing number of sites provide download links to freeware or trialware. The only thing is you have watch and read very closely what link you're clicking. There's a very prominent DOWNLOAD link which installs a virus infested copy of Winrar and a legit very tiny link actually downloading the software that you want.
Load More Replies... What do you think ?
Nadine 4 years ago
My father and his wife got scammed on a cruise by an employee. She became totally friendly with them and they gave her money. When they got home, she wrote to them, calling them grandma and grandpa, telling them her sob stories. They sent money. Finally, she got to the point where she was having them deposit money. When my father said no more, she sent nasty notes. Stepmother kept sending money. Beware.
Poppy 4 years ago
My sister used to take me to Blackpool in the UK for a day out for my birthday when I was a child (I was 8 or 9 and she was eight years older than me). We'd had a great day and had just enough money left for a trip up Blackpool tower as I'd never been up. Outside the building there was an Irish lady selling 'Lucky' heather. My sister was only a teenager and this Irish lady was very pushy and my sister got out some money to give her and the Irish lady just snatched all of the money (which was all we had left) and thrust a sprig of heather in our hands and walked off. I never did get to go up Blackpool Tower that day (actually I've never been up it) and we just caught the bus home.
Caro Caro 4 years ago
I got scammed in South Africa for about 20 euro's. It was for a so called safe house and soup kitchen. I gave the money and had to put my name and amount on the list. It was all in the same handwriting and I thought "fu*k it, they can keep the money". It's only 20 euro's. I've been knowingly scammed in other countries in SE Asia. So what ... give the kids some money, don't be that asshole and walk away.
jk nbt 4 years ago (edited)
inkjet printer ink is a scam. I installed new black & color cartridges on my Canon printer last year at this time. I can't recall printing ONE color print the last year. So I needed to print something in color last week, and guess what? The printer said that my color cartridge was out of ink. NO, it still has ink in it... Canon will never buy your stuff again... what jerks...
Meami 4 years ago (edited)
My MIL got scammed. Caller said they were the police in another city and her grandson was in jail and she needed to send money. They even had a kid that sounded like my nephew talk to her. She wired money to them. They called back and said they needed more money. When she went to the bank to get it, the bankers tried to tell her she was being scammed. She refused to believe them and wired more money. All told, about $4,000. She finally called my nephew, who answered his phone and said, "nope, not in jail". The scammers called back again but at least she knew by then not to send them money. If she'd only called my nephew after their first call before she sent money, she wouldn't have been scammed.
Cuervo 4 years ago
Moral of the stories: Don't trust anyone. Especially if they are friendly and are smiling and calling you honey etc. Don't say anything and walk away!!!
H Edwards 4 years ago
Most of these were people being stupid. You don't have to stop trusting everyone
Load More Replies... Yort 4 years ago
Some of these people are pretty dumb, tbh. I mean of course the scammers are at fault, and I don’t blame a 14 year old or whatever for messing up, but some of these stories... well, lesson learned, at least. And of course I’m not saying I’ve never fallen or ALMOST fallen for stuff myself.
Nadine 4 years ago
My father and his wife got scammed on a cruise by an employee. She became totally friendly with them and they gave her money. When they got home, she wrote to them, calling them grandma and grandpa, telling them her sob stories. They sent money. Finally, she got to the point where she was having them deposit money. When my father said no more, she sent nasty notes. Stepmother kept sending money. Beware.
Poppy 4 years ago
My sister used to take me to Blackpool in the UK for a day out for my birthday when I was a child (I was 8 or 9 and she was eight years older than me). We'd had a great day and had just enough money left for a trip up Blackpool tower as I'd never been up. Outside the building there was an Irish lady selling 'Lucky' heather. My sister was only a teenager and this Irish lady was very pushy and my sister got out some money to give her and the Irish lady just snatched all of the money (which was all we had left) and thrust a sprig of heather in our hands and walked off. I never did get to go up Blackpool Tower that day (actually I've never been up it) and we just caught the bus home.
Caro Caro 4 years ago
I got scammed in South Africa for about 20 euro's. It was for a so called safe house and soup kitchen. I gave the money and had to put my name and amount on the list. It was all in the same handwriting and I thought "fu*k it, they can keep the money". It's only 20 euro's. I've been knowingly scammed in other countries in SE Asia. So what ... give the kids some money, don't be that asshole and walk away.
jk nbt 4 years ago (edited)
inkjet printer ink is a scam. I installed new black & color cartridges on my Canon printer last year at this time. I can't recall printing ONE color print the last year. So I needed to print something in color last week, and guess what? The printer said that my color cartridge was out of ink. NO, it still has ink in it... Canon will never buy your stuff again... what jerks...
Meami 4 years ago (edited)
My MIL got scammed. Caller said they were the police in another city and her grandson was in jail and she needed to send money. They even had a kid that sounded like my nephew talk to her. She wired money to them. They called back and said they needed more money. When she went to the bank to get it, the bankers tried to tell her she was being scammed. She refused to believe them and wired more money. All told, about $4,000. She finally called my nephew, who answered his phone and said, "nope, not in jail". The scammers called back again but at least she knew by then not to send them money. If she'd only called my nephew after their first call before she sent money, she wouldn't have been scammed.
Cuervo 4 years ago
Moral of the stories: Don't trust anyone. Especially if they are friendly and are smiling and calling you honey etc. Don't say anything and walk away!!!
H Edwards 4 years ago
Most of these were people being stupid. You don't have to stop trusting everyone
Load More Replies... Yort 4 years ago
Some of these people are pretty dumb, tbh. I mean of course the scammers are at fault, and I don’t blame a 14 year old or whatever for messing up, but some of these stories... well, lesson learned, at least. And of course I’m not saying I’ve never fallen or ALMOST fallen for stuff myself.
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