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Millennials are known for many different things. They are the generation that loves traveling and avocado toast, and grew up experiencing life pre- and post-digital technology and social media. 

They are also known to fall victim to many scams, and very unfortunately so. Recently, people got candid on Reddit and admitted to being duped into engaging in rage bait, joining a multilevel-marketing scheme, and ruining their lives on online sports betting, to name a few. 

Are you a millennial who has fallen for any of these scams? We’d like to hear from you in the comments below.

#1

47 Scams That Millennials Don’t Recognize And Fall For Every Time “Toxins” in your body, and associated grifty products to detox you.

x_tacocat_x , Any Lane Report

Grape Walls of Ire
Community Member
4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Your liver and kidneys handle toxins. If they're not functioning properly, you have bigger problems.

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    #2

    Uber Eats delivery cyclist waiting at a crosswalk in an urban area with nearby bus and commercial buildings scam risks for millennials Ordering Uber eats. Literally double++ for cold fast food.

    EngineerDirector , Mak Report

    StrangeOne
    Community Member
    4 months ago (edited) Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I tried it a couple times. It cost way more for cold food left outside the main entrance of my apartment building.

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    #3

    Man in white shirt and glasses frustrated at computer screen, illustrating common scams that fool millennials online. I feel like we (myself included) fall for rage bait easily. We are decent at spotting scams, phishing, and AI, but rage bait is something we can't resist.

    Ok-Abbreviations9936 , fxquadro Report

    Rick Murray
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Getting help in the internet in 202x: post a problem, follow it up with a proposed solution that is clearly wrong, sit back and wait for the angry responses calling you a complete idiot and telling you how to do it correctly. 🤷🏻‍♀️

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    So, what is it about millennials that makes them susceptible to falling for scams? According to psychiatrist and Telapsychiatry Chief Medical Officer Dr. Ozan Toy, their familiarity and comfort with technology may be a factor. 

    “They are so used to doing everything electronically that they don't spend as much time deliberating on decisions made online,” he told Bored Panda. “Combined with a person's desire for a quick and easy way to make money, they may find themselves more likely to trust information found online without verifying its legitimacy.”

    #4

    Person scanning QR code on phone at a restaurant highlighting common scams that fool millennials in digital payments. Apparently random QR codes. It’s becoming a common scam where a nefarious person will place a QR code on parking meters or something random and people scan it.

    And we’re still very bad with phishing attacks. Oh hey sorry I sent you this random email with this super intersting sounding link….

    Alpine_Exchange_36 , Albert Hu Report

    Rick Murray
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    "Order and pay by phone" - no menu no customer, it's that simple.

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    #5

    Laptop on a desk with music player open, modern artwork and desk lamp, illustrating scams that fool millennials online. Maybe not an out and out scam per se, but monthly subscriptions. Hell I went through a car wash yesterday with my son to get the cheapest wash ($10!) and 3 employees were there trying to hard sell me on a monthly pass.

    Logical-Ad3341 , Nikita Kachanovsky Report

    Lyone Fein
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Monthly subscriptions instead of ownership is absotively a scam.

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    #6

    Person typing on a laptop with a dark screen displaying a chatbot interface about scams targeting millennials. Ugh, apparently a lot of people are falling for ChatGPT and generative AI being the answer to all their questions -- and I mean ALL THEIR QUESTIONS. I refuse.

    Quiet_Stomach_7897 , Berke Citak Report

    The Darkest Timeline
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    So, they’re basically using it as an advanced search engine that gets things wrong 30% of the time? Just waiting for the AI bubble to burst and for AGI to never become what has been promised to complete the circle of stupidity. Of course, we’ll still be forced to deal with AI and all its shittiness because, hey, businesses gotta cut costs to give shareholders their value, right?

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    Like fashion and technology, scams have fads and trends, according to Lightcurve’s consumer advocacy and scam prevention expert Amanda Singleton. She explained that while millennials may not fall for chain letters or inheritance scams, they may fall for get-rich-quick schemes like MLMs. 

    “Millennials have also faced added financial pressures—like the Great Recession, rising debt, and a high cost of living—so it’s understandable they might be looking for ways to get ahead,” Singleton said.  

    #7

    Cryptocurrency price chart on a screen highlighting risks involved in scams targeting millennials. According to my friend who works in the fraud department at a large bank, crypto/bitcoin/nfc scams are very popular. People give up their whole life savings to people who promise them that they will be the next billionaire, and never see a single cent ever again.

    thr0ughtheghost , Nick Chong Report

    KrazyChiMama
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Never give money to something you don’t fully understand!

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    #8

    47 Scams That Millennials Don’t Recognize And Fall For Every Time Influencer culture. Buying s****y, poor quality products from social media that you regret buying as soon as it arrives.

    And also those guru MLM type "courses" teaching you how to start your own 6-figure drop shipping business or how to turn your side hustle into a booming business, etc.

    nico-72 , Artem Podrez Report

    Stephanie Did It
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    And if you have a hobby you enjoy, or a talent you've displayed, you're immediately pressured to turn it into a side hustle (hate that term) or to start promoting it. No thank you. My art is my comfort and I'll keep it that way.

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    #9

    Four people sitting at a bar watching multiple sports games on large screens, illustrating common scams targeting millennials. Online sports betting. I’ve seen it destroy a handful of couples in their 30s and 40s.

    kdani17 , Amit Lahav Report

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    You may consider yourself smart and careful enough not to fall victim to a scam. Yet, you may also find yourself being defrauded in some way. That’s because scams appeal to emotion, Singleton clarified. 

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    As she further explained, scammers know how to weaponize a potential victim’s emotional reactions and needs, making the person less vigilant without using critical thinking. 

    “Scams on job boards, dating apps, or rental listings target our fundamental desires and needs for income, love, and shelter,” Singleton said. “As a result, even smart people can get sucked into a scam.”

    #10

    Woman wearing headscarf holding credit card near laptop illustrating scams that fool a millennial online shopping risks. People falling for people’s go fund me’s and videos of people asking for money to be sent to their venmo/cashapp.

    redefine_bravery , Anna Shvets Report

    Zephyr343
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Too lazy to make a video--just send me money. I accept cash, checks and most major credit cards.

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    #11

    47 Scams That Millennials Don’t Recognize And Fall For Every Time My firend tried to tell me you can pay a company to "get your information off the internet". I laughed and asked if there was a company that can get just my pee out of the ocean.

    nounanvowel , DaryaDarya LiveJournal Report

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    #12

    Two people working on laptops and notes, discussing scams that are pretty much guaranteed to fool a millennial. Health Insurance that doesn't actually cover anything.

    Death0fRats , Scott Graham Report

    StrangeOne
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I feel this. Sure I live in Canada and have a provincial health card that takes care of most medical stuff. But not dentistry, optometry, physiotherapy, psych health, and prescriptions. The health insurance I pay into at work, I choose the lowest option, I found out that covers nothing. But I pay into it. I have to wait until the open enrollment time, once a year, to change the policy to a higher coverage, but that means paying more every payday. I can't really afford that, but I might have to. I don't know.

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    An older person who is aware of the existence of scams may be more apprehensive and careful. They will likely have their walls up and may even be aggressive in interactions with someone they perceive as a potential red flag. It may be different with younger people like millennials, according to financial advisor and Wealthspire managing director Aviva Pinto

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    “Young people are more likely to take risks than their older counterparts and tend to be more optimistic about outcomes,” she explained. “For this reason, they do not always recognize scams.”

    #13

    Two women focused on a laptop screen in an office setting, discussing potential scams targeting millennials. I work for a bank and can confirm there are a ton of large-scale financial scams that are active. Some common ones are:

    Convincing customers that their computer is compromised, need to pay to clean/unlock it

    Posing as their bank to phish for financial account info

    Hacking email posing as a known correspondent to change a billing address/account for a payment

    Contacting customers saying they owe money to the IRS/DMV/Town of Residence and are at risk of arrest.

    Jmish87 , Christina @ wocintechchat.com Report

    Emilu
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    And if you get an email/text, go to the site's official page and question it from there if you still need to. Don't follow the link in the email/text.

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    #14

    47 Scams That Millennials Don’t Recognize And Fall For Every Time My elder dog walked off one afternoon after I forgot to close my fence gate. We spent hours looking for him, also posted it on Ring and Nextdoor apps. Someone responded on one of the posts with a recommendation for a local pet recovery team that used a drone and linked the Facebook business page. Page seemed legit, so I contacted them. They had a fee of $130, I expected some sort of fee anyway so I Zelle’d them the cash. 5 min later neighbor shows up with my dog. Contacted the business and requested money back since they never came out and my dog came back. Assured me they would send it…and after multiple messages a week later they are leaving me on read. F*****g taking advantage of people in their desperate times, hope they have a special place in hell reserved for them.

    BasicBesic , Bruno Curly Report

    Earonn -
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    On the fence with this one. OP made a contract with someone, unless specified that contract isn't nullified just because someone else found the dog. Sure, a grace period would have been nice, but it's not unusual or illegal to stick to a contract. What if the dog had been brought back an hour later? A day later?

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    #15

    47 Scams That Millennials Don’t Recognize And Fall For Every Time AI videos on Facebook advertisements

    I've got my father on strict instructions to run any/all online purchases past me after he ordered some "crystal/mineral coffee cups". The advertisements showed lovely quartz crystal coffee mugs with pink and purple colors and he thought cool!

    Never showed up, BBB rating for the company is a F and the comments for the video are loaded with complaints about never receiving their cups.

    I took one 1-2 second glance at the advertisement and immediately knew it was AI.

    Another situation was my cousin loved putting his face and likeness on silly facebook reels, things like him and his buddys doing the night at the roxbury head bobbing.

    Then a few months after he stopped doing it my uncle got a video of my "cousin" facetiming him from a unknown number explaining that he hit a women in a car accident and that a lawyer witnessed the crash and agreed to represent him but he needed 4000$ immediately to secure the lawyer.

    Now I never seen the actual facetime video but my uncle (who's 71) swears up and down that it looked EXACTLY like my cousin, he said the only indication that it was fake was my cousins voice was flat and monotone but my uncle thought he was in shock from the "crash"

    So he sent 4000$ to this person, only for my cousin to walk in the front door less then an hour later, confused as all hell as to why his dad was raging at him for causing a crash.

    NorthernCanadaEh , Tobias Dziuba Report

    Lady Eowyn
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I have no family, so anyone trying to scam me with a problem with a relative isn't going to get very far.

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    So, what is the best way to avoid falling for a scam? Most of these are rooted in common sense, but sometimes, we all need a good reminder. 

    “Like all financial decisions, it is important to know WHO you are dealing with and what the chances are that the information you are receiving is actually possible,” Pinto said. “If it seems too good to be true, it likely is.”

    #16

    47 Scams That Millennials Don’t Recognize And Fall For Every Time Bought a book on Amazon that was self-published AI slop instead of the book i was trying to buy.

    lengthandhonor , Marques Thomas Report

    Bonnie Blue Bird
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    There are some amazing self-published writers on Amazon. Sad that AI is interfering with the really talented people.

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    #17

    Young man looking stressed while using laptop illustrating scams that fool a millennial trying to stay alert online. My pal got his identity stolen after he thought he found a discount site for a brand that almost never does sales. Poor guy was just trying to get his fiancé a surprise gift.

    jedispaghetti420 , Oladimeji Ajegbile Report

    Emilu
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    If it's too good to be true, it probably is. Sorry about what happened to your friend, though.

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    #18

    Three millennials in a meeting, reviewing documents and discussing potential scams targeting their generation. Fake job postings. Everyone is so d**n desperate.

    Itchy-Philosophy556 , cottonbro studio Report

    StrangeOne
    Community Member
    4 months ago (edited) Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I caught one today. It's so weird how the ones I catch are the types of jobs I would love to do. This was another screen printing, or visual display position for a custom apparel business. It said it was located in my city, but didn't give an address. Just a postal code. When I googled the postal code, it showed me a very suburban neighbourhood with no businesses. When I googled the company name, it just gave me locations in Missouri and the east coast of Canada, which is nowhere near where I am. They also stated in the job ad that no experience is necessarily required and no post-secondary education is required. I just fit all the requirements and skills. It was then I realized it was a too-good-to-be-true moment. No screen printing job, or any job that has creative freedoms, has no experience necessary attached, that I have come across. And the postal code showing no businesses and no address on the job ad, nor any such business name in my city was a huge red flag.

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    For Dr. Toy, educating yourself is the most effective weapon against potential fraudsters. He advises approaching each questionable deal with utmost skepticism and doing thorough research before making final decisions. Having extra caution wouldn’t hurt. 

    “Be cautious of sharing private personal information online and never click on suspicious links or emails,” he said, while also reminding everyone to check the domain names of email addresses to verify their authenticity.

    #19

    47 Scams That Millennials Don’t Recognize And Fall For Every Time Nostalgia.

    yup. sell me that album/game/movie again.

    remaster the album, remake the game as a remaster, and toss the entire cutting room floor into the movie.

    f**k it.

    just start making stuff that looks like it came from back then and we’ll still eat it up.

    cobra_mist , Evgeniya Kuzmina Report

    Zephyr343
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Aw heck yeah! Laser disc's are going to make a come back!

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    #20

    47 Scams That Millennials Don’t Recognize And Fall For Every Time There's a popular one right now. I first heard of it on the Crime Junkies podcast, but then it actually happened to me! Funny how that works. Here it goes:


    A man calls your cell and tells you he is with such and such police department and you have an outstanding warrant. It's fairly elaborate and convincing, and because of the shock value of hearing you having a warrant, it immediately gives you panic and alters your rationality. That person will give you the option to venmo the department to remove the warrant. If it happens to you, tell the person that you will wait to be served in person by a process server....or just f**k with the guy. Up to you.

    BirdLawOnly , Centre for Ageing Better Report

    Giraffe Sitter
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Does no one clue into the bizarre improbability that you’re paying to make a warrant go away?

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    #21

    Young woman in a modern living room, engaged in conversation, illustrating scams that fool a millennial generation. I've noticed that we're prone to having mental health weaponized against us. I've heard ppl talking about how buying c**p like Funkos, Lububu dolls etc, helps them heal their inner child that was neglected. Some marketer or influencer convinced them that buying=mental health.

    Massive-Ride204 , Antoni Shkraba Studio Report

    StrangeOne
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    So, if someone genuinely gets joy out of something, they are just being tricked into thinking they're getting joy?

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    Speaking of skepticism, Singleton urges slowing down and asking as many questions as needed. Since scammers count on urgency and immediate reactions without thinking, prodding further may throw them off. 

    “If someone is pressuring you to take action quickly, pause and get curious about their motives,” she said.

    #22

    47 Scams That Millennials Don’t Recognize And Fall For Every Time A lot of these comments aren't scams, just trends people don't like (labubu, funko pops, etc). ACTUAL scams millennials are falling for include:

    * **MLMs/pyramid schemes** - I thought we knew better but so many of my peers are into "wellness" MLMs, it's embarrassing
    * **crypto** - crypto is, at best, a bad investment vehicle, and often just an outright rug pull scam
    * **following investment gurus** - people are spending money on scam courses from these "influencers" claiming they'll become multi millionaire investors
    * **sports betting** - this one is iffy as to whether it's a scam or just it's own thing as gambling a*******n, but the number of millennials blowing THOUSANDS of dollars on sports betting is insane. Apps have made gambling frighteningly easy and I really think there's a gambling a*******n epidemic happening.
    * **micro transactions** - similar to above, this might fall under gambling a*******n, but millennials seem REALLY easy to suck into apps like Monopoly Go where you're essentially just spending money ($1-$2 at a time, but it really adds up) to make lights and colors flash on their phone screen. Those "games" are designed to psychologically manipulate you into spending money without thinking, hence why I think it counts as a scam.
    * **tiktok shop, shein, temu, fast fashion in general** - these shopping platforms are so obviously scammy that I can't understand why anyone uses them. Yes, they're cheap. Yes, sometimes you get the thing you paid for. But a lot of the time you're getting something completely different than what was shown in the product photos. Even if you get an item you can use/wear, the quality is so poor it's going to fall apart pretty fast and need to be replaced and end up costing more in the long run.....plus they're made with questionable materials that can be hazardous. Fast fashion is definitely the thing I'm becoming a grump old person about. The late, great author Terry Pratchett explained it best with the Sam Vimes boots theory: "A really good pair of leather boots cost fifty dollars. But an affordable pair of boots, which were sort of OK for a season or two and then leaked like hell when the cardboard gave out, cost about ten dollars. ... But the thing was that good boots lasted for years and years. A man who could afford fifty dollars had a pair of boots that'd still be keeping his feet dry in ten years' time, while a poor man who could only afford cheap boots would have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and *would still have wet feet*.".

    maroontiefling , Cj Report

    FlamingoPanda
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I have used Temu recently for things that are simply not available where I live (tried everything I could think of to find locally, no luck). Fortunately had no issues with getting exactly what I ordered. I also use a virtual credit card which helps to not need to replace my actual credit card should the details get stolen.

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    #23

    47 Scams That Millennials Don’t Recognize And Fall For Every Time I was in downtown Tulsa. I needed to pay for parking. There was a sign with a website, saying to download the app, something like park tulsa. I googled it. I clicked one of the top links, which was word for word what the sign had said. i sleepily entered my payment info and clicked submit. Thats when i realized my error. I had clicked on a sponsored link and purchased a subscription to some chinese scam site.

    RoughCute7016 , John Matychuk Report

    WubiDubi
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Adblockers that hide Google sponsored links and AI summaries make life much easier.

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    #24

    47 Scams That Millennials Don’t Recognize And Fall For Every Time Ugh please don’t make fun of me but I fell for a fake joann fabrics website, put my credit card in and everything and the only thing that tipped me off was the email they sent me confirming my order had a bunch of errors in it. I ended up canceling my credit card and ordering a new one smh.

    Late-Payment1594 , Getty Images Report

    Cindy Brick
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Don't feel bad. I almost fell for that one, too! What stopped me, thankfully, from putting in credit card info: they were offering discounts on already-low products and shipping that seemed too good to be true. (They were.)

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    #25

    47 Scams That Millennials Don’t Recognize And Fall For Every Time I'll add one because I have recently seen it pop up in some subreddits I frequent...

    The whole Steve Jobs "do what you love and you'll never have to work a day in your life" platitude is making the rounds again. Not a scam per se, but this single thing pushed thousands (hundreds of thousands?) of eager college bound student to pursue worthless degrees in areas of 'passion' rather than going into pragmatic well paying careers where they may also excel at but not necessarily 'love'.

    d_rek , Ahmed Report

    Grape Walls of Ire
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I hate it when ultra-rich people assume what worked for them will apply to anyone else who follows their advice. So much of their "success" is due to chance.

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    #26

    47 Scams That Millennials Don’t Recognize And Fall For Every Time Homeaglow. it advertises "house cleaning for $19.99" but what they don't tell you is all they do is recruit a local house cleaner in your area and they are going to charge you hundreds of dollars to do the actual work. on top of that, you go to cancel because of the unexpected charge and they charge you a $40.00 cancellation fee. so you end up paying $60 for nothing.

    Echterspieler , Pixabay Report

    Zephyr343
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Smell a lawsuit if it's not specifically mentioned

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    #27

    47 Scams That Millennials Don’t Recognize And Fall For Every Time I fell for a clone of the .gov passport application website not long ago! I was so pissed I had to cancel my credit card but I gave them all of my info and my baby’s info. Its because I’m used to opening up the browser with google search default and typing into google not the url directly. So pissed about it still.

    Dimwit00 , Global Residence Index Report

    Susan
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    This almost happened to me recently when trying to get a UK visa for my daughter. She actually spotted the scam before I did.

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    #28

    47 Scams That Millennials Don’t Recognize And Fall For Every Time Lonely friends falling for romance scams. Crypto schemes. Getting buried in buy now pay later debt. Signing up for student loans. Had a buddy fall for a blackmail scam from an email saying they had photos of him jerking off they'd send to everyone on his contact list.


    Engaging with bots online.

    SavingsEconomy , A. C. Report

    🇺🇦 🇵🇸 TribbleThinking
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I've had that email. It was quite specific. Extraordinary how they achieved it considering I had no recall of ever doing it, am female and had no webcam! 😄

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    #29

    47 Scams That Millennials Don’t Recognize And Fall For Every Time I’ll admit to getting scammed, but to be fair to myself, it was a surprisingly sophisticated man-in-the-middle attack.

    In short, I needed a contractor and contacted one I was recommended to me on a small neighborhood listserv. (This recommendation probably came from the scammers, who I’ve since learned target neighborhood listserv and Facebook groups like that one.) The contractor and his email account were real, but his email had been compromised by the scammers. I was receiving emails both from him and the scammers, who were probably using generative AI to mimic his writing style.

    Scammers asked for me to transmit a few thousand dollars as down payment using a real-looking online web portal, which I didn’t question. When the real contractor showed up on the agreed-to first day, we realized what had happened. Turns out he’s an older guy and not super computer savvy, preferring to communicate by phone and receive payments by check in-person.

    Moral of the story is that you’re only as safe as the other party’s cybersecurity practices. I’ve since insisted that I pay contractors by handing them a check in-person, whenever possible.

    DblePlusUngood , rupixen Report

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    #30

    47 Scams That Millennials Don’t Recognize And Fall For Every Time I don't know if it was a scam but I recently bought an abandoned storage unit that appeared to be full of monitors thinking someone's reseller store went under. Boxes were all nice 4k new stuff. Some high end curved gaming monitors etc. Been having some decent side hustle success selling older computer stuff I've gotten my hands on and figured why not try grabbing some bulk?

    All broken. Every single thing I've opened so far. Physically damaged. Some dumping ground for RMAs? Don't know. Items were repacked into their original boxes so clearly a return. Some of them have "liquidation sale" tape on them from CDW.

    Only out a few hundred and hours of my labor moving it but d**n I'm disappointed. Now I have a literal mountain of e-trash to deal with. Feels bad man.

    therealtaddymason , JOSHUA COLEMAN Report

    Rick Murray
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Abandoned storage units and lost parcels are scams. Don't imagine for one second that somebody hasn't already gone and evaluated the things and removed anything that seems like it might actually be worth something. Then they'll do the "first sale whoo" thing where somebody makes a purchase and finds something cool in their unit/parcel. It's a total setup designed to lure people in to spending their hard earned on the rubbish they want taken away.

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    #31

    47 Scams That Millennials Don’t Recognize And Fall For Every Time I'm embarrassed to admit that I felt for one of those blackmail scams on IG where you send a racy picture to someone you think you're hitting it off with and they threaten to send it to everyone if you don't pay. No one ever did (not that I know of) but it scared me enough that I haven't been back fully on IG since, this was almost 3 years ago.

    thejaytheory , Solen Feyissa Report

    Earonn -
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    No one is absolutely safe. And those who are capable to admit it are safer in the future than those who deny that anything happened to them.

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    #32

    Woman in floral dress knocking on a large wooden door of a brick building representing scams that fool a millennial. Lots of our fellow generational cohort tried selling MLM products - Lularoe, Beach Body, DoTerra, HerbaLife, Monat, Pure Romance, Rodan + Fields, Scentsy, Young Living, Younique, Beauty Counter...

    ExactPanda , Mehmet Turgut Kirkgoz Report

    Rick Murray
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    That's not millennial, that's always happened. Remember Tupperware parties? The Avon lady?

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    #33

    Probably dietary supplements like AG1 greens or AMRA colostrum.

    ksiad1014 Report

    WubiDubi
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    They are quite good nutrutionally (but I am sure your body bypasses a lot) for you but why pay a fortune for something disgusting when you can just follow the non meat part of the Mediterranean Diet.

    #34

    Got a family friend who is currently falling for a scam. She borrowed money from several people to give like 40k to her “real estate contact” to get in on a “sure thing” investment that will leave her with millions of dollars over the course of a weekend. Of course that was several weeks ago and she isn’t yet a millionaire. Not sure when she realizes she’s being taken for all she’s worth. She’s been quite depressed and comes from a well off family both of which are leaving her extra vulnerable but still… I thought she was smarter than that. The thought of millions of dollars that changes your life overnight is too strong a pull for some people to think clearly.

    Projektdoom Report

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    #35

    I ordered something from an Instagram ad during Thanksgiving sales. I was under the impression Instagram doesn't promote scams in their ads (since that would in time greatly decrease people's trust in their ads which would then hurt their ad revenue) but was sorely mistaken.

    I never received the product and the vendor's website went down 2 days later, nobody replied to my email, and I started seeing other complaints online of people ordering from them and never receiving anything and nobody ever replying to their emails.

    Basically these guys made a fake website where they promoted a few popular products at good, but not too good to be true prices, put up a bunch of ads on Instagram, then just collected the money and took down the website.

    It took me a few months to finally get my money back after MasterCard finished their investigation. The craziest thing was the scammer actually replied to my bank dispute! They tried to argue that they did send me the product 🤦🏻‍♀️ Obviously they weren't able to provide any kind of shipping proof so MasterCard denied their "appeal". But this just goes to show how unafraid these scammers are of getting caught / having to suffer consequences for their actions.

    Lesson learned: never order anything off of social media ads.

    Savor_Serendipity Report

    Earonn -
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Wait, does OP think that sites like IG know it's a scam and commit a crime by allowing the ad to run anyway?

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    #36

    The investment/success gurus always confuse me as to how so many people fall for them. If their 'bestselling' book or course is on how to be successful, then what success have they actually achieved?

    Carma56 Report

    WubiDubi
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    It's at best a pyramid scheme if someone who buys the book succeeds. The book probably says write your own books.

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    #37

    47 Scams That Millennials Don’t Recognize And Fall For Every Time Red light therapy.

    Dr_TattyWaffles , George Dagerotip Report

    NEMESIS
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Magnet therapy, crystal therapy. Any of those "therapies" that promise quick relief.

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    #38

    47 Scams That Millennials Don’t Recognize And Fall For Every Time Online coaches and courses!!

    zoopzoopzop , Wes Hicks Report

    Zephyr343
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    You mean like most graduate schools are now?

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    #39

    I fell for a scam where someone offered me a job on Upside, posed as a legit publishing company, stole one of the employees LinkedIn profiles, had me on Whatsapp with their "team" and then sent me a fraudulent check to deposit for my equipment costs. 😭.

    BeatnikBun Report

    Aidan Campbell
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Getting a message on Whatsapp about a job is 99% a scam.

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    #40

    Got tricked with a PayPal session token scam.

    Looked like a 30% off deal for an item that doesn't really ever go on sale from a retailer with a bunch of astroturfed reviews. Used PayPal because they're generally a trusted payment source for non traditional vendors.

    Boy was I freaking out until I figured out they nabbed my session token. Hadn't even thought about a session token since the Linus media scam a few years back.

    Aside from a few rip off businesses, this is the first hard core scam I've fallen for and I'm 30.

    PayPal didn't want to cooperate until Amex got involved. Then suddenly everything was smooth sailing.

    3dprintedthingies Report

    WubiDubi
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Fake reviews should be in the top 5 of this post. Even big companies have fake 5 star reviews on Google Play. Amazon is amazing for ignoring fake reviews despite deleting the odd million of a billion...

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    #41

    Bunnies jumping on trampoline AI videos 😒.

    fireanthead Report

    Lady Eowyn
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Some of the obviously AI videos are, I hate to admit, amusing.

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    #42

    Products that go on sale a lot go on sale for a reason. Either because their MSRP is jacked up to crazy margins to begin with, or the quality is s**t and they have too much stock as a result due to poor sales.

    Quality well built products may go for a modest discount from time to time, but unless it's a cyclical product like electronics or cars that they are trying to clear out end of season models for next model year, it's probably junk.

    Most of the time you're better off buying the higher quality item that may cost more but actually lasts rather than hunting for the best deals.

    clingbat Report

    Susan
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    My kids have fallen for this one at a local store. The jeans are ALWAYS 'buy 2 get 1 free'

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    #43

    Plush keychain attached to a beige bag, illustrating unique scams likely to fool a millennial audience. The Labubu craze seems to fit this. I personally haven't fallen for it but I have a colleague whose preteen daughter has been begging for them so she (the colleague) said she's been up beyond midnight multiple nights on different devices looking for them or whatever the scheme is.

    SesameSeed13 , Dushawn Jovic Report

    Earonn -
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Collector Cards, Monchichi, Beanie Babies, Funky Pops - they are fads, that doesn't make them scams.

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    #44

    Ive recently tried going back to concerts and I don't know if it's that I moved from the East Coast to the West Coast since, or if it's covid, or anything else, but I can't score concert tickets for the life of me anymore. Even if im willing to fork up the money, like I've tried getting two tickets to see Oasis and im sure both were scams. One was through ticket master so im hoping i'll at least get my money back for that one.

    Also not sure if i'll be getting my Coheed & Cambria or Steven Wilson tickets. This kills me as im finally able to afford these concerts. 🫤.

    darkwoodframe Report

    WubiDubi
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    First the Ticket Master monopoly needs breaking. Then Ticketmaster and new companies need purchases to be limited and tied to a form of government photo ID.

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    #45

    Saw an ad that said, people born between this time period might be entitled to money. My interest was piqued, so I clicked. Got 3 phone calls in a matter of minutes.

    Jaded_Houseplant Report

    Pa Pa Panda
    Community Member
    3 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Yep! And I'll bet it was targeted at Boomers

    #46

    I feel so embarrassed about this but I fell for a scam pretending to be talent acquisition at a company following up about an application I submitted.

    In my defense the job title was absolutely something I would have applied to and was kind of niche.

    That’s what I get for spamming out my resume ….

    hrnigntmare Report

    Bonnie Blue Bird
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I'm confused about what this person did wrong. Was the fake company looking for personal information off the resume?

    #47

    Spent $25 on a tshirt scam. Little TikTok add got me. Never bought anything off TikTok again.

    Kati-love-less Report

    Rali Meyer
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    spent $100 on a DrMartens boot scam in 1995. Still wearing them

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    #48

    My ex-husband fell for the PayPal/Zelle scam, sent 2k to scammers before he realized it.

    FearlessBookworm3 Report

    Lady Eowyn
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Which was? I've never heard of this one.

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    #49

    I got scammed trying to buy DMT online recently. I also got sold fake coke in Vegas once lol. Guess I'm just a mark 😅.

    trippleknot Report

    Zephyr343
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Serves you right. And you seriously didn't try it before you bought it?!? If it's not bitter and make your tongue numb then it's not.....from what I am told, it isn't real.

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    #50

    I fell for a AAA offer for a free emergency kit for my car 😭😭😭.

    Individual-Welder294 Report

    nottheactualphoto
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I've been deleting those emails for several days now. "AAA Disaster Kit," "AAA Emergency KlT," etc.

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    #51

    Daily vitamins. You probably don't need them unless a doctor tells you otherwise, especially in the US where a lot of our foods are already fortified with extra vitamins. .

    Orion14159 Report

    #52

    I didnt fall for it but I know someone who is "buying gold".

    FloridaGirlMary Report

    Lyone Fein
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    There is nothing wrong with buying precious metals as a long term investment strategy. It is crucial to understand that it is a long term strategy, though. Purchase from a licensed, reputable broker. Educate yourself about the cyclical ups and downs in the specific market you are looking at. Buy in at a time when the market has been moving down. Then sit on your acquisition for 10-20 years, and you should see a significant return on your initial purchase. Historically speaking, over the long run, precious metals have increased in value pretty reliably over the course of hundreds of years. So if you have the money to buy in, it is a great idea. I did this with silver about 15 years ago. When I sold my silver back to a broker last year, the value had almost doubled. So I would say I it was a great investment.

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    #53

    It was awhile ago but I remember lots of my fellow millennials getting super wrapped up in KONY 2012.

    matt314159 Report

    Rali Meyer
    Community Member
    4 months ago

    This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

    and the year 2000 software update scam. That's on us boomers

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    #54

    I am unfortunately a victim of bluegreen vacation 🥲.

    Budgiesyrup Report

    #55

    I bought a boombox off a guy on the street and it didn’t work. They know where to get us.

    inquireunique Report

    WubiDubi
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    In the UK, they used to sell things off trucks like Apple products. The scammers' friends would fake buy them walking away happy and then if your bought one it was well wrapped. If you unwrapped it early they had their own security a few hundred feet away to stop you coming back. They always left after an hour. This scam only recently stopped. I saw one guy find out he had purchased the correct weight of a Ipod classic in lentils. Box looked legit.

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    #56

    47 Scams That Millennials Don’t Recognize And Fall For Every Time Funko Pops


    Who the hell needs or wants a $30 plastic doll of Homelander?

    TheOriginalBigDave , Kadyn Pierce Report

    StrangeOne
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    In that case, all dolls are just plastic rip-offs. Including Barbie, Monster High, Ever After, etc.

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    #57

    Credit card points?

    For every millienial flying first class for three dollars, there are a thousand wracking up credit card debt carrying a balance.

    Blinktoe Report

    Lyone Fein
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Just pay off your balance every month. It’s not really a scam if you yourself are spending way beyond your means. That’s just on you.

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    #58

    Anything bought used from a boomer. D**n near everything from a car, ATV, truck or boat I have had boomers tell me they are perfect only to find something that they Mickey moused together, then sell it. Everything I buy from millennials have a digital repair trail and the everything I buy from the silent generation has been babied.

    JasErnest218 Report

    Michael Largey
    Community Member
    4 months ago (edited) Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Let's calculate the probabilities. Either all boomers are con artists or this one OP falls for anything. Mmm.

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    #59

    Air fryer. It’s just a convection oven re-named and you millennials bought them up like it was faraday cages on Y2K!

    GnSnwb Report

    Rick Murray
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Not quite a convection oven. The principle is the same but it's a more concentrated heat in a smaller area with a more powerful fan. And *not* a fryer. Anyway, I have a cheap one and it does lovely chips and fish fingers in a way that ovens (with or without fans) just can't manage. And they're dead simple to use: let it heat, toss everything into the basket, cook for about six minutes, remove basket shake reinsert, cook for about six minutes more, tip onto plate, drown in Sarsons and a shake of salt.

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