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53 Times People Received Such Pathetic Scam Messages, They Just Had To Laugh And Share Them Online
InterviewGetting scammed and losing your money is one of the worst feelings in the world. First of all, there’s the financial loss. Then there’s the shame of having been tricked. And finally, there’s the lingering distrust for other people.
However, some scammers’ attempts to bamboozle their victims are so ridiculous, see-through, or just downright weird, they’re making the internet laugh. And people can’t help but shame these scammers on the r/Scams subreddit. With a community of over 237k people, the online group acts both as a way to educate internet users on how to recognize scams, as well as to provide entertainment. It’s a public service and educational fun rolled into one neat package.
Check out the posts from r/Scams below, upvote the ones that made you laugh (even though scams are never funny, the way scammers act can be hilarious), and be sure to visit their group for all of their latest posts when you’re done. One of the subreddit moderators was kind enough to have an in-depth chat with Bored Panda about their community, how it helps spread awareness about identifying potential scams, and what the most recent popular scams are right now. "Once you fall for a scam there is usually not much that can be done, but if you take a short amount of time now to learn more about scams you can save yourself money and hassle in the future. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." Read on for the full interview.
This post may include affiliate links.
This Is Absolutely Awful
*Confused Happy Noises*
Very Well Thought Out Scam
The moderator told Bored Panda that the reason why the subreddit was started (and why it's still popular to this very day) is to identify scams and help people avoid them. At first, it was a companion sub for r/freebies, but grew into its own thing. "I think we might be the only general-purpose scam sub. There are other subs of course, but all of them I've seen seem to have a tighter focus on a certain kind. So one thing we stand out for is being the primary place on Reddit to find what you're looking for and to get help learning about or dealing with a scam," they said.
"Our goal is to both help people avoid falling for scams in the first place, and also to help people recover after they have been scammed, but in many cases, once you have been scammed your money is simply gone, which is why it is so important that there is a place on Reddit you can go to receive quick, reliable advice about potential scams," the moderator told Bored Panda.
Message I Got From My "Grandma" A While Ago
My Office Got An Email From Our “Site Manager” Asking Us To Get Ebay Gift Cards For A “Client” And Send The Codes On The Back To Somebody Named Danny. I Tracked Their Ip Address To Enugu, Nigeria And Sent This To The Number
At Least He Admitted It
They explained that knowledge can hurt scammers and how the community is there to support anyone and everyone who's been hurt financially: "The more people who are scam aware, the fewer income streams scammers will have. You're never going to stop a scammer from being a scammer, but you can help people avoid becoming victims by educating them. Every time someone asks about a fake check scam before they go through with it, we are helping them save thousands of dollars. Victims fall for the underage girl scam and think their life is ruined, some even indicate that they are suicidal when they ask us for advice, and we are able to quickly assure them that everything is fine and we can show them many examples of previous posts in our community."
The Best Scam Ever!!!
Scammer Steals Pictures Of My Dying Son And Uses Them To Create A Gofundme
I can't even find the words. I'm so sorry for your loss, and so disgusted by the scammer's behaviour. This is revolting.
My Dog Has Been Missing For A Week And Some Sick Bastard Pulled This Bs
The moderator was also kind enough to warn us of the most common recent scams. "Fake check scams are very common right now, and if you fall for one, you will lose thousands of dollars and have no realistic chance of getting your money back. A few other recent scams of note include: fake Bitcoin giveaways on Discord, romance scammers impersonating Asian girls who trick victims into signing up for fake investment sites, cartel scammers who threaten to kill you and send you gory pictures, sugar scammers, sextortion scams, the blackmail email scam, and recovery/double-dip scammers who target previous scam victims. We definitely see some new techniques, but most are just dressed-up versions of old scams such as the advance-fee scam that has been around for hundreds of years."
A Seasoned Professional
Damn! I Should Have Accepted It When He Said He Would Send Me The Money Via Airmail
It is all the money he collected from the people who DID reply to the e-mail.
Just Glad To See My BF Has A Good Head On His Shoulders
Google, according to the mod, is our biggest weapon when it comes to fighting scammers who prey on the weak. We can use it to identify if we're talking to someone trying to con us. However, that means we have to use Google effectively.
"If you have been contacted by someone and you're suspicious, searching for unique sounding phrases they use will show if the script has been used publicly before. However, searching for unique identifiers like usernames, email addresses, or phone numbers is not useful, as they change so often and can give you a false sense of security. For example, the 2020 Twitter hack was not a very convincing scam, but people looked at the usernames and saw they were the real accounts so they fell for the scam. The most important thing is to look at the situation itself."
How About £1400?
Wholesome Hacking
A Russian bot hacked my mom's inactive facebook account and put a girl with massive boobs as her profile picture. She deleted the account immediately! :D
He’s Not Wrong
They continued: "For websites, I always check the online presence by Googling the domain name in quotes, and I check the WHOIS info to see when the domain was registered, how long it is registered for, and where it is hosted. Normal sites have an online presence consistent with their size, while scam sites usually have no online presence at all. Scam sites can be quite slick, but WHOIS data doesn't lie and can tell you that the site was registered recently for one year and is hosted by NameCheap. Scammers frequently re-use templates, so Googling unique phrases works to evaluate websites as well. If a website offers an address, Google the address and check it out on Google Maps, scammers often use random residential addresses, office buildings without suite numbers, or completely fake addresses."
An Old Co-Worker Messaged Me. Got Blocked Lol
How frequently has that question been asked to be in Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)?
A Facebook Group Called "Freedom To Breathe" Are Making These Fake Mask Exemptions Cards As A Way To Get Around Wearing A Mask. If You Come Across These Cards, They Have Absolutely Are Not Official Government Cards Nor Do They Have Any Authority With Any Government Agency
Looks Legit
my name is alexander hamilton ..... and theres a million things i havent done .... just you wait , jus you waaaaaaait....
Load More Replies...It does say on the left that it "is not legal". It is "for motion pictures"
Handsome Hamilton: The sequel to Fake Franklin (he knows you're up to something). Fake-Frank...ca255d.png
It's not counterfeit. It says right on it its for movies that it's not real money
30 years or so ago, my copy shop got a FedEx package that my manager assumed was shop business. He opened it to find several hundred dollars in counterfeit money very obviously (and badly) printed on a dot matrix printer. After a good laugh we called the FBI to report it. The agent who responded gave the 'money' one look then gave us one that very clearly said 'You called me in for this?' My manager shrugged and told him 'If it's counterfeit money, the law says report it. There are no guidelines for how good it has to be.' The agent could only shrug agreement, left his card, took the 'money', and we never heard anything else about it.
Hamilton is looking rather perplexed at this bad attempt of counterfeiting
It's the "10 dollars" that gave it away. Should have made it "35 dollars", people are less familiar with those so they're easier to convince it's a genuine one.
“Online, offline, email, or postal. If you know of or encounter a scam, this is the place to let people know about it. If you have any questions, you can post here and have your question answered by people who are knowledgeable about all types of scams. If you have fallen for a scam, you can post your experience here to warn others,” the moderators of r/Scams explain on their subreddit what the group is all about.
Somewhat unsurprisingly, the ‘Scams’ subreddit, founded way back in 2009, doesn’t allow any “spam or solicitation” in their group (we’d have been shocked if they did). They also don’t allow any posts with personal information in them and ask their members to be civil.
What’s more, despite being against scammers, the subreddit mods point out that they don’t encourage anyone to “scam the scammers” or to conduct “witch hunts” against them. In other words, they don’t back vigilante justice, so if you want to go all Batman on the people who scammed your grandma out of her retirement fund, you’ll have to do it alone. (That was a joke: contact the police immediately.)
Some Number Texted Me, Said He Was An FBI Agent, And He Sent Me A Picture Of His Id. I Image Searched The Pic If His Id, And Turns Out It Was Photoshopped Version Of A Movie Prop, The Guy On His Id Picture Is Michael Peña. He Didn't Even Try Hahahhah
Hold Up
Nothing Like Being Honest
The war against scammers is a never-ending one, unfortunately. Our ammunition against being hoodwinked, swindled, and outmaneuvered like we’re fighting against Napoleon himself, is knowledge, awareness, and healthy skepticism.
Knowing about the major types of scams means we’re forewarned. Being always aware when talking to strangers (or anyone pretending to be a family member) helps keep us calm and cool. Finally, being skeptical when an alleged loved one suddenly asks for financial help helps protect our wallets. Like “Mad-Eye” Moody roared in the Harry Potter books, “Constant vigilance!”
Found This At My Local Rite Aid
The two biggest supermarkets in Australia both have similar messages displayed at their registers.
Every Hour I Hate You More And More!
Cristiano Ronaldo Needs A Pair Of Boots, Can We Help Him?
However, scammers aren’t powerless either. They might be shifty and use slimy tactics, but some of them are real Slytherins: they’re cunning, creative, and will go to any lengths to further their ambitions. What this means is that there are always new scams being tried out on unsuspecting victims. And that won’t change in the future unless we get some overbearing and invasive police AI to protect us from them.
What’s more, while some scammers rely on sending out mass messages to the public and pulling the wool over the eyes of just a handful of people, others are professionals. Using their charisma, good looks, and patience, they play the long game. Gaining your trust bit by bit, they eventually cheat you out of your hard-earned cash and you might not even realize it!
By the time you come to your wits, it might be far too late to do anything. Sawyer from Lost is a good example of a conman with patience. He’s an anti-hero, an audience favorite bad-boy, but he’s a scammer at heart (though that heart is a heart of gold, I’ll admit).
An Honest Scammer?
How Do I Even Respond To This
Sorry, I Don't Trust You. Not By That Logic
It is ILLEGAL for a person who has been scammed to become a scammer!
According to the Federal Trade Commission, scammers also often pretend to be from an organization that you know or from the government. In other words, they’re appealing to your beliefs about authority figures to legitimize their tactics to weasel your cash out of your pocket and into theirs. They might even pose as a charity or a utility company. Be wary. They can also change how their caller ID and numbers look on your phone, so don’t be quick to trust your elf eyes, Legolas.
“They might say you’re in trouble with the government. Or you owe money. Or someone in your family had an emergency. Or that there’s a virus on your computer. Some scammers say there’s a problem with one of your accounts and that you need to verify some information. Others will lie and say you won money in a lottery or sweepstakes but have to pay a fee to get it,” the FTC warns.
The way most scams work is by introducing a ticking clock: if you don’t act now, something horrible will happen or you might miss out on a prize. Under pressure, you start relying more on your emotions, not thinking about the gaps in their stories. Other scammers threaten you, trying to make you feel afraid and powerless.
Hahahaha
So, These Guys Wanted My Personal Details And A Resume, So I Sent Them Michael Scott's Details With A Resume
This Is Just Funny
What’s more, scammers tell you to pay in specific ways which is an indication that what’s going on is all a trick. For example, they might ask for a money transfer through a specific company or for you to buy a bunch of gift cards. This makes it harder for them to be traced.
This is why it’s vital that you protect your personal and financial information. In this day and age, privacy is an increasingly more difficult resource to come by and lots of our info is already online. However, we shouldn’t give out our details left and right. Don’t make it easy for the bamboozlers.
Meanwhile, if you get suspicious emails that look semi-official, don’t open any links inside of them, don’t reply to them, and don’t download any files. If your gut’s telling you to stay away, don’t open Pandora’s box. This applies to everyone, even though most of us believe we’d never fall for a trick like that.
Have you ever fallen prey to a scammer before, dear Readers? What’s the most obvious scam you’ve ever encountered in real life? Share your thoughts and experiences below and remember… “Constant vigilance!”
Auf Gott
So Annoying And Honestly, Disrespectful
Apparently There Is A Market For Scamming People Whose Pets Are Missing
You Too Can Live At IKEA For $650 A Month!
Can’t Wait To Get My Money From My Craigslist Ad!
Two Different Scams In Two Days From The Same Number, How Amusing And Idiotic
Someone Hacked My Friends Instagram, And Is Asking For Money To Followers
The Most Believable Letter You Will Ever Read!!! I Was Told In Another Subreddit To Post This Here
Mark Zuckerberg Wanted To Buy My iPhone Off Craigslist. Seems Legit To Me
Ah Yes, The Negotiator
Watch Out For This One. Could Barely Tell It Was A Fake
This One Has Just Given Up And Gone For The Direct Approach
I Rarely Get Scam Emails But... When I Do
Said He Had Some Metal Boxes For Me Worth Millions. I Demanded A Picture
Do People Actually Fall For This?
I Own The Appstore Now You Guys
Got An Email With This Attachment A Few Years Ago, Found It Pretty Funny
Uhhh What Just Happened?
This is like the telemarketers that would call the shop I worked at looking for the owner. I'd respond with "She only comes in on Sundays." They'd be like "Ok..we'll call back then!!" We were closed on Sunday......
If You Say So
Sweet Justice Had Been Served!
This is the one post in this entire article that refuses to load for me
Love The Email Address It Came From!
Dang, if you don’t look at the email address I could see more people falling for this one, it’s put together fairly well.
These look silly but there's a reasonthey make these so obviously fake, with bad grammar and bad photoshop. This is actually to weed out the people who pay even a little attention to detail. The ones who are left thinking this might be true are the ones most likely to fall for the scam.
that and often times when it is bad grammar, they are coming from other countries and they are using a translator this is not 100% accurate.
Load More Replies...I had one just a few days ago where they acted interested in an item I had for sale online. They actually had the audacity to say "I've been scammed by people selling on this site, so can I send you a code so you can prove you're real?" Of course, said code was a Google voice verification code that would have given them access to all kinds of things. That kind of stuff burns me up, because they mostly prey on the trusting, the less tech-savvy, and the elderly. Vile little scumbags.
Thieves are thieves, they're just using technology to steal now as it's easier than B&E. They have no scruples but would scream bloody murder if their grandma got fleeced.
Load More Replies...I once had a guy with a thick East Indian accent call me to say he was from the IRS and I needed to pay my taxes immediately or he would send the sheriff to arrest me. I laughed and laughed. He says "This is serious ma'am." I said "No it's not...the IRS never calls anyone. They send out threatening letters, they take you to court...but they never ever call. Get yourself a new line of work, honey. Cause you're really bad at this."
I've gotten that call and I live in Canada. "Um sorry, we don't have an IRS. We have Revenue Canada though. Nice try genius."
Load More Replies...I got one of those "Microsoft Tech Support" scam calls informing me that my PC was infected; I was using Linux.
I used to get calls like this from time to time. Once I strung them along and pretended to be dumber than a clam. The guy on the other end of the phone got so frustrated that he hung up! Another time I told the caller to wait while I turned on my computer - then I abandoned him and let him sit and sit and sit while I diddled on the Internet.
Load More Replies...I used to get scam emails claiming that the person had escaped with a pile of money from one African nation to another. Got them all the time. I finally replied that I was an agent from the original country who was tasked with tracking them down and had identified their location via their email. I said we had people on the way to bring them back and put them in a 're-education camp". Got no more emails.
Unfortunately, these scams are common... And most are much more professional than the ones listed. There are a few things you can do to protect yourself though. 1) Never respond to any agency that requests you buy gift cards. The purpose of asking for gift cards is to bypass your credit card company's merchant verification process. 2) NEVER use a debit card for online purchases/money transfers. Unlike credit cards, debit cards take money out of your account immediately, and it can be a bitch getting it back. 3) Never click or trust a phone number. If Apple, for example, sends you a message that they need to contact you, use their 1800 customer service line instead of whatever phone number or link attached to the email/text. 4) Use store purchased cards for your Microsoft/Playstation accounts. These accounts get hacked on a regular basis and it's best just to have the credit disappear than go through the hassle of having the charges removed from your credit card.
For more tips to avoid getting scammed, contact your bank. They are more than happy to help you avoid getting scammed in the first place rather than spending all that time and money investigating a claim after the fact.
Load More Replies...I get scam phone calls all the time. "IRS" & car warranty mostly. Each time I act as someone different. My best characters....Jane Austen, a cop tracing the call, moronic southern bell, and a 30yr old with Alzheimer's. It's my Covid hobby, how long can I keep them on the phone?
A while ago, my mom got the world's shittiest scam call. The person left a message saying, and these were his exact words according to my mom, "Hello.... This is IRS calling to sue you. Call us at xxx-xxx-xxxx or we will call the cops on you!!!" Another time "John Smith" from "microsoft" called to ask some questions about her computer. She told him her computer was an Appl computer.... he literally just said "oh" and hung up.
Oof reminds me of a thing my grandparents told me. (This was like a year ago maybe) So my grandma and grandpa were watching T.V. and my a really loud voice came from my grandpas computer telling him he HAD to put in his social security number or something like that... it was completely random, i wasn't there when it happened but i kind of wish i had been there.
I got a call the other day and when I answered, the guy tried to convince me that my child needs this (can't remember the made up name) program advised by his teacher. I told him I don't have a child and please never call me again. Then he starts singing: Never call me again la la la never call me again.. over and over :D god he must have been bored..:
Man, last year I got caught in one. For a house rental. Let’s just say I never could recover the money from it and my bank wouldn’t help and no one else would either. I wish all scammers in the world would get shipped horse crap, like 80 pounds of it.
FYI horse pop isn’t that gross, it’s just voluminous since they don’t thoroughly digest stuff. You are probably much better shipping cow poop or dog poop or something. Much stinkier, much grosser.
Load More Replies...An elderly friend of mine received a phone call supposedly from Microsoft, that there was a problem on her computer. Please would she go and switch on her computer. She replied, very sweetly, (knowing her), "I'm sorry, dear, I haven't got a computer." They put the phone down before she did.
Not an internet scam, but this happens all the time in holiday locations in Europe. Some dude comes up to you and give you a free lottery ticket. And for some reason you always win! Your price is a fancy dinner! And if you go there, there is a not so fancy dinner and all the people there are trying to sell you time share apartments.
I had a "friend" on Facebook message me a few months ago. It was supposedly about a program to help with bills. A government program that covers both the UK(where he's from) and the US. The funniest part is he tried to insist that kind of thing is normal.
I get lots of texts from banks that I do not have an account with, telling me that my account has been frozen. I just send it on to the relevant bank (they all have phishing hotlines) and then I delete them without replying. Also, numerous times, I'm the "lucky one-millionth visitor to our website" and am eligible to win an "Apple product of my choice". I just need to "send them $1 for shipping"! Yeah? For real? If you were genuinely going to send me the product, you could afford the shipping too. Or send me into the local Apple store to collect it.
If they do phone you, waste their time, get them talking. Their paying for the call, they lose money
Or find their email address and plug it in to the various bulk mail generators available. Nothing like a scammer getting 500000 emsils a day.
Load More Replies...did you know I own a credit karma account???? I mean, I didn't even know (went back to this article just to share my new credit karma info with yall)
The most troubling scam messages I ever got were phonecalls from the Chinese Government that go out seemingly somewhat randomly and are intended to intimidate Chinese living abroad and Chinese ex-pats into remaining loyal to the Chinese government and snitching on others - friends, family, relatives, workmates, etc. - who don't.
Once, my entire school got this. There was a certain group of people posing as reps from the governmental office stealing students' confidential infos held by the school, and then they scammed the parents by tricking them their children has an accident in the school, sent to hospital and asking for hospital fees (It was weekday, we were all in the school). They convinced the parents with infos they got earlier. Fortunately, my own parents didn't fall for it (they made a mistake when they tried to mention the name of my homeroom teacher). Here's the interesting part: That day, coincidentally, I REALLY got an accident. I fell when I climbed a certain gazebo and got a large bruise on the bowel.
When I get an unknown number I load this up, press play and answer the phone with the phone next to my computer speakers. This is one of many fun things I do to phone scammers
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I get plenty of spam mail but once I got at mail, apparently from the police. I was asked to give all manner of information, so naturally I suspected it. I googled the police department it was supposed to be from, found a telephone number and called it. To my everlasting surprise, it was no scam, but a legit policematter. I was dumpfounded.
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I assume you should not reply to the scammers (assuming you can tell it is a scam off the bat), even to “mess with them” since then they know your contact info is legit. Is this the case? Some of these made it seem like you could at least get a little fun out of people being horrible to other people.
My favorite is the computer voice telling me my social security number has been suspended for suspicious activity and that if I don't talk to an agent, I'm going to be arrested.
It is so sad there are so many scammers out there. My daughter (a teen) was scammed twice already and I almost fell for a job offer scam once... So when I actually received a small grant for my small business (which I did apply for but completely forgot) I could not believe that was for real and not just another scam :)
(Fake fb) “Hey, how have you been?” Me- Great, how are the twins? (Fake)“They are good!” Me- you don’t have twins. Goodbye.
Reminds me of a time when my brother got a scam call from "windows". After 5 minutes of wasting their time, he said "I own a MacBook"
This post helped me with a small problem I keep getting emails that look like the sender threw alphabet letters in a hat and the ones he pulled out blindfolded was his email title...if course I never opened them anyway, but now I know what they are..
These look silly but there's a reasonthey make these so obviously fake, with bad grammar and bad photoshop. This is actually to weed out the people who pay even a little attention to detail. The ones who are left thinking this might be true are the ones most likely to fall for the scam.
that and often times when it is bad grammar, they are coming from other countries and they are using a translator this is not 100% accurate.
Load More Replies...I had one just a few days ago where they acted interested in an item I had for sale online. They actually had the audacity to say "I've been scammed by people selling on this site, so can I send you a code so you can prove you're real?" Of course, said code was a Google voice verification code that would have given them access to all kinds of things. That kind of stuff burns me up, because they mostly prey on the trusting, the less tech-savvy, and the elderly. Vile little scumbags.
Thieves are thieves, they're just using technology to steal now as it's easier than B&E. They have no scruples but would scream bloody murder if their grandma got fleeced.
Load More Replies...I once had a guy with a thick East Indian accent call me to say he was from the IRS and I needed to pay my taxes immediately or he would send the sheriff to arrest me. I laughed and laughed. He says "This is serious ma'am." I said "No it's not...the IRS never calls anyone. They send out threatening letters, they take you to court...but they never ever call. Get yourself a new line of work, honey. Cause you're really bad at this."
I've gotten that call and I live in Canada. "Um sorry, we don't have an IRS. We have Revenue Canada though. Nice try genius."
Load More Replies...I got one of those "Microsoft Tech Support" scam calls informing me that my PC was infected; I was using Linux.
I used to get calls like this from time to time. Once I strung them along and pretended to be dumber than a clam. The guy on the other end of the phone got so frustrated that he hung up! Another time I told the caller to wait while I turned on my computer - then I abandoned him and let him sit and sit and sit while I diddled on the Internet.
Load More Replies...I used to get scam emails claiming that the person had escaped with a pile of money from one African nation to another. Got them all the time. I finally replied that I was an agent from the original country who was tasked with tracking them down and had identified their location via their email. I said we had people on the way to bring them back and put them in a 're-education camp". Got no more emails.
Unfortunately, these scams are common... And most are much more professional than the ones listed. There are a few things you can do to protect yourself though. 1) Never respond to any agency that requests you buy gift cards. The purpose of asking for gift cards is to bypass your credit card company's merchant verification process. 2) NEVER use a debit card for online purchases/money transfers. Unlike credit cards, debit cards take money out of your account immediately, and it can be a bitch getting it back. 3) Never click or trust a phone number. If Apple, for example, sends you a message that they need to contact you, use their 1800 customer service line instead of whatever phone number or link attached to the email/text. 4) Use store purchased cards for your Microsoft/Playstation accounts. These accounts get hacked on a regular basis and it's best just to have the credit disappear than go through the hassle of having the charges removed from your credit card.
For more tips to avoid getting scammed, contact your bank. They are more than happy to help you avoid getting scammed in the first place rather than spending all that time and money investigating a claim after the fact.
Load More Replies...I get scam phone calls all the time. "IRS" & car warranty mostly. Each time I act as someone different. My best characters....Jane Austen, a cop tracing the call, moronic southern bell, and a 30yr old with Alzheimer's. It's my Covid hobby, how long can I keep them on the phone?
A while ago, my mom got the world's shittiest scam call. The person left a message saying, and these were his exact words according to my mom, "Hello.... This is IRS calling to sue you. Call us at xxx-xxx-xxxx or we will call the cops on you!!!" Another time "John Smith" from "microsoft" called to ask some questions about her computer. She told him her computer was an Appl computer.... he literally just said "oh" and hung up.
Oof reminds me of a thing my grandparents told me. (This was like a year ago maybe) So my grandma and grandpa were watching T.V. and my a really loud voice came from my grandpas computer telling him he HAD to put in his social security number or something like that... it was completely random, i wasn't there when it happened but i kind of wish i had been there.
I got a call the other day and when I answered, the guy tried to convince me that my child needs this (can't remember the made up name) program advised by his teacher. I told him I don't have a child and please never call me again. Then he starts singing: Never call me again la la la never call me again.. over and over :D god he must have been bored..:
Man, last year I got caught in one. For a house rental. Let’s just say I never could recover the money from it and my bank wouldn’t help and no one else would either. I wish all scammers in the world would get shipped horse crap, like 80 pounds of it.
FYI horse pop isn’t that gross, it’s just voluminous since they don’t thoroughly digest stuff. You are probably much better shipping cow poop or dog poop or something. Much stinkier, much grosser.
Load More Replies...An elderly friend of mine received a phone call supposedly from Microsoft, that there was a problem on her computer. Please would she go and switch on her computer. She replied, very sweetly, (knowing her), "I'm sorry, dear, I haven't got a computer." They put the phone down before she did.
Not an internet scam, but this happens all the time in holiday locations in Europe. Some dude comes up to you and give you a free lottery ticket. And for some reason you always win! Your price is a fancy dinner! And if you go there, there is a not so fancy dinner and all the people there are trying to sell you time share apartments.
I had a "friend" on Facebook message me a few months ago. It was supposedly about a program to help with bills. A government program that covers both the UK(where he's from) and the US. The funniest part is he tried to insist that kind of thing is normal.
I get lots of texts from banks that I do not have an account with, telling me that my account has been frozen. I just send it on to the relevant bank (they all have phishing hotlines) and then I delete them without replying. Also, numerous times, I'm the "lucky one-millionth visitor to our website" and am eligible to win an "Apple product of my choice". I just need to "send them $1 for shipping"! Yeah? For real? If you were genuinely going to send me the product, you could afford the shipping too. Or send me into the local Apple store to collect it.
If they do phone you, waste their time, get them talking. Their paying for the call, they lose money
Or find their email address and plug it in to the various bulk mail generators available. Nothing like a scammer getting 500000 emsils a day.
Load More Replies...did you know I own a credit karma account???? I mean, I didn't even know (went back to this article just to share my new credit karma info with yall)
The most troubling scam messages I ever got were phonecalls from the Chinese Government that go out seemingly somewhat randomly and are intended to intimidate Chinese living abroad and Chinese ex-pats into remaining loyal to the Chinese government and snitching on others - friends, family, relatives, workmates, etc. - who don't.
Once, my entire school got this. There was a certain group of people posing as reps from the governmental office stealing students' confidential infos held by the school, and then they scammed the parents by tricking them their children has an accident in the school, sent to hospital and asking for hospital fees (It was weekday, we were all in the school). They convinced the parents with infos they got earlier. Fortunately, my own parents didn't fall for it (they made a mistake when they tried to mention the name of my homeroom teacher). Here's the interesting part: That day, coincidentally, I REALLY got an accident. I fell when I climbed a certain gazebo and got a large bruise on the bowel.
When I get an unknown number I load this up, press play and answer the phone with the phone next to my computer speakers. This is one of many fun things I do to phone scammers
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I get plenty of spam mail but once I got at mail, apparently from the police. I was asked to give all manner of information, so naturally I suspected it. I googled the police department it was supposed to be from, found a telephone number and called it. To my everlasting surprise, it was no scam, but a legit policematter. I was dumpfounded.
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I assume you should not reply to the scammers (assuming you can tell it is a scam off the bat), even to “mess with them” since then they know your contact info is legit. Is this the case? Some of these made it seem like you could at least get a little fun out of people being horrible to other people.
My favorite is the computer voice telling me my social security number has been suspended for suspicious activity and that if I don't talk to an agent, I'm going to be arrested.
It is so sad there are so many scammers out there. My daughter (a teen) was scammed twice already and I almost fell for a job offer scam once... So when I actually received a small grant for my small business (which I did apply for but completely forgot) I could not believe that was for real and not just another scam :)
(Fake fb) “Hey, how have you been?” Me- Great, how are the twins? (Fake)“They are good!” Me- you don’t have twins. Goodbye.
Reminds me of a time when my brother got a scam call from "windows". After 5 minutes of wasting their time, he said "I own a MacBook"
This post helped me with a small problem I keep getting emails that look like the sender threw alphabet letters in a hat and the ones he pulled out blindfolded was his email title...if course I never opened them anyway, but now I know what they are..