It always breaks my heart a little bit when I hear about vulnerable people getting scammed and losing a ton of money.
I feel like this happens to older people quite a bit and you have to question what kind of evil people do these kinds of things.
But, the sad fact is that scams are everywhere and you have to be careful.
AskReddit users weighed in on what big scams people still fall for.
1. They have whole offices?
“Those Microsoft scam calls.
It works so well that they have offices.”
2. A total scam.
“The Sauna Slim Belt was a thing in my country for almost a decade.
People never lost an inch of fat, only got marks from the heat which the belt produced.
Pure Scam.”
3. Pyramid schemes.
“Not gonna lie, I attended one of those pyramid scheme meetings at my friend’s insistence and man it was filled with low-income people and the whole thing was clearly targeted at them.
Felt really bad seeing how they were being sold dreams of earning a lot of money and stuff. Such a scam.”
4. Charlatans!
“Online charlatans that will share their “secrets” if you buy their course.”
5. You won!
“These Facebook posts imitating real companies saying you’d win whatever they’re offering, despite the page being created hours ago and the only post being said giveaway.
The comments are always tragic to read.”
6. Don’t fall for it!
“Those phone calls that claim your social security number is suspended due to criminal activity.
My own mom fell for this unfortunately.
Tips to avoid this kind of scam (if you live in the US):
Your SSN will never get suspended.
SSA/FBI/IRS will contact you directly through mail not by phone.
Scammers are experts on phone spoofing; the phone numbers may look legit but they’re not calling from them.
Don’t panic if a scammer does have your information; it was all obtained through hacking a website where you filled out a form. Be sure to clear auto form fill data. Always have strong, hard to guess passwords
Never confirm any personal data even if it’s 100% correct over the phone (they want you to verify this)
Pay attention to unusual background noise. (Our scammer played a blaring siren noise after transferring the call to the “police” during the entire conversation. My mom only figured out it was a scam when she heard background noises of an Indian street)
No one will call saying you’re going to be arrested. Arrests only happen in person with an arrest warrant signed by a judge.
Government agencies do not take payments through gift cards nor ask for the codes and pins when you deposit money on them.
Gov agencies won’t stay on the line with you the entire time you’re withdrawing and depositing money especially past business hours. At all.
Always have antivirus software; viruses are the common way to steal your data and scam you.”
7. So strange…
“Mobile games which are designed to be bad so they can frustrate you enough to buy their currency.
Failing that, the game will feature spam-clicking until you run out of energy, which will spawn a “buy more energy” pop-up, hoping you will buy lots of it by accident.”
8. Tricksters.
“I have several clients that fell for the scam where when you do a password reset on a bank web site and they text you a code to complete the password reset and the scammer calls you for the code.
If you receive a code via text, never tell it to someone else.”
9. People fall for this?
“You’ll get a job at X organisation if you pay X amount.
It’s always a scam!
You never have to pay someone to work for them.”
10. Everywhere.
“Nigerian Prince emails.
I can’t believe people still fall for them, but apparently it’s a multimillion dollar industry.”
11. Lose weight now!
“Weight loss pills and weight loss tea.
And in this vein: detoxifying teas, shakes, etc. that claim to clear years of sludge and fecal build up out of your intestines which will boost weight loss.
If you had fecal matter building up in your GI tract you’d know about it and your pants size would be the least of your concerns!”
12. It has to work!
“Penis enlargement pills.
“They do sell a lot of weird things in sex shops. They have this stuff called Mr. Big Cream. It says, “Rub it on your dick and your dick gets bigger.” Great. Wouldn’t your hands get bigger too?”
RIP Robert Schimmel.”
13. The gift card scam.
“”I’ll pay in gift cards… is that ok?”
Remember: if they don’t want to use Paypal (goods and services only), Venmo, or even cash face to face, you’re probably being scammed.”
14. Timeshares.
“Buying a timeshare.
My friend let me use his timeshare but i had to attend a meeting (to sell me one) but i would receive a free gift for the 1.5 hour meeting. I had to meet someone first before the bigger meeting, they asked how much i make.
I said 20k a year.. they said that’s not even enough for the free gift, you don’t have to attend.”
15. Big money.
“Expensive coffins, diamond rings, bottled water, timeshare promos.
What the fuck is up with coffins? Hell the whole funeral thing is expensive and your guilted into it bc “it was a love one and you want to honor them right”.
I remember when my bfs uncle died and the family went down to the funeral parlor and his grandmother (mother of the deceased) was just bawling as the officiant went through their options and “packages”.
The grandmother just kept saying over and over in tears “I don’t want you to think we didn’t love him or anything we just don’t got a whole lot of money.”
Made me really bitter toward the whole thing.”
16. This one.
“Hey babe! ❤️❤️🙋
I’ve just come into some really 💕great💕 opportunities with this amazing team of women, and since that opportunity is still available of course I thought of you 😉 They’re looking for hard working ladies💪💁 who want to empower each other by starting their own businesses! 😮
I know that sounds scary but just wait until you see the paycheck at the end of it 😍💲💲😍 You can be your 👏own👏boss👏 and take control of YOUR finan- lol just kidding could you imagine 🙊💓💞💕💓💖💝♥️💘”
Now we want to hear from you!
What are some scams that you think people still fall for?
Talk to us in the comments!
