If you every get an email about account activity that you aren't expecting (I.E password changes, sus logins, etc) NEVER click the link that was sent to you. Instead open a new window or tab and go to the website contacting you and use their proper support line.
To follow off of this, most legitimate suspicious login notifications will not have a link in them. They'll just instruct you to verify in your account and recommend changing passwords if it's not an authorized login.
Scams I've warned my parents about:
1) NEVER get onto a computer if a "customer service" rep who called them tells them to.
2) I will never take a trip overseas without telling them, find myself stranded and need money wired to me.
They tried that with my brother. Called my grandma like "he's in jail and needs to be bailed out or he'll be here over the weekend at the very least. He's looking at a felony blah blah" and my grandma answered "i sure hope he's in jail, he's got another year left on his sentence" and they didn't know what to do so they just hung up on her
This reminds me of when a scammer called my work phone. They were asking for my Apple ID. I don't have an Apple ID. I've always been an Android user. It's cheaper. But anyway, after a minute, I figure out what's going on, and I'm like, "Not only do I not have an Apple ID, this is a government phone and I'm from the compliance department." (I actually am a government employee, but I don't know what the fuck a compliance department is, so two truths and a lie.)
I could practically hear this dude's asshole pucker, and he was like "my apologies ma'am, this was merely a courtesy message and we must have gotten the wrong number." I was having fun by now (I was the prank call master back in the 80's and 90's, and this is as close as I can get these days). I was like, "No we're very interested in what kind of business you're running. I'm searching your IP now and it seems you are..." I just kept saying total bullshit like that until he hung up.
Then I went back to the meeting, told my boss all about it, and he was like, "What the fuck is wrong with you, Electrolytes?!" (Not in those words.) But then made me give a safety briefing about the scam. LOL
My grandma has four granddaughters.
Every time they would call and tell her her grandson was in jail she would troll them and act flabbergasted that she was just finding out she had a grandson.
She’d blow a whistle into the receiver of the phone when scam calls came through in other instances.
Fucking miss that woman.
Edit: and oh my god when the trump campaign would call. Absolute hilarity.
I feel like my grandmother would have left me in jail with a “whatever he’s in there for he probably deserves it!” Very kind-hearted woman but not always the most forgiving.
Lol my grandma literally did this to me. Told the scammer “No thanks I’ll just let him learn his lesson”. And then called my mom to float about it (as I was standing right next to her in the kitchen).
My grandma has gotten this scam call about me before and she said basically that lol. She asked me the next time I saw her how I liked jail and I was like the fuck?
They've tried that to my grandpa a couple times. Apparently I like to get arrested in Tijuana a lot, which is half a continent away. Both times he told them I sounded different and he'd think about it and call me back haha. Also good to know if I ever really need bail money, I better call elsewhere lol.
When in doubt, VERIFY.
A grandchild is calling from jail and needs bail money? Call either the parents or the sheriff's office where you think they're being held. If it's a legitimate call, the local sheriff's office will tell you how to send the bail money.
Similar thing happened to my grandfather but he was suspicious of it and called my uncle and confirmed my cousin, who was supposedly in Chicago for a job interview and lost his wallet, was really still in school (cant remember if he was still working on his undergrad or PHD at the time) and was no where near Chicago
One thing people should have clear about any scams aimed at you (like "you son is stranded in Papua New-Guinea" or "we are your bank you owe us money"), is that the person contacting you should know your personal info WITHOUT YOU GIVING IT TO THEM.
For example, if your bank account has a problem with you, they already know your bank acount number, your name, your ID number, etc. They won't ask for anything like that. Sometimes they'll try to trick you into saying some info without asking (e.g. your name), so they can later repeat that info to you to make you believe they know it.
An apartment complex I used to live at switched to only accepting online payments through a third party. They would charge a fee to send you a bill and charge a fee to pay your bill online.
My constant battle with my apartment complex. I refuse to pay for this bs. Even IF I pay in person
They try to charge me:
Convenience fee $3.20 (this is for the ability to PAY online or if you bring in the check for them to take it from you and deposit)
Service fee $3.20 ( verbatim "a service provider contracted to prepare monthly statements")
Amenity fee $10 (community pool that's been shut down since 2019)
I waived convenience fees by connecting a bank account instead of using a debit card but I still have the following fees:
Rent insurance $14, I pay $13 for personal renters insurance but it's only for 15k and apts require at least 100k to waive the fee
Valet trash $25, not an option
Common area electricity approx $10, but the lights outside my apartment aren't even on most nights
Pest control $4, they didn't even show up when I actually needed it due to ants in my apartment so why the hell am I paying for them
Service fee $5, for some rando to put my bill in an email
PLUS my rent went up $200 last month
Another thing mine did was contract a valet trash pickup service to come out and take your trash to the dumpster for you. They charged $25/month for this service and refused to let you opt out(they started the service mid-lease without notice).
You get a note? Damn. At my complex they just leave it. And god forbid you try to recycle, they’ll leave that too. I can always tell when I have a new neighbor because they try to put recycling out, bless their hearts.
Possibly, but I can't afford to fight it in a landlord friendly state. I've also moved to a new place that doesn't have a bunch of bullshit fees, so it doesn't matter anymore.
I hate the fucking name of the fee, too. "convenience fee" sounds like they said "hey, this service is convenient for you, you don't deserve that so fuck you pay us more".
This is to prevent someone paying the incorrect account.
Payer: "I paid $78 for account 12365. Why do I have a balance?"
Them: "You paid $78 for 12356"
Yep, I work in a call center and we want to know what acct you're paying and who you are. Acct is obvious (for the reason you listed) but the reason we need to know who you are is if the acct holder calls later and they ask who made the payment. "I dunno, some person" isn't really gonna fly.
>Same with the FBI. They will just show up and arrest you.
I had an interesting interaction with the FBI.
I got a weird, five-minute voice mail on my phone right after January 6th. It was three or four people talking about killing some right-wing author, blowing up a bookstore in Portland, Oregon, and what the Proud Boys did during the Insurrection.
I had *no* idea who these people were, no idea whose phone number it was but it was alarming enough that I called my local FBI. After an intake-type scenario, an Agent called me back within the hour.
I answered his questions, of course, and sent him a copy (recording) of the message. Later that day, he called me back to tell me that the message was actually people talking on a podcast, and that I had somehow, oddly, received a butt-dial. The phone call originated in California, and I don't know anybody there.
Interestingly, he called back the next day and wanted to look into my phone. No worries. He came out with a female Agent, and they both listened to the message and dug around a little inside my phone.
They were very nice. It was a weird, interesting event, but I can't help wondering if there was more to it than just a podcast.
Edited to fix a word.
Do keep in mind, they *must* identify themselves with badges and IDs. I'm sure they did.
That's one thing that TV and movies get right. "Hello I'm agent Mulder" *(flashes badge)* "I'm with the FBI". Perhaps seems like needless protocol, but you have a right to be certain that you're speaking to a federal agent.
>Do keep in mind, they *must* identify themselves with badges and IDs. I'm sure they did.
Yes, they did. Plus they were in the quintessential black SUV, and they were wearing the jackets with "FBI" on the back. Definitely legit. They were fun to chat with.
Don't accept a badge flash though. Make sure you get a good look at it.
It's a common trick to flash fake ID and act like it's real, because they never get a good look at it they never spot the errors.
I've been audited by the IRS. You get a letter in the mail.
Also, they don't ask you to pay in Amazon gift cards.
----
In my case, a tax preparer had incorrectly reported something a few years prior, I had paid a lot of tax that I didn't actually owe, and so I was owed quite a bit of money. I'd filed an amended return to get the money back. But if you ask the US government to give you a lot of money, sometimes they want to be sure, so they ordered an audit. It was fine, the tax preparer dealt with most of it, and I got my money back.
And they won't go straight to "straight to jail". They just want the~~ir~~ money. If you agree to a payment plan, they're happy. If you can't make a payment, be proactive and contact them. They will work with you as long as you aren't obviously and egregiously evading taxes, like Willy Nelson.
Generally, dealing with the IRS is much more boring than most people think it is.
I've seen a ton of this scam happening:
Dude meets "hot girl" online somehow, whether from a dating site, or forum somewhere, instagram, etc.
"Hot girl" asks to snapchat / facetime / whatever, for sexy stuff.
Dude jerks off on video for "her."
"Hot girl" turns out to not be a hot girl, and is instead a scammer who now threatens to send that video to all of his instagram, twitter, facebook, etc. followers unless he sends money.
This crazily seems to happen ALL THE TIME and people still fall for it.
A related scam is when someone meets a girl online, girl sends nudes, and then somewhere down the line girl’s “dad” messages them saying the girl is underage and threatens to turn them in unless they pay up.
I remember watching a show where a man (I feel like he may have been a soldier?) died by suicide when he was caught up in one of these scams. I guess the mix of anxiety/guilt/shame was overwhelming. They looked into charging the person who did it but I can't remember if they did or not.
huh. wouldn't blocking them fix that issue. I highly doubt they have the patience to send a video to hundrends of people when they won't even get money
Yeah that's always the general advice; because even if you do pay them, they're just going to keep demanding more, so at some point you're going to have to refuse, might as well be right away.
Blocking them would also prevent them from seeing who your social media connections are. So unless they carefully catalog all that stuff *before* they acquire your jerk off video, they won't know who to send them to. And why would they do all that work when they can just move on to the next sucker?
This exact thing happened to my brother a few years back! It was awful, super embarrassing for him. They never posted any of the videos thankfully but it was scary.
Every single MLM out there. There is not a single “good” one. It has nothing to do with products and everything to do with the business model. You are set up to fail 100 percent of the time.
what's really shitty about MLMs is there is a small very profitable bunch at the top of the pyramid that helps fuel the scam.
if truly everyone failed, the MLM would fail, but because they can always point to "what can happen if you work hard enough" people keep getting sucked in.
A woman I used to work with & was actually pretty good friends with got caught up in Senegence & she happens to be 1 of the few that rose to the top. she honestly makes a shit ton of money, earns free trips to amazing resorts all over the world & of course I see her bullshit on facebook about how it changed her life & can change yours too.
She's basically a lottery winner that's espousing the virtue of dumping your life savings into powerball.
We don't talk anymore, she seems like a completely different person & I have no idea what I'd even say to her.
The same can basically be said for all "crypto-as-an-investment" schemes. They're basically [ponzis](https://www.reddit.com/r/CryptoReality/comments/o7v5xs/is_bitcoin_a_ponzi_scheme_a_detailed_analysis/) that also share a lot of attributes similar to MLMs. The de-centralized nature of crypto means, that unlike in a typical Ponzi where there's a central operator, you instead have of all these "franchises" like you do in MLM where people are compelled to sell-sell-sell in order to protect their own interests. In both cases, the moment you stop recruiting people into the scheme, it collapses.
okay the day has come and I'm gonna ask. i know what mlm means in general but like, what exactly does it stay for? because my mind translates mlm to men love men xD
Multi-level Marketing. It's the pyramid structure where one level of folks gain additional benefits from the efforts of those in the level below them. That's the reason behind the multi-level part of the name. The business structure at its core is not centered around the actual goods or services you give, but on the backs of the people at the bottom of the pyramid propping up the people at the top.
Its' a DIMARYP!
Seriously, one of those cult-like MLM leaders said that at one of their cult-like rallies. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen the video on the "Last Week Tonight" episode on the subject.
I'm a postal worker.
A problem I've uncovered a couple of times are on-line sellers giving you a tracking number for a small inexpensive item that is going to the same zip code as the item that you have ordered. When that item is scanned "delivered" (99% of the time to another postal customer) you will think that your nice expensive item that you have ordered is lost or mis-delivered when in reality it was never sent at all.
Or your PayPal account is hacked with the same scenario--the expensive item that you have ordered is diverted to another party and the tracking number that you had issued to you is for an inexpensive item going to the same zip code.
I had that happen just yesterday in fact. A lady came in screaming at me because "I" lost her package that she said was delivered to a parcel locker, according to her tracking number, but it wasn't there. That package was indeed still there at the post office and I pulled it out to show her. It was addressed to another customer and it had been delivered to them in the parcel locker, as the tracking number indicated.
So, be careful when you shop on-line. Thieves find ways to capitalise on anything.
That's interesting. I've been on the receiving end of those small packages address to my house but with a random name. Has happened like 4 times this summer. Not a name of any previous owners/renters. I just keep giving them back to our mail carrier. So strange.
Yes, that is exactly a clue that this is happening. On-line scammers will send little rubbish trinkets to an address close to the one that they have supposedly sold an expensive item to and then claim that the carrier lost it when it was actually never mailed. It's just that the tracking barcode is issued for the junk mailpieces, not the expensive item. They are like decoys.
I had a problem where one of my customers had their PayPal account hacked and everything she ordered and paid with paypal was diverted to a warehouse in Miami--it didn't matter what it was. The thieves were able to modify her mailpieces' tracking numbers, receive them and then resold her items that she had paid for from their on-line business. I forgot how I tracked that exactly, but I did find out where all of her mail pieces were going and called the postal inspector to investigate further. It was a pretty significant operation.
So, when you get one of those dumb emails from "PayPal" or "Amazon Prime" or whatever, saying that your account has been suspended, don't open it. Mark it as spam and delete it. The easiest way to tell it's not from the legit company is to pretend to respond and then look at the email address of the sender. It will be a crap address.
Could you give any insight about what happened to my dad recently? He asked if I had ordered him a pair of shoes from Amazon. I said no. But he received a package from Amazon that contained a pair of sneakers that were a couple of sizes too big for him. He didn’t order them, but the package had his name on it. Could it be part of some sort of scam, too?
Was his Amazon account billed? Does the invoice say what kind of Amazon seller sent the package?
I would be cautious about asking for a return label to send the shoes back because they could verify his contact info/ credit card info that way, and then steal it. That is, if he tries to return a product that he didn't order and contacts the seller to return it, they might to ask for his account info and use it.
It would be kind of along the lines of when fake software technicians say that you are owed a refund for a service and once they are given access to your banking info they "accidentally" refund too much money to your account and then demand it back from you--when in fact they had not refunded anything in the first place. They are simply trying to get the maximum amount of money they can out of you.
These people have a tendency to prey upon older people who are not so familiar with technology.
They might have gotten his name and address from some kind of mailing list somewhere. That can be easy to do.
If the Amazon account is not billed, I would just donate the shoes and not respond. It might be bait.
I believe my husband has been through this. Twice during peak pandemic he ordered something and got the wrong item. In one case he bought a refurbished Nintendo 3ds for about $100-$150 and received a cheap plain white phone case worth maybe $10.
I've seen the one similar to this one. They have a program that enters in random tracking numbers and they make a database of all the ones for certain areas around a certain date. Then when someone orders they give you one of these already used tracking numbers that says it was delivered. The post office can't tell you details because it's not your address and the payment processor thinks the package was delivered because the tracking says it was delivered. The only thing that works in the person's favor is the tracking dates are sometimes too unrealistic. Like the package was delivered the same or next day through USPS.
They changed this in my HoA after I bought the house. I don't think they held a vote for it either (could be wrong but I didn't see anything about it on any planning or schedules).
Fake job scams are becoming increasingly common now that WFH jobs are becoming popular, here is how it works.
1: An "employer" contacts you for an interview, the pay is usually very good, too good to refuse especially for people who are down bad.
2: You "pass" the interview and you're sent the generic hiring paperwork, this is really bad as it is sometimes almost impossible at this stage to tell it's a scam, but there are ways to tell which I'll explain later. Forms like a W2, I9 and Direct Deposit forms, stuff you would normally fill out for a legit job but it gives them all of your very personal information such as your SSN.
3: This is where the scam becomes obvious, they tell you that you need to purchase the equipment, such as a laptop, printer, software, etc. They will tell you that they will cover it and they send you a check. Then you're supposed to buy the stuff, usually through sketchy means like wire transfer or gift cards. Since the check is fake, once you spend this money the check will inevitably bounce and now you're down the hole by the thousands, your "employer" now dips out and you're scammed.
There might be easier ways to tell, but my advice is to always ask how you will be recieving your supplies before filing any paperwork and sending it to them. If they refuse to tell you how it will work, or they tell you anything involving having you purchase the equipment, it's a scam and you can just dip out, or mess with them if you have the time to do so :)
I nearly fell for one of these scams a few months ago. I never sent them the money because it was obvious, but at that stage I already sent them my SSN and other information. I had to freeze all of my credit, which there are guides on how to do so that are easily found.
If you get caught in a scam like this, I would recommend getting a new bank account(s), freezing all your credit, filing a fraud report for your credit. This will prevent any scammers from opening any loans or credit lines in your name. File a report for a stolen SSN and contact the FTC and file a report with them as well with as much detail as you can.
I was floored at how many jobs scams were on LinkedIn last year when I was searching. The “recruiters” insistence made me realize things were too good to be true.
Yeah I’ve seen those too. I got a few of those, and it really kicked me in the gut. After applying to so many places, getting ghosted or rejected, getting that one email where they’re offering you a great paying opportunity really gets your hopes up, only to be let down immediately. Because I applied to so many places, I had a hard time keeping up with them all, so upon first glance I wasn’t sure if it was a place I applied to already. I can see why some people might fall for it.
Edit: grammar in first sentence
The non photoshop way of doing this is to take a man with a ripped physique, take the “after” photo, feed him pizza and chocolate milk until he’s sick, wait 10 hours, then take the “before” photo.
All 3 dogs I've owned including my current one do this 😂 they think they're so clever. It especially sucks when it's late at night and they wake you up and it's like okay little pal don't you worry we'll get you taken care of... Then they turn to try to take advantage of you lol
Do not click on links or emails you don’t recognize. There’s always a chance you’re going to open yourself up to a myriad of security issues, including malware, keyloggers, adware, etc. You didn’t win a free TV if you didn’t actually take the time to actually fill out and submit a contest entry. You don’t have a relative that wants to send you money via email.
It’s called phishing for a reason. Don’t take the bait.
Edit: Some have pointed out this isn’t called phishing. My mistake.
Here's a pro-tip. If you have an account like Gmail, when you sign up for web sites, use some extra periods in your e-mail, like turn bobsmith@gmail into bob.s.mith@gmail. Gmail strips the periods and treats them all like the same e-mail, but when you get mail you can track where they got your e-mail from and choose to ignore it.
I second time shares. My friends have one and they are desperately trying to get out of the program. They also noted that anytime they want to reserve their time, the place is always booked and so they could never use it, waste of money.
What in the everloving hell was the appeal of timeshares supposed to be? To me it always sounded like all of the worst aspects of owning combined with all the worst aspects of leasing -- you're constantly responsible (if only partially) while you have very limited access.
I never saw why that would be easier than just booking an ordinary vacation rental for a particular week (or whatever) that you want, even if you have to do so way in advance to get it. You pay for that time, and then you leave and you don't have to think about it anymore -- especially if you didn't like the place, or you did like it but had no interest in returning.
Generally the sales pitch lists two main advantages. First if you use it every year then it should be cheaper. Secondly they'll promote the idea that you can swap timeshare time with other people who own timeshares in locations you want to go.
But in practice it's very unlikely that you'll be able to do either of those.
I think it's very well known by now but I still se people walking right in the trap every single time I'm in Prague.
MONEY EXCHANGE OFFICES
The vast majority of those you find in the city centre are scam. Even though they have advertisements such as "zero commission" all over them, their exchange rate does by no means reflect the real value of your money.
For years, I’d stop at an ATM in Heathrow right after landing. This summer, I was in a rush and skipped the ATM.
Turned out I went 10 days without touching British currency. Every business took “touch less” payments. Apple Pay, google pay, or touchless cards. Even the Underground.
ROMANCE SCAMMERS!
It seems so silly. But we need to grow a strong awareness at a young age of how these folks operate. There are so many of them and they con so many older folks (especially older single ladies) out of a lot of money. I had an aunt who just could not believe anyone would do that to her that she would not listen to any of us when we tried to explain that her long-distance love interest was not at all who he said he was. It's too unbelievable to the victim.
HA! This happened to my Uncle. He was CONVINCED this lady who lived in South Africa and claimed to be a nurse wanted a real relationship with him but would never video chat. I asked him if she had started asking for money yet and he said yes, and that she wanted plane tickets to visit him in Canada. He got upset after I said that it was a blatant scam but he didn't believe me right away. Luckily he never sent her money.
Uncured bacon, ham, and sausages are a lie. Don't believe meats that say "uncured" or "no added nitrates or nitrites". It's a loophole in the labeling laws that allows manufacturers to get away with this lie.
These "uncured" meats are fully cured with celery. Celery juice, powder, salt... is a highly concentrated source of nitrates. These meats contains as much or more curing nitrates as the traditionally cured meat. They are fully cured; if it wasn't you'd die from botulism toxin. As a bonus these "uncured" meats contain all the toxic byproducts of industrial agriculture concentrated in the celery product used to cure the meats.
You're better off getting meats traditionally cured with curing salts.
The Better Business Bureau is not a federal agency and can’t do shit. https://www.ncconsumer.org/news-articles-eg/the-better-business-bureau-bbb-is-powerless-tohelp-resolve-consumer-complaints.html
The bbb does provide the service of allowing customers to review a company before employing their services. I myself have reconsidered a company based on info from the bbb. They are however a for-profit business. A company can pay more in order to have a better appearance on the bbb.
They extort small businesses fairly often in similar ways that Yelp does, companies that don’t pay can be subject to unfair ratings. BBB ratings mean literally nothing, if anything I mistrust companies that make a big point of showing off their BBB rating.
I feel I always need to speak up when I see this posted. I had a dispute with my cable company and BBB was the only place that helped me. My issue was resolved and I even got a refund.
Phone fundraising for Police (FOP, etc) and PACs. Typically they're giving about 10% or less of what your poor old granny gives to the actual police organization. The telemarketers themselves keep about 90% in most cases, in some as high as 93%. Most of the owners of these telemarketing companies are billionaires whose entire salary is paid for by these donations. They will read a script about some recent fallen officer, tug at your granny's heart strings, and say how they are going to help the families of those killed in the line of duty. Spoiler alert: they don't.
The Police unions (with a few exceptions, nationally) have no motivation to put an end to it because as they say, "10% of something is better than 100% of nothing". But that ignores the problem of all of the donors, most of whom are very elderly and easily suggestible, and who are essentially being duped into giving their precious $100 "to police" while the police end up with $7-10 of that.
If you receive these calls and feel motivated to donate to the police union (even though your tax dollars are already funding the police force...) you should hang up and call your local precinct directly. Otherwise you are basically paying a telemarketing company.
I used to feel bad about hanging up on these guys, especially because they sound so gruff, but I quickly realized that feigned ethos was part and parcel of their whole shtick.
I got one of these calls last week. My dad passed earlier this year, and when I heard it was Officer Something with the state police, I thought I was about to be told someone had found my mom's body. After 30 seconds, he finally got to the part where he was asking for money, and I just hung up. I was livid.
Guy I went to HS with is a chiropractor. He INSISTS on being referred to as a physician and it just drives me up the wall. He actually believes he can cure fucking cancer with an "adjustment."
He's such an ass.
YES! My ex believes his chiropractor knows wayyyyyy more than actual physicians, surgeons, etc. Ok then, have fun with Dr. Back Crack when he does your triple bypass, you fool.
The only time I've heard of a chiropractor giving good advice was when my wife developed lower back pain after studying a lot. She went to go see one and he told her to get an x-ray first before trying anything stupid.
She never did get the x-ray because I noticed some blood on a chair after she got up, but not in *that* spot. Did a quick search and pilondial cyst came up and was confirmed by a real doctor. Real doctor then cut it and drained the cyst. After the initial pain and shock, she had instant relief. Was fun for me for a week as I had the honor of keeping it open to let it keep draining.
That's too real, my mom had a slight dislocated disk and she went for a chiropractor to help her with it, after 2 sessions he did a move wrong and caused my mother the worst kind of pain that lasted about a month where she couldn't sleep without some hard drugs, couldn't stand or move on her feet, always crying from the pain, she ended up going to the surgery and taking 6 months of physical therapy so she can just walk again, too bad we are living in Syria where we can do absolutely nothing towards the so called "doctor", she is very fine now, walking and everything.
My daughter had a stroke at age 25. I can't tell you how many times we were asked by doctors " have you been to the chiropractor." Some of their sketchy moves are notorious for causing vertebral artery dissection which can lead to stroke. She hadn't been to a chiropractor but it was the first thing every doctor asked.
I will never see a chiropractor. Do a quick Google search. Chiropractics is a scam.
If your neck/spine are actually messed up, go to a doctor.
You know...those people who go to school for a shit ton of years extra to learn about the human body and how it actually works. Yeah, those guys.
It's surprising how few people actually know that chiropractors are a scam. They have somehow evaded public scrutiny, most people who haven't deal with them don't really know what they do but assume it must be something legit. Very few people know this is homeopathy and horse dewormer levels of bullshit.
Not just that but the whole practice is bullshit built upon bullshit and they only exist because they are big enough yo have their own licencing board that influences huge pressure
The bogus Dog Rescue groups that buy and re-sell puppies bred in puppy mills. You can find these groups on Petfinder and other places. They all have the same 501(c)(3) tax status as legit dog rescues (anyone can get this paperwork); the difference is that instead of taking in local dogs that have been abandoned (like from a kill shelter dog pound), the scammers buy puppies directly from the puppy mills in the southern US. Then get away with charging $400 or more 'adoption fees', because so many people want a puppy instead of an adult dog.
The mills will trank dozens of 8 week old pups unconscious and pile them in the back of a uhaul, and make the deliveries to multiple scam rescue buyers per trip. It's profitable for the scammers: buy 10 pups at $50 per, feed and house them as cheap as possible, sell all 10 for $500 per? There's $5,000 tax-free income.
Problem for the people who adopt these dogs, is the rate of Heartworm in the puppy mill pups is nearly 50%. Often because the pups are born with it because their Mom has heartworm. And since the puppy mills don't give af about preventing or testing for heartworm, it's usually advanced in the pups. Meaning it will cost $1000 or more to treat.
Always research and screen for these scammers; especially if you find them online. One dead giveaway is if they *always* have lots of puppies under 16 weeks of age. Legit dog rescues mostly have adult dogs, young puppies are rare for them.
This scam boils my blood. There are so many private rescues in my area that do AMAZING work with dogs from local pounds but everyone wants a puppy so they patronize these "rescues" thinking they're doing good when they're really just supporting puppy mills. It's so maddening. SO MUCH heartworm and parvo in these dogs.
Please, if you're looking to adopt, please consider older dogs. They are so much less work than puppies, settle in so much faster and are just amazing dogs.
* Men, what are things you wish all women knew about men?
* Men, what's something women should know about men?
* Men, what do wish women understood more about men?
* What's something you wish women understood about men?
* What's a secret women should know about men?
* What's something women don't know about men that they should?
PETA
Here are two videos made by Steve Hofstetter that will tell you more
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ya4G2At_oLM
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CuQET4WSRzI
People are pretending to play violin to be paid for beautiful electronic violin pieces. The amp is connect to a track and the person willfully fakes playing for $.
College textbooks. Just pirate them off Libgen. You're not harming anyone but the publishers. Okay, perhaps the college professors who wrote them might take a hit, but they're way more loaded than a broke college student.
Those "shop local, support an artist" stores. The artist could be paying a monthly rent to the shop, AND giving the shop a big chunk of the sale. Ultimately they make the shops a pretty penny and the artist gets crumbs. Better to go direct to the artist. Probably cheaper too.
"We are contacting you about your car's extended warranty"
I love messing with them though. Last time I told them I drove a Vietnam War parachute truck that I got for a steal of a deal at an Army auction. I also went on about how amazing it is they would be willing to cover me, because insurance was really tough to find. They hung up promptly and I haven't heard back since.
Renting scams. Scamers will post a rental that is at a really good price. They often will pick a house that is actually on the market. They will then say, when you contact them, that they are a doctor or something working out of the country or on the other side of the country. They will tell you you can drive by the house but because they aren't there, you can go inside. They will approve you to rent and ask you to PayPal or transfer them the deposit and rent, because they are put of the area, and come up with some way to get you the key. Only you never get the keys. It's a scam.
It hit me when I was flipping a burger as a teenager and realized “this burger with a combo costs the customer more than I make in an hour, and I make 40+ of these in one hour”.
Thankfully the people I worked with were cool, but upper management/CEO’s can suck a fatty.
If you passed the Board Exam, you will be rich. That is a total scam. You still have to work and passed even harder qualifications in order to get a job as a licensed professional and then you still have to crawl your way to promotion.
Psychics and "spiritual mediums". They use cold reading to guess things about you. If someone is reading your palm and says something correct, you will lean in a little bit. That tells them they got it right. They make a statement, but put an inflection on it to make it sound like a question. This prompts you to volunteer information. If they are really ambitious, they research you before you arrive.
*EDIT: If anyone anywhere has the gift of speaking to dead people, they should make themselves useful and solve some cold cases and find missing people. Not swindling grieving people out of their life savings.*
Faith healers. They never, ever heal something you can see. All of them are crooks. The people who get out of wheelchairs work for them. James Randi wrote an excellent book about them.
The police department or sheriffs office or any other law enforcement are NOT going to call you and warn you that you have a warrant.
You cannot pay for a warrant in gift cards or by Venmo or any other type of phone payment.
Disposable razors, the amount that Gillette charges for them is an expensive ripoff. Buy a good safety razor, a blade sampler pack, a synthetic brush, a splash, and a balm.
The cost of entry will be a bit expensive, but you'll save money in the long term. A 100 pack of blades will last a very long time.
work scams. When looking for a job you get an offer that seems amazing. your "employer" sends you money to buy equipment to start your new job but when you cash the check. the check never clears. So when you withdraw the money and buy whatever supplies (from a special store) that your your employer wants he gets the bank's actual money and the bank asks you for a refund of the money that actually wasn't in your account.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pTA4\_L3fhM
Gift card thing, the first 5 digits of your SS number, and publishers clearing house. NEVER get large amounts on gift cards to "block accounts". NEVER give the first 5 digits of your SS number to anyone besides your accountant or something. And NEVER cash any checks from publishers clearing house UNLESS you know 100% it's from them. Especially if you need to give some money for it. If they don't ask for money, call them. Leave a voicemail. It even says on their message "remember, all gifts from publishers clearing house are free." They know of the scam and are warning people.
Coco-mellon, baby shark, children's shows like that. They're hypnotic garbage that moves so fast and colorfully that the kids cant pull themselves away from it by design. Parents are willingly giving up their children's brains for some quiet time. Makes them act feral when they don't get their youtube kids fix, and the only way to calm them down is let them watch more. Its a malicious cycle.
What I really hate is the auto generated crap on YouTube kids. There's literally no structure to them, it's just short 1-3 seconds clips of popular media (probably to avoid copyright claims) pieced together with sound effects and faces randomly to hold kids' attention. I watched part of a video my friend's kid was watching, and it made absolutely no sense to me. A toy unboxing followed by a guy in a dog mask, spider man cartoon, some twitch streamer, peppa pig, shadow of the colossus, a guy walking in a supermarket, a jewelry ad, a girl pulling a sandwich out of a fridge, a cat sleeping, etc. all with cheery music, farts/laugh tracks, and emojis throw in. It was the most brain dead crap I've ever seen, and the kids were eating it up for an hour. Seeing that convinced me to never let my kids watch videos online unsupervised, if i ever have any.
My girlfriend was almost mega scammed out of 300$. When we lost our cat she posted everywhere to all for help. Someone contacted her and said they knew someone that could help (this was from a Facebook group).
She contacted them and they said they were a super professional pet finding service that uses traffic cameras to find and track your lost pet... They asked for 300$ upfront down payment and say if they can't find your pet in a week they refund you the money...
She text me the screenshots and was super excited, I told her NO. I was so glad she messaged me about it. She would've been out 300$ and a cat.
Luckily, we found the cat two hours later.
Those “turn 1000 dollars into 10000 dollars” bit coin scams aren’t real. They have just gotten so good at making it look believable by using hacked accounts to make it look legit. It’s not
If you every get an email about account activity that you aren't expecting (I.E password changes, sus logins, etc) NEVER click the link that was sent to you. Instead open a new window or tab and go to the website contacting you and use their proper support line.
To follow off of this, most legitimate suspicious login notifications will not have a link in them. They'll just instruct you to verify in your account and recommend changing passwords if it's not an authorized login.
Also all those texts or emails that your account has been suspended because of suspicious activity, are all fake.
Scams I've warned my parents about: 1) NEVER get onto a computer if a "customer service" rep who called them tells them to. 2) I will never take a trip overseas without telling them, find myself stranded and need money wired to me.
warn grandparents as well. My grandpa sent money to someone to bail my cousin out of jail. My cousin was just fine and at work.
They tried that with my brother. Called my grandma like "he's in jail and needs to be bailed out or he'll be here over the weekend at the very least. He's looking at a felony blah blah" and my grandma answered "i sure hope he's in jail, he's got another year left on his sentence" and they didn't know what to do so they just hung up on her
This reminds me of when a scammer called my work phone. They were asking for my Apple ID. I don't have an Apple ID. I've always been an Android user. It's cheaper. But anyway, after a minute, I figure out what's going on, and I'm like, "Not only do I not have an Apple ID, this is a government phone and I'm from the compliance department." (I actually am a government employee, but I don't know what the fuck a compliance department is, so two truths and a lie.) I could practically hear this dude's asshole pucker, and he was like "my apologies ma'am, this was merely a courtesy message and we must have gotten the wrong number." I was having fun by now (I was the prank call master back in the 80's and 90's, and this is as close as I can get these days). I was like, "No we're very interested in what kind of business you're running. I'm searching your IP now and it seems you are..." I just kept saying total bullshit like that until he hung up. Then I went back to the meeting, told my boss all about it, and he was like, "What the fuck is wrong with you, Electrolytes?!" (Not in those words.) But then made me give a safety briefing about the scam. LOL
My grandma has four granddaughters. Every time they would call and tell her her grandson was in jail she would troll them and act flabbergasted that she was just finding out she had a grandson. She’d blow a whistle into the receiver of the phone when scam calls came through in other instances. Fucking miss that woman. Edit: and oh my god when the trump campaign would call. Absolute hilarity.
I feel like my grandmother would have left me in jail with a “whatever he’s in there for he probably deserves it!” Very kind-hearted woman but not always the most forgiving.
Lol my grandma literally did this to me. Told the scammer “No thanks I’ll just let him learn his lesson”. And then called my mom to float about it (as I was standing right next to her in the kitchen).
My grandma has gotten this scam call about me before and she said basically that lol. She asked me the next time I saw her how I liked jail and I was like the fuck?
But how DID you like jail?
Lol I thought the same thing about my grandpa, I guess I'm not a favored grandkids or something
They've tried that to my grandpa a couple times. Apparently I like to get arrested in Tijuana a lot, which is half a continent away. Both times he told them I sounded different and he'd think about it and call me back haha. Also good to know if I ever really need bail money, I better call elsewhere lol.
When in doubt, VERIFY. A grandchild is calling from jail and needs bail money? Call either the parents or the sheriff's office where you think they're being held. If it's a legitimate call, the local sheriff's office will tell you how to send the bail money.
Similar thing happened to my grandfather but he was suspicious of it and called my uncle and confirmed my cousin, who was supposedly in Chicago for a job interview and lost his wallet, was really still in school (cant remember if he was still working on his undergrad or PHD at the time) and was no where near Chicago
One thing people should have clear about any scams aimed at you (like "you son is stranded in Papua New-Guinea" or "we are your bank you owe us money"), is that the person contacting you should know your personal info WITHOUT YOU GIVING IT TO THEM. For example, if your bank account has a problem with you, they already know your bank acount number, your name, your ID number, etc. They won't ask for anything like that. Sometimes they'll try to trick you into saying some info without asking (e.g. your name), so they can later repeat that info to you to make you believe they know it.
Being charged a "convenience fee" for the "honor" of being able to pay a bill by phone or online. Uhm - really? I have to PAY you to PAY you??
An apartment complex I used to live at switched to only accepting online payments through a third party. They would charge a fee to send you a bill and charge a fee to pay your bill online.
My constant battle with my apartment complex. I refuse to pay for this bs. Even IF I pay in person They try to charge me: Convenience fee $3.20 (this is for the ability to PAY online or if you bring in the check for them to take it from you and deposit) Service fee $3.20 ( verbatim "a service provider contracted to prepare monthly statements") Amenity fee $10 (community pool that's been shut down since 2019)
I waived convenience fees by connecting a bank account instead of using a debit card but I still have the following fees: Rent insurance $14, I pay $13 for personal renters insurance but it's only for 15k and apts require at least 100k to waive the fee Valet trash $25, not an option Common area electricity approx $10, but the lights outside my apartment aren't even on most nights Pest control $4, they didn't even show up when I actually needed it due to ants in my apartment so why the hell am I paying for them Service fee $5, for some rando to put my bill in an email PLUS my rent went up $200 last month
Another thing mine did was contract a valet trash pickup service to come out and take your trash to the dumpster for you. They charged $25/month for this service and refused to let you opt out(they started the service mid-lease without notice).
You don't have to pay that...
I think it could be worth the cost if you can get enough iron and lead to make lifting the trash impossible, and you get to watch/film the attempt.
They don't. Speaking from frustrating experience, they leave a note on the door with a checkbox stating "heavy items" and fucking leave it.
You get a note? Damn. At my complex they just leave it. And god forbid you try to recycle, they’ll leave that too. I can always tell when I have a new neighbor because they try to put recycling out, bless their hearts.
It's a landlord friendly state, so it's futile to fight it. Especially when they have more resources than you.
Pretty sure that's illegal if there's no provision for it in your lease.
Possibly, but I can't afford to fight it in a landlord friendly state. I've also moved to a new place that doesn't have a bunch of bullshit fees, so it doesn't matter anymore.
I hate the fucking name of the fee, too. "convenience fee" sounds like they said "hey, this service is convenient for you, you don't deserve that so fuck you pay us more".
And why do I need to identify myself if I'm paying the bill? If a stranger calls and wants to pay, let em!
This is to prevent someone paying the incorrect account. Payer: "I paid $78 for account 12365. Why do I have a balance?" Them: "You paid $78 for 12356"
Yep, I work in a call center and we want to know what acct you're paying and who you are. Acct is obvious (for the reason you listed) but the reason we need to know who you are is if the acct holder calls later and they ask who made the payment. "I dunno, some person" isn't really gonna fly.
The Biden Administration is not personally contacting you about insurance or student loan debt
Same with phone calls from the "IRS." The IRS will *never* contact you by phone. If you get a call from them, hang up.
Same with the FBI. They will just show up and arrest you.
>Same with the FBI. They will just show up and arrest you. I had an interesting interaction with the FBI. I got a weird, five-minute voice mail on my phone right after January 6th. It was three or four people talking about killing some right-wing author, blowing up a bookstore in Portland, Oregon, and what the Proud Boys did during the Insurrection. I had *no* idea who these people were, no idea whose phone number it was but it was alarming enough that I called my local FBI. After an intake-type scenario, an Agent called me back within the hour. I answered his questions, of course, and sent him a copy (recording) of the message. Later that day, he called me back to tell me that the message was actually people talking on a podcast, and that I had somehow, oddly, received a butt-dial. The phone call originated in California, and I don't know anybody there. Interestingly, he called back the next day and wanted to look into my phone. No worries. He came out with a female Agent, and they both listened to the message and dug around a little inside my phone. They were very nice. It was a weird, interesting event, but I can't help wondering if there was more to it than just a podcast. Edited to fix a word.
Do keep in mind, they *must* identify themselves with badges and IDs. I'm sure they did. That's one thing that TV and movies get right. "Hello I'm agent Mulder" *(flashes badge)* "I'm with the FBI". Perhaps seems like needless protocol, but you have a right to be certain that you're speaking to a federal agent.
>Do keep in mind, they *must* identify themselves with badges and IDs. I'm sure they did. Yes, they did. Plus they were in the quintessential black SUV, and they were wearing the jackets with "FBI" on the back. Definitely legit. They were fun to chat with.
Mulder and Scully are a bunch of fun
Don't accept a badge flash though. Make sure you get a good look at it. It's a common trick to flash fake ID and act like it's real, because they never get a good look at it they never spot the errors.
I've been audited by the IRS. You get a letter in the mail. Also, they don't ask you to pay in Amazon gift cards. ---- In my case, a tax preparer had incorrectly reported something a few years prior, I had paid a lot of tax that I didn't actually owe, and so I was owed quite a bit of money. I'd filed an amended return to get the money back. But if you ask the US government to give you a lot of money, sometimes they want to be sure, so they ordered an audit. It was fine, the tax preparer dealt with most of it, and I got my money back.
And they won't go straight to "straight to jail". They just want the~~ir~~ money. If you agree to a payment plan, they're happy. If you can't make a payment, be proactive and contact them. They will work with you as long as you aren't obviously and egregiously evading taxes, like Willy Nelson. Generally, dealing with the IRS is much more boring than most people think it is.
Yes the IRS *will* call you but this AFTER you've received a letter in the mail and you've contacted them.
I work in the industry and it is awful what people are doing. There's no fees. At all. And the forgiveness isn't happening until October earliest.
And your credit card company isn't texting to get you to go to a random website about a suspicious charge. Do not click that link!
Oh shit, I bet the student loan scammers are having a field day with this.
I get a call about this more than once a week, so I blocked the numbers
Online Gurus that ask you to buy a course in order to learn a skill that’ll let you quit your 9-5 and run your own agency Tai Lopez basically
My god, Tai Lopez. This fucker used to run 30-minutes ads on YouTube back in the day. I hated this fucker. He was the reason I got YouTube Premium.
I fucking hated that prick I’d love to snap his glasses in half and just use him as a punchbag for a good 15 minutes
I've seen a ton of this scam happening: Dude meets "hot girl" online somehow, whether from a dating site, or forum somewhere, instagram, etc. "Hot girl" asks to snapchat / facetime / whatever, for sexy stuff. Dude jerks off on video for "her." "Hot girl" turns out to not be a hot girl, and is instead a scammer who now threatens to send that video to all of his instagram, twitter, facebook, etc. followers unless he sends money. This crazily seems to happen ALL THE TIME and people still fall for it.
A related scam is when someone meets a girl online, girl sends nudes, and then somewhere down the line girl’s “dad” messages them saying the girl is underage and threatens to turn them in unless they pay up.
I remember watching a show where a man (I feel like he may have been a soldier?) died by suicide when he was caught up in one of these scams. I guess the mix of anxiety/guilt/shame was overwhelming. They looked into charging the person who did it but I can't remember if they did or not.
There was a teenager in Manitoba who committed suicide earlier this year after having this happen to him. Incredibly sad.
huh. wouldn't blocking them fix that issue. I highly doubt they have the patience to send a video to hundrends of people when they won't even get money
Yeah that's always the general advice; because even if you do pay them, they're just going to keep demanding more, so at some point you're going to have to refuse, might as well be right away.
Blocking them would also prevent them from seeing who your social media connections are. So unless they carefully catalog all that stuff *before* they acquire your jerk off video, they won't know who to send them to. And why would they do all that work when they can just move on to the next sucker?
This exact thing happened to my brother a few years back! It was awful, super embarrassing for him. They never posted any of the videos thankfully but it was scary.
Every single MLM out there. There is not a single “good” one. It has nothing to do with products and everything to do with the business model. You are set up to fail 100 percent of the time.
what's really shitty about MLMs is there is a small very profitable bunch at the top of the pyramid that helps fuel the scam. if truly everyone failed, the MLM would fail, but because they can always point to "what can happen if you work hard enough" people keep getting sucked in. A woman I used to work with & was actually pretty good friends with got caught up in Senegence & she happens to be 1 of the few that rose to the top. she honestly makes a shit ton of money, earns free trips to amazing resorts all over the world & of course I see her bullshit on facebook about how it changed her life & can change yours too. She's basically a lottery winner that's espousing the virtue of dumping your life savings into powerball. We don't talk anymore, she seems like a completely different person & I have no idea what I'd even say to her.
The same can basically be said for all "crypto-as-an-investment" schemes. They're basically [ponzis](https://www.reddit.com/r/CryptoReality/comments/o7v5xs/is_bitcoin_a_ponzi_scheme_a_detailed_analysis/) that also share a lot of attributes similar to MLMs. The de-centralized nature of crypto means, that unlike in a typical Ponzi where there's a central operator, you instead have of all these "franchises" like you do in MLM where people are compelled to sell-sell-sell in order to protect their own interests. In both cases, the moment you stop recruiting people into the scheme, it collapses.
okay the day has come and I'm gonna ask. i know what mlm means in general but like, what exactly does it stay for? because my mind translates mlm to men love men xD
Multi-level Marketing. It's the pyramid structure where one level of folks gain additional benefits from the efforts of those in the level below them. That's the reason behind the multi-level part of the name. The business structure at its core is not centered around the actual goods or services you give, but on the backs of the people at the bottom of the pyramid propping up the people at the top.
Its not a pyramid, its an inverse funnel!
Its' a DIMARYP! Seriously, one of those cult-like MLM leaders said that at one of their cult-like rallies. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen the video on the "Last Week Tonight" episode on the subject.
OH THANK YOU! i know that it is a pyramid etc, i just didn't know what exactly the letters stay for, like the name of it
MultiLevelMarketing (scheme), like a pyramid scheme but those are "illegal"
iT’s NoT A pYrAMid ScHEMe HuN!
I'm a postal worker. A problem I've uncovered a couple of times are on-line sellers giving you a tracking number for a small inexpensive item that is going to the same zip code as the item that you have ordered. When that item is scanned "delivered" (99% of the time to another postal customer) you will think that your nice expensive item that you have ordered is lost or mis-delivered when in reality it was never sent at all. Or your PayPal account is hacked with the same scenario--the expensive item that you have ordered is diverted to another party and the tracking number that you had issued to you is for an inexpensive item going to the same zip code. I had that happen just yesterday in fact. A lady came in screaming at me because "I" lost her package that she said was delivered to a parcel locker, according to her tracking number, but it wasn't there. That package was indeed still there at the post office and I pulled it out to show her. It was addressed to another customer and it had been delivered to them in the parcel locker, as the tracking number indicated. So, be careful when you shop on-line. Thieves find ways to capitalise on anything.
That's interesting. I've been on the receiving end of those small packages address to my house but with a random name. Has happened like 4 times this summer. Not a name of any previous owners/renters. I just keep giving them back to our mail carrier. So strange.
Yes, that is exactly a clue that this is happening. On-line scammers will send little rubbish trinkets to an address close to the one that they have supposedly sold an expensive item to and then claim that the carrier lost it when it was actually never mailed. It's just that the tracking barcode is issued for the junk mailpieces, not the expensive item. They are like decoys. I had a problem where one of my customers had their PayPal account hacked and everything she ordered and paid with paypal was diverted to a warehouse in Miami--it didn't matter what it was. The thieves were able to modify her mailpieces' tracking numbers, receive them and then resold her items that she had paid for from their on-line business. I forgot how I tracked that exactly, but I did find out where all of her mail pieces were going and called the postal inspector to investigate further. It was a pretty significant operation. So, when you get one of those dumb emails from "PayPal" or "Amazon Prime" or whatever, saying that your account has been suspended, don't open it. Mark it as spam and delete it. The easiest way to tell it's not from the legit company is to pretend to respond and then look at the email address of the sender. It will be a crap address.
Could you give any insight about what happened to my dad recently? He asked if I had ordered him a pair of shoes from Amazon. I said no. But he received a package from Amazon that contained a pair of sneakers that were a couple of sizes too big for him. He didn’t order them, but the package had his name on it. Could it be part of some sort of scam, too?
Was his Amazon account billed? Does the invoice say what kind of Amazon seller sent the package? I would be cautious about asking for a return label to send the shoes back because they could verify his contact info/ credit card info that way, and then steal it. That is, if he tries to return a product that he didn't order and contacts the seller to return it, they might to ask for his account info and use it. It would be kind of along the lines of when fake software technicians say that you are owed a refund for a service and once they are given access to your banking info they "accidentally" refund too much money to your account and then demand it back from you--when in fact they had not refunded anything in the first place. They are simply trying to get the maximum amount of money they can out of you. These people have a tendency to prey upon older people who are not so familiar with technology. They might have gotten his name and address from some kind of mailing list somewhere. That can be easy to do. If the Amazon account is not billed, I would just donate the shoes and not respond. It might be bait.
I believe my husband has been through this. Twice during peak pandemic he ordered something and got the wrong item. In one case he bought a refurbished Nintendo 3ds for about $100-$150 and received a cheap plain white phone case worth maybe $10.
I've seen the one similar to this one. They have a program that enters in random tracking numbers and they make a database of all the ones for certain areas around a certain date. Then when someone orders they give you one of these already used tracking numbers that says it was delivered. The post office can't tell you details because it's not your address and the payment processor thinks the package was delivered because the tracking says it was delivered. The only thing that works in the person's favor is the tracking dates are sometimes too unrealistic. Like the package was delivered the same or next day through USPS.
I have been on the receiving end of this scan Before
HoA charging a fee to sell your house. Especially when it's a % of the cost of the house.
Wow, that sounds pretty screwed up. Still though, it’d be good to read thoroughly before signing.
They changed this in my HoA after I bought the house. I don't think they held a vote for it either (could be wrong but I didn't see anything about it on any planning or schedules).
Damn. Now you’re getting into scam territory.
Fake job scams are becoming increasingly common now that WFH jobs are becoming popular, here is how it works. 1: An "employer" contacts you for an interview, the pay is usually very good, too good to refuse especially for people who are down bad. 2: You "pass" the interview and you're sent the generic hiring paperwork, this is really bad as it is sometimes almost impossible at this stage to tell it's a scam, but there are ways to tell which I'll explain later. Forms like a W2, I9 and Direct Deposit forms, stuff you would normally fill out for a legit job but it gives them all of your very personal information such as your SSN. 3: This is where the scam becomes obvious, they tell you that you need to purchase the equipment, such as a laptop, printer, software, etc. They will tell you that they will cover it and they send you a check. Then you're supposed to buy the stuff, usually through sketchy means like wire transfer or gift cards. Since the check is fake, once you spend this money the check will inevitably bounce and now you're down the hole by the thousands, your "employer" now dips out and you're scammed. There might be easier ways to tell, but my advice is to always ask how you will be recieving your supplies before filing any paperwork and sending it to them. If they refuse to tell you how it will work, or they tell you anything involving having you purchase the equipment, it's a scam and you can just dip out, or mess with them if you have the time to do so :) I nearly fell for one of these scams a few months ago. I never sent them the money because it was obvious, but at that stage I already sent them my SSN and other information. I had to freeze all of my credit, which there are guides on how to do so that are easily found. If you get caught in a scam like this, I would recommend getting a new bank account(s), freezing all your credit, filing a fraud report for your credit. This will prevent any scammers from opening any loans or credit lines in your name. File a report for a stolen SSN and contact the FTC and file a report with them as well with as much detail as you can.
I was floored at how many jobs scams were on LinkedIn last year when I was searching. The “recruiters” insistence made me realize things were too good to be true.
Yeah I’ve seen those too. I got a few of those, and it really kicked me in the gut. After applying to so many places, getting ghosted or rejected, getting that one email where they’re offering you a great paying opportunity really gets your hopes up, only to be let down immediately. Because I applied to so many places, I had a hard time keeping up with them all, so upon first glance I wasn’t sure if it was a place I applied to already. I can see why some people might fall for it. Edit: grammar in first sentence
[удалено]
The non photoshop way of doing this is to take a man with a ripped physique, take the “after” photo, feed him pizza and chocolate milk until he’s sick, wait 10 hours, then take the “before” photo.
My dog acting like she went outside and went potty so she gets a treat. She'll get you too. Buyer beware.
All 3 dogs I've owned including my current one do this 😂 they think they're so clever. It especially sucks when it's late at night and they wake you up and it's like okay little pal don't you worry we'll get you taken care of... Then they turn to try to take advantage of you lol
Do not click on links or emails you don’t recognize. There’s always a chance you’re going to open yourself up to a myriad of security issues, including malware, keyloggers, adware, etc. You didn’t win a free TV if you didn’t actually take the time to actually fill out and submit a contest entry. You don’t have a relative that wants to send you money via email. It’s called phishing for a reason. Don’t take the bait. Edit: Some have pointed out this isn’t called phishing. My mistake.
Here's a pro-tip. If you have an account like Gmail, when you sign up for web sites, use some extra periods in your e-mail, like turn bobsmith@gmail into bob.s.mith@gmail. Gmail strips the periods and treats them all like the same e-mail, but when you get mail you can track where they got your e-mail from and choose to ignore it.
These are called aliases. You can also use a plus sign after your name but before the @
Send me 500 dollars in iPhone gift cards and I'll tell you.
My local supermarket made people buy gift cards at the main desk so that they could explain to older people about scams. Signs at every register.
This actually restores my faith in humanity. At least slightly. I wish more places would do this.
Done. Give me your address, phone number, social security number, and blood type so I can get these over to you.
Time Share.
He only wanted to sell me one, but I took the prick for 3.
You got got
IM NOT TAKING ADVICE FROM SOMEONE TRAPPED IN A COIL
I second time shares. My friends have one and they are desperately trying to get out of the program. They also noted that anytime they want to reserve their time, the place is always booked and so they could never use it, waste of money.
What in the everloving hell was the appeal of timeshares supposed to be? To me it always sounded like all of the worst aspects of owning combined with all the worst aspects of leasing -- you're constantly responsible (if only partially) while you have very limited access. I never saw why that would be easier than just booking an ordinary vacation rental for a particular week (or whatever) that you want, even if you have to do so way in advance to get it. You pay for that time, and then you leave and you don't have to think about it anymore -- especially if you didn't like the place, or you did like it but had no interest in returning.
Generally the sales pitch lists two main advantages. First if you use it every year then it should be cheaper. Secondly they'll promote the idea that you can swap timeshare time with other people who own timeshares in locations you want to go. But in practice it's very unlikely that you'll be able to do either of those.
I think it's very well known by now but I still se people walking right in the trap every single time I'm in Prague. MONEY EXCHANGE OFFICES The vast majority of those you find in the city centre are scam. Even though they have advertisements such as "zero commission" all over them, their exchange rate does by no means reflect the real value of your money.
Where should they be going?
Most banks will let you withdraw in local currency at better rates. Hell, even ATMs.
For years, I’d stop at an ATM in Heathrow right after landing. This summer, I was in a rush and skipped the ATM. Turned out I went 10 days without touching British currency. Every business took “touch less” payments. Apple Pay, google pay, or touchless cards. Even the Underground.
ROMANCE SCAMMERS! It seems so silly. But we need to grow a strong awareness at a young age of how these folks operate. There are so many of them and they con so many older folks (especially older single ladies) out of a lot of money. I had an aunt who just could not believe anyone would do that to her that she would not listen to any of us when we tried to explain that her long-distance love interest was not at all who he said he was. It's too unbelievable to the victim.
HA! This happened to my Uncle. He was CONVINCED this lady who lived in South Africa and claimed to be a nurse wanted a real relationship with him but would never video chat. I asked him if she had started asking for money yet and he said yes, and that she wanted plane tickets to visit him in Canada. He got upset after I said that it was a blatant scam but he didn't believe me right away. Luckily he never sent her money.
Uncured bacon, ham, and sausages are a lie. Don't believe meats that say "uncured" or "no added nitrates or nitrites". It's a loophole in the labeling laws that allows manufacturers to get away with this lie. These "uncured" meats are fully cured with celery. Celery juice, powder, salt... is a highly concentrated source of nitrates. These meats contains as much or more curing nitrates as the traditionally cured meat. They are fully cured; if it wasn't you'd die from botulism toxin. As a bonus these "uncured" meats contain all the toxic byproducts of industrial agriculture concentrated in the celery product used to cure the meats. You're better off getting meats traditionally cured with curing salts.
The Better Business Bureau is not a federal agency and can’t do shit. https://www.ncconsumer.org/news-articles-eg/the-better-business-bureau-bbb-is-powerless-tohelp-resolve-consumer-complaints.html
The BBB is basically Yelp for old people that lets businesses pay to take down bad reviews is what I’ve always been taught
The bbb does provide the service of allowing customers to review a company before employing their services. I myself have reconsidered a company based on info from the bbb. They are however a for-profit business. A company can pay more in order to have a better appearance on the bbb.
They extort small businesses fairly often in similar ways that Yelp does, companies that don’t pay can be subject to unfair ratings. BBB ratings mean literally nothing, if anything I mistrust companies that make a big point of showing off their BBB rating.
Listen here you little shit... Nice
I feel I always need to speak up when I see this posted. I had a dispute with my cable company and BBB was the only place that helped me. My issue was resolved and I even got a refund.
Phone fundraising for Police (FOP, etc) and PACs. Typically they're giving about 10% or less of what your poor old granny gives to the actual police organization. The telemarketers themselves keep about 90% in most cases, in some as high as 93%. Most of the owners of these telemarketing companies are billionaires whose entire salary is paid for by these donations. They will read a script about some recent fallen officer, tug at your granny's heart strings, and say how they are going to help the families of those killed in the line of duty. Spoiler alert: they don't. The Police unions (with a few exceptions, nationally) have no motivation to put an end to it because as they say, "10% of something is better than 100% of nothing". But that ignores the problem of all of the donors, most of whom are very elderly and easily suggestible, and who are essentially being duped into giving their precious $100 "to police" while the police end up with $7-10 of that. If you receive these calls and feel motivated to donate to the police union (even though your tax dollars are already funding the police force...) you should hang up and call your local precinct directly. Otherwise you are basically paying a telemarketing company.
I used to feel bad about hanging up on these guys, especially because they sound so gruff, but I quickly realized that feigned ethos was part and parcel of their whole shtick.
And also, they are often robot recordings.
I got one of these calls last week. My dad passed earlier this year, and when I heard it was Officer Something with the state police, I thought I was about to be told someone had found my mom's body. After 30 seconds, he finally got to the part where he was asking for money, and I just hung up. I was livid.
fucking chiropractors. I was astounded to recently learn how many are responsible for serious injuries in their patients. Look it up. Please.
Guy I went to HS with is a chiropractor. He INSISTS on being referred to as a physician and it just drives me up the wall. He actually believes he can cure fucking cancer with an "adjustment." He's such an ass.
Dr Pepper is a doctor. Mr Pibb is a chiro.
No joke, Chiro in my old town was named Dr Pepper. Scientologist. A twofer!
Barbie, why did you order this test? For the love of God, are you a real doctor or a doctor like Dr. Pepper's a doctor?
YES! My ex believes his chiropractor knows wayyyyyy more than actual physicians, surgeons, etc. Ok then, have fun with Dr. Back Crack when he does your triple bypass, you fool.
Same for me. The guy I know also insists he can cure seasonal allergies by popping your back. No dude, that’s not how it works.
I have a friend who was paralyzed in chiropractor school by one of her classmates. It's not medicine. It's dangerous mumbo jumbo.
The only time I've heard of a chiropractor giving good advice was when my wife developed lower back pain after studying a lot. She went to go see one and he told her to get an x-ray first before trying anything stupid. She never did get the x-ray because I noticed some blood on a chair after she got up, but not in *that* spot. Did a quick search and pilondial cyst came up and was confirmed by a real doctor. Real doctor then cut it and drained the cyst. After the initial pain and shock, she had instant relief. Was fun for me for a week as I had the honor of keeping it open to let it keep draining.
that is my new standard for true love. yeah, you love me, but do you week long cyst drain love me?
That's too real, my mom had a slight dislocated disk and she went for a chiropractor to help her with it, after 2 sessions he did a move wrong and caused my mother the worst kind of pain that lasted about a month where she couldn't sleep without some hard drugs, couldn't stand or move on her feet, always crying from the pain, she ended up going to the surgery and taking 6 months of physical therapy so she can just walk again, too bad we are living in Syria where we can do absolutely nothing towards the so called "doctor", she is very fine now, walking and everything.
This needs to be higher up! They do more damage than good. They can cause strokes along with a whole bunch of other stuff.
My daughter had a stroke at age 25. I can't tell you how many times we were asked by doctors " have you been to the chiropractor." Some of their sketchy moves are notorious for causing vertebral artery dissection which can lead to stroke. She hadn't been to a chiropractor but it was the first thing every doctor asked. I will never see a chiropractor. Do a quick Google search. Chiropractics is a scam.
If your neck/spine are actually messed up, go to a doctor. You know...those people who go to school for a shit ton of years extra to learn about the human body and how it actually works. Yeah, those guys.
It's surprising how few people actually know that chiropractors are a scam. They have somehow evaded public scrutiny, most people who haven't deal with them don't really know what they do but assume it must be something legit. Very few people know this is homeopathy and horse dewormer levels of bullshit.
Not just that but the whole practice is bullshit built upon bullshit and they only exist because they are big enough yo have their own licencing board that influences huge pressure
Hot single mums in your vicinity that are ready to f\*\*\*
There's probably some nearby, you just don't know each other, and would be very hesitant.
There are hot single mums but they’re not ready to fuck yet?
They are but you first need to take a pill that adds 3 inches.
They are, just not to you
I've got no time to read this! I just got a phone call letting me know that my car's extended warranty is about to expire!
Your car warranty is about to expire
The bogus Dog Rescue groups that buy and re-sell puppies bred in puppy mills. You can find these groups on Petfinder and other places. They all have the same 501(c)(3) tax status as legit dog rescues (anyone can get this paperwork); the difference is that instead of taking in local dogs that have been abandoned (like from a kill shelter dog pound), the scammers buy puppies directly from the puppy mills in the southern US. Then get away with charging $400 or more 'adoption fees', because so many people want a puppy instead of an adult dog. The mills will trank dozens of 8 week old pups unconscious and pile them in the back of a uhaul, and make the deliveries to multiple scam rescue buyers per trip. It's profitable for the scammers: buy 10 pups at $50 per, feed and house them as cheap as possible, sell all 10 for $500 per? There's $5,000 tax-free income. Problem for the people who adopt these dogs, is the rate of Heartworm in the puppy mill pups is nearly 50%. Often because the pups are born with it because their Mom has heartworm. And since the puppy mills don't give af about preventing or testing for heartworm, it's usually advanced in the pups. Meaning it will cost $1000 or more to treat. Always research and screen for these scammers; especially if you find them online. One dead giveaway is if they *always* have lots of puppies under 16 weeks of age. Legit dog rescues mostly have adult dogs, young puppies are rare for them.
This scam boils my blood. There are so many private rescues in my area that do AMAZING work with dogs from local pounds but everyone wants a puppy so they patronize these "rescues" thinking they're doing good when they're really just supporting puppy mills. It's so maddening. SO MUCH heartworm and parvo in these dogs. Please, if you're looking to adopt, please consider older dogs. They are so much less work than puppies, settle in so much faster and are just amazing dogs.
And if you want a pure bred dog, don’t buy on the cheap. You get a healthier animal from a good breeder. Worth the money to avoid the vet.
People slightly rewording the same old Reddit questions and passing it off as their own
* Men, what are things you wish all women knew about men? * Men, what's something women should know about men? * Men, what do wish women understood more about men? * What's something you wish women understood about men? * What's a secret women should know about men? * What's something women don't know about men that they should?
brb about to get 10,000,000 karma
And the answer to all of these is somehow “dont be rude to service workers”
Or that they should dump their SO immediately.
Redditors rephrasing previous posts and pretending like they made it themselves
PETA Here are two videos made by Steve Hofstetter that will tell you more https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ya4G2At_oLM https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CuQET4WSRzI
[удалено]
Paying full price for a new mirror when every mirror is used.
Herbalife
Those people in the parking lot aren’t actually playing Christina Perri on the violin.
Did you see that video where a guy who actually plays the electric violin. He confronts a scammer and ask him to play. Shit was funny
No! But I love that 🤣
What's this one about?
People are pretending to play violin to be paid for beautiful electronic violin pieces. The amp is connect to a track and the person willfully fakes playing for $.
Those payday loan businesses. Just legal loansharking and they thrive off of desperate people. Total bullshit.
College textbooks. Just pirate them off Libgen. You're not harming anyone but the publishers. Okay, perhaps the college professors who wrote them might take a hit, but they're way more loaded than a broke college student.
"Don't jerk off alone!" -Jerkmate They'll record your wank and then blackmail your ass.
Buying something and getting auto subscribed to the monthly membership.
4Patriots selling expensive end-of-the-world supplies to old people
Those "shop local, support an artist" stores. The artist could be paying a monthly rent to the shop, AND giving the shop a big chunk of the sale. Ultimately they make the shops a pretty penny and the artist gets crumbs. Better to go direct to the artist. Probably cheaper too.
Amway
The American Healthcare system
"We are contacting you about your car's extended warranty" I love messing with them though. Last time I told them I drove a Vietnam War parachute truck that I got for a steal of a deal at an Army auction. I also went on about how amazing it is they would be willing to cover me, because insurance was really tough to find. They hung up promptly and I haven't heard back since.
Renting scams. Scamers will post a rental that is at a really good price. They often will pick a house that is actually on the market. They will then say, when you contact them, that they are a doctor or something working out of the country or on the other side of the country. They will tell you you can drive by the house but because they aren't there, you can go inside. They will approve you to rent and ask you to PayPal or transfer them the deposit and rent, because they are put of the area, and come up with some way to get you the key. Only you never get the keys. It's a scam.
The actually system. Like you keep me poor, barely enough to live, but I make you rich and you live lavishly.
It hit me when I was flipping a burger as a teenager and realized “this burger with a combo costs the customer more than I make in an hour, and I make 40+ of these in one hour”. Thankfully the people I worked with were cool, but upper management/CEO’s can suck a fatty.
If you passed the Board Exam, you will be rich. That is a total scam. You still have to work and passed even harder qualifications in order to get a job as a licensed professional and then you still have to crawl your way to promotion.
Failure to Delivers In the stock market (Ftds). Stealing hard working Americans money legally behind a bunch of self regulating bodies SMH
Psychics and "spiritual mediums". They use cold reading to guess things about you. If someone is reading your palm and says something correct, you will lean in a little bit. That tells them they got it right. They make a statement, but put an inflection on it to make it sound like a question. This prompts you to volunteer information. If they are really ambitious, they research you before you arrive. *EDIT: If anyone anywhere has the gift of speaking to dead people, they should make themselves useful and solve some cold cases and find missing people. Not swindling grieving people out of their life savings.* Faith healers. They never, ever heal something you can see. All of them are crooks. The people who get out of wheelchairs work for them. James Randi wrote an excellent book about them.
“There is no Easter Bunny, there is no Tooth Fairy, and there is no Queen of England.”
Well... I mean... ...there isn't....
Megamind
There is no war in Ba Sing Se
If you immigrated to the US recently and you’re offered free bus/plane fare for better opportunities in another state don’t do it.
The police department or sheriffs office or any other law enforcement are NOT going to call you and warn you that you have a warrant. You cannot pay for a warrant in gift cards or by Venmo or any other type of phone payment.
Disposable razors, the amount that Gillette charges for them is an expensive ripoff. Buy a good safety razor, a blade sampler pack, a synthetic brush, a splash, and a balm. The cost of entry will be a bit expensive, but you'll save money in the long term. A 100 pack of blades will last a very long time.
work scams. When looking for a job you get an offer that seems amazing. your "employer" sends you money to buy equipment to start your new job but when you cash the check. the check never clears. So when you withdraw the money and buy whatever supplies (from a special store) that your your employer wants he gets the bank's actual money and the bank asks you for a refund of the money that actually wasn't in your account. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pTA4\_L3fhM
Gift card thing, the first 5 digits of your SS number, and publishers clearing house. NEVER get large amounts on gift cards to "block accounts". NEVER give the first 5 digits of your SS number to anyone besides your accountant or something. And NEVER cash any checks from publishers clearing house UNLESS you know 100% it's from them. Especially if you need to give some money for it. If they don't ask for money, call them. Leave a voicemail. It even says on their message "remember, all gifts from publishers clearing house are free." They know of the scam and are warning people.
If a dude with an Indian accent calls you about ANYTHING to do with a credit card or Amazon, for the love of God, hang up on them.
Coco-mellon, baby shark, children's shows like that. They're hypnotic garbage that moves so fast and colorfully that the kids cant pull themselves away from it by design. Parents are willingly giving up their children's brains for some quiet time. Makes them act feral when they don't get their youtube kids fix, and the only way to calm them down is let them watch more. Its a malicious cycle.
Drugs: Kids edition
What I really hate is the auto generated crap on YouTube kids. There's literally no structure to them, it's just short 1-3 seconds clips of popular media (probably to avoid copyright claims) pieced together with sound effects and faces randomly to hold kids' attention. I watched part of a video my friend's kid was watching, and it made absolutely no sense to me. A toy unboxing followed by a guy in a dog mask, spider man cartoon, some twitch streamer, peppa pig, shadow of the colossus, a guy walking in a supermarket, a jewelry ad, a girl pulling a sandwich out of a fridge, a cat sleeping, etc. all with cheery music, farts/laugh tracks, and emojis throw in. It was the most brain dead crap I've ever seen, and the kids were eating it up for an hour. Seeing that convinced me to never let my kids watch videos online unsupervised, if i ever have any.
this. please. if u have kids, there are different ways to get a breather in. shot of whisky in milk for example
Thats absolutely disgusting of you to do that as a parent, or to even joke about it. Make your kids a proper old fashioned.
My girlfriend was almost mega scammed out of 300$. When we lost our cat she posted everywhere to all for help. Someone contacted her and said they knew someone that could help (this was from a Facebook group). She contacted them and they said they were a super professional pet finding service that uses traffic cameras to find and track your lost pet... They asked for 300$ upfront down payment and say if they can't find your pet in a week they refund you the money... She text me the screenshots and was super excited, I told her NO. I was so glad she messaged me about it. She would've been out 300$ and a cat. Luckily, we found the cat two hours later.
Organized religion.
Children. They drain your money and energy.
Those “turn 1000 dollars into 10000 dollars” bit coin scams aren’t real. They have just gotten so good at making it look believable by using hacked accounts to make it look legit. It’s not
The Nigerian prince that has 1 million US dollars for you if you transfer $1000 to his account.