Get Premium
Dark mode theme is available exclusively for premium users. Learn more about the benefits of subscribing.
Dark Mode 
No fees, cancel anytime 
Morality is a subject so tricky and nuanced that the only time in human history there might be consensus is when humans are no longer around. So it probably shouldn’t be surprising that there are a number of ways to get ahead in life (or at least make your days easier) that might not seem particularly “nice.”
Someone asked “What's the most evil life hack you know?” and people shared their least ethical tips for getting things done. So get comfortable as you scroll through, upvote your favorites and be sure to comment your own ideas and experiences below.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
“Kill them with kindness” biggest troll ever. Whenever someone is super mad at you. Don’t fight back. Be understanding. Listen to them and don’t respond with anything mean. It will drive them nuts and save you such a big headache.
Taryn Bailey 3 months ago
No, it really does work. It's HILARIOUS. There they are, doing all they can to get to you, and you're just ignoring it, and they just keep getting angrier and angrier.....
#2
Work correspondence hack:
Anything that benefits you, put it in an email, letter, etc. so it can be memorialized when possible.
Anything that is detrimental to you, make a call or discuss the issue face to face verbally. Don’t leave a paper trail. .
Schmebulock 3 months ago
100% Always document to cover yourself and avoid anything negative that could go against you.
#3
Tell the truth 99% of the time. Then when you have that credibility, you can lie and people will believe you.
#4
The cops in our town like to hide at the back end of the neighborhood park to catch people who let their dogs run off leash. They could park in the front lot and let people know they’re there to deter off-leashers, but they prefer to sit where they can catch you in the act. To me this says they care more about writing tickets than they care about actually enforcing the leash law.
In order to get to the far end of the park the cops have to drive through a gate that is always left open, with the padlock just hanging there, unlocked.
When I know the cops are hiding at the far end of the park I close and lock the gate on them.
Mad Dragon 3 months ago
The most effective deterrent is the thought that cops MIGHT be there, so then people stop letting their dogs run off lead all the time instead of just when they see a police presence. My dog was viciously attacked by an off lead dog while we were walking and it was months and thousands of dollars in vet bills before she could run normally again.
#5
Learn to embrace the silence. It's such a powerful tool in professional conversations. Most ppl need to fill the silence and most likely say something they shouldn't.
AtMostAFabulist 3 months ago
After telling so.eone something they don't want to hear, do not be the next person to speak.
#6
My wife used to be quite indecisive so I played rock paper scissors with her and I always chose rock. After she clocked on she would choose paper or scissors depending on what she actually wanted. Helping her feel more comfortable recognising and voicing what she wants was a genuine pleasure as she struggled with this due to her parents. However this lead to her suggesting to play when she could avoid things knowing i was only going rock. Stuff like cleaning the car, going to the shop, making dinner, little things we share responsibilities for but in that moment she wanted to chill.
Well this went on for about 2 years while living with her mum, who had suddenly booked an impromptu late night flight from an airport 3 hours away she asked if we could give her a lift. My wife turned to me and said lets play for it. In a moment without thinking I went scissors, i shocked myself, her jaw dropped, her mum rushed her out the door while i ordered a pizza and played xbox for 4 hours before going to bed.
I had unintentionally created a get out of anything free card.
#7
Never give away your full hand when you start a new job. Hide some of your skills and talents until you need them to get ahead. It's always easier to "improve" when you're starting at 50% capacity.
Schmebulock 3 months ago
How would this even be possible? Unless it's something not worth mentioning on your resume, and then it's probably not that helpful anyway.
#8
Limit peoples expectations of you. Occasionally make minor mistakes, and never work your hardest. assuming you otherwise do a good job, people will have a healthy expectation of your abilities, saving your mental health and slowing down burnout.
#9
Sprinkle instant mashed potatoes on someone’s grass before it rains and it’ll make a huge mess i certainly call that evil.
#10
Go to Walgreens or somewhere that sells Costco or Sam’s gift cards. Buy one for any amount and then go shop without being a member. Because you have the gift card they can’t make you buy a membership and will let you use it. .
Traveling Lady Railfan 3 months ago
Does this really work? That's a clever get-around if it does. They don't even let you in the door at Costco without a paid membership...
#11
Let your a**hat coworkers underestimate your skills when starting a new job. You'll be able to learn a lot more about the politics.
#12
Nothing opens a person up wider than giving them a thoughtful compliment and a relatable story.
#13
I was in a three-person team in Home Ec in high school. I always volunteered to do the dishes. Then when it was something gross like a really greasy pot or pan, I said to the other two that I do the dishes all the time and that they could do it for once.
Not-a-Clue (she/her) 3 months ago
I did something similar in a previous job. Our manager was always sending round a list of jobs for us to do, or timeouts we had to volunteer to cover the front desk etc. I'd always get in quick, and pick the thing or time that was most convenient for me. Colleagues ignored it until they got nagged and then had to mop up the less preferred jobs. I also got a reputation with my manager for being helpful and always volunteering, but we were all going to get landed with one of the tasks in the end, so why not pick the least annoying?
#14
Create multiple email addresses to continuously take advantage of free trial periods for subscription services, effectively getting them for free indefinitely.
Chicken Nugget 3 months ago
this is the only thing in this thread that I think is sufficiently moral for me to do lmao
#15
There was a guy who was a wood worker my dad knew. Horrible accident at work, lost a bunch of fingers. Big settlement and too disabled to work...
One day he's at our house, and he's drunk. And he f*****g tells us all he did it on purpose.
My dad just told him to leave.
#16
Tried that one that says "putting tea bags on your eyes depuffs them!" when I was about 13. However they did not specify black tea, so my dumba*s uses an apple cinnamon tea. Cinnamon is a minor irritant so I had red tea-bag shaped rectangles around my eyes for a few hours.
#17
Obtain a burner phone and list yourself as a reference on job applications. Have gaps in your work history? Cover them up with fabricated freelance computer work or home renovations.
#18
You can purchase most items using nothing more than a simple handgun.
#19
If you don't wanna do something, don't do it.
Chicken Nugget 3 months ago
ok, not going to work anymore and i'll survive the rest of my life on my 3 dollars in my wallet, thanks for the advice
#20
Microsoft Paint can be used to delete and replace text on any scanned document, the eyedropper tool can match the font color and even the paper background color to make the change look seamless.
#21
On weekends, especially in the summer, go to your larger parks in your area and scope out the company picnics. Make yourself at home, grab a plate or two. Nobody will challenge you, they think you are probably family. When I was a starving college student living in San Diego, did this almost every weekend. Will do it occasionally when I come across the opportunity.
Tucker Cahooter 3 months ago
Reminds me of one of Billy Connolly's stories, when he and a buddy used to gatecrash Saturday night parties by fronting up and saying "We're friends of Jimmy", since there was always someone called Jimmy at a party
#22
Be as selfish and exploitative as possible and you will go far. I wish I wasn't so empathetic so I could try it.
Beak Hookage 3 months ago
It helps if you also don't give a rat's nuts about who you hurt and are utterly shameless about using people, who you discard once you've taken them for everything you can get and they're of no further use to you. Why yes, I have had this happen to me.
#23
Ducks are free. You can go to a park and just take them. No one will stop you. I have 5 ducks now.
#24
When you enter a raffle drawing, fold or crinkle your ticket/slip of paper a little bit. It makes it slightly more likely to be drawn. It's worked for me a few times and I feel a little guilty every time.
#25
Mix cockroach bait into some mashed potatoes and leave it in the corner. The roaches will come running for the smell. Here’s the kicker: they don’t die right away. Instead, they take the potato mix back to their nest, which means you’re secretly wiping out a whole roach family while you just chill. It's like a roach trap with a side of mashed potatoes...
#26
“You know, that might be the answer – to act boastfully about something we ought to be ashamed of. That’s a trick that never seems to fail.”
― Joseph Heller, Catch-22.
#28
I use my ex's and bosses phone numbers at Kroger's fuel pumps to steal their discounts.
Damned_Cat 3 months ago
My ex used to do the majority of shopping at certain stores with loyalty club discounts and cash-back rewards. After we split up, I continued to enter his phone number for the discounts, but also take the cash back when available.
#29
In many elevators you can hold down the „close door“ button while choosing floor to get a non-stop ride. Meant to be used by rescue service/firemen.
AtMostAFabulist 3 months ago
I will have to try this at work. Tired of getting stuck with people who stop at every floor before mine.
#30
Mention "credit card chargeback" to get a refund when a company won't budge; they'll usually cave to avoid the hassle.
#31
Not only can people be manipulated into anything, once you figure out how to tie their pride into it, they become righteous about your manipulation. This is how you get loyalist.
Let's say that there was a perverted guy manipulating a girl. He knows psychology and he's older so he can manipulate her. But he will never call her a "girl" he would call her a "woman." This ties the girl into pride and now her being off with an older man makes her feel independant and in control of her life. This seals the manipulation and she she falls to Stockholm Syndrome.
This is not exclusive to relationships. This is how loyalists are born in politics. People who never admit that their party is ever wrong. These politicans manipulate people then use ehnicity or subcultures to tie peple's pride to their cause, sealing them in an illusion.
I understand how this works. Not only did I study some psychology but as an artist, I can create works that effect people in a certain way. It works, but it's immoral so i use my knowledge of this to inform people of others using methods to control people. If anyone is tickling your ego, be alert.
#32
If you use google chrome, it saves your browsing history, even if you’re on another device. This is how I found out my ex was dating a new girl before he officially broke up with me. He googled “questions to ask in a new relationship” and also kept searching her name to creep on her 😂.
#33
Confidently stating "And you know I'm right" after presenting your argument can be surprisingly effective. People are often swayed by conviction, even if the logic isn't entirely sound.
#34
Behave like an idiot. People will trust you more and let their guards down. It makes it much easier to f**k them over as they will never think that it was you. Also no one will expect anything from you so you will get cut a lot of slack.
#35
Changing someone’s alarm clock settings to wake them up early.
#36
Slightly alter your name on resumes to identify companies with biases based on which names get more callbacks.
Chris Keller 3 months ago
There's a black guy suing a company because he didn't get a callback, his name was something like Donelle Washington, he changed it to Stanley Kopinski or something like that, and immediately got a callback, same resume.
#37
I have 5 different 1 L water bottles, one for each day of the week. I fill them up before I leave work from the filtered water coolers and then put them in the fridge when I get home. Living alone, I haven't had to buy bottled water or a water filter in 11 years.
Silly-Rabbit 3 months ago
Unable to drink tap water? Genuine question. I have never had to purchase filtered water or pay for bottled water :/
#38
If someone asks you to do something sketchy or slightly illegal and you don't want to do it tell them you are already on probation and don't want a third strike then steal their wallet. They will be too scared to report you.
#40
I come from a large and extended family. Knew some that circled like vultures when someone was about to die. Trying to sneak into to anything from the inheritance. Someone is dying AND it’s family, and you’re angling toward money???
What do you think ?
Magenta Blu 3 months ago
Are there any people with ethics? I mean besides books and movies
Load More Replies...
Scott Riley 3 months ago
Many of these posts need to be deleted. This is not a list of life hacks. This is a list of criminal activities.
A C 3 months ago
After reading this trash it just reaffirms that most humans are arseholes! I hope karma catches up with them all
PFD 3 months ago
Most are just jokes, but even if they weren't, it's super selective by definition. It's like reading r/czech and coming away from it with the conclusion that most humans speak Czech...
Load More Replies...
Janice 3 months ago
I used the self checkout at Walgreens and didn't realize some of the items didn't scan. In all, I had "stolen" about $50 worth. While driving home, I kept thinking the bill was too cheap and confirmed it when I got home. I immediately got in the car and drove back to the store. What shocked me is the manager of the store THANKED me for coming back. It never occurred to me to do otherwise. When a cashier gives me too much back at a drive through, I get really angry because I do turn around and go back to the store. Ah, "the world is ugly and people are sad."
The Darkest Timeline 3 months ago
A LOT of commenters seemed to have missed the “evil” in the title of the post. Evil is, by definition, undesirable, destructive, immoral and often illegal so no need to point it out on each post. That being said, what is the point of the post? This has no value whatsoever for anyone.
DC 3 months ago
I got a great idea: We burn down the police, mob up on our way to the mall, and just take whatever we want. Afterwards, we burn down the witnesses, and only the dude with the greatest lighter, or the most fuel, will survive and collect all the results of our shared and, in perfect togetherity, executed theftism. Or so. Or we ... just buy stuff at places not ripping us off? So that we don't even feel any justification, let alone obligation, to steel? Because ... because, a huge corp paying minimum, or even working around that by whatever scam they're not ashamed of - should be ashamed to not be ashamed - gets people in the situation that they need to think along the lines described here in the first place. OTOH, while I get why honesty is generally good, I don't understand how many people jump to the defense of such greedy and damaging companies, who don't bother steeling themselves, but have the law written around their practises. McCarthy would be proud of you.
Dumb teenager 3 months ago
You can get into just about any music festival or large event for free by wearing high vis and looking busy. I heard of a guy who snuck his mates into one by wearing a high vis jacket and sneaking them in in wheelie bins
Jess Smith 3 months ago
Here's my life hack list, in roughly decreasing order of ethicality for finding free books & scientific articles to read: *Your local library! Open access stuff [about as ethical as local library] *Public domain books (basically equally ethical as OA) *Libby/JSTOR *Personal websites of authors *Internet Archive/Open Library *SciHub and other scientific paper piracy sites[1] *Various PDF/etc download sites, LibGen, Annas Archive [gigantic drop] [like at this point you're evil] *Stealing treasured children's book from poor children/genealogies with like one copy in existence chronicling deceased relatives or other family heirlooms [1] See scientists and peer reviewers who do the work typically don't get paid, journal prices/profits are outrageous and the major benefit - a citation - can be given without buying it.
veryvenasaur 4 weeks ago
I'll admit to the one mildly scam-like thing I've done. At arcades, you can get a bunch of tickets from whack-a-mole if you have multiple people join you and use their hands. Similarly down the clown gets more tickets with multiple people. It's definitely not illegal and you still loose money on the prizes but it does work.
Michael P (Perthaussieguy) 3 months ago
If most of these are Americans I can guess they are GOP voters. (sorry to bring politics into it but it makes sense)
Magenta Blu 3 months ago
Are there any people with ethics? I mean besides books and movies
Load More Replies... Scott Riley 3 months ago
Many of these posts need to be deleted. This is not a list of life hacks. This is a list of criminal activities.
A C 3 months ago
After reading this trash it just reaffirms that most humans are arseholes! I hope karma catches up with them all
PFD 3 months ago
Most are just jokes, but even if they weren't, it's super selective by definition. It's like reading r/czech and coming away from it with the conclusion that most humans speak Czech...
Load More Replies... Janice 3 months ago
I used the self checkout at Walgreens and didn't realize some of the items didn't scan. In all, I had "stolen" about $50 worth. While driving home, I kept thinking the bill was too cheap and confirmed it when I got home. I immediately got in the car and drove back to the store. What shocked me is the manager of the store THANKED me for coming back. It never occurred to me to do otherwise. When a cashier gives me too much back at a drive through, I get really angry because I do turn around and go back to the store. Ah, "the world is ugly and people are sad."
The Darkest Timeline 3 months ago
A LOT of commenters seemed to have missed the “evil” in the title of the post. Evil is, by definition, undesirable, destructive, immoral and often illegal so no need to point it out on each post. That being said, what is the point of the post? This has no value whatsoever for anyone.
DC 3 months ago
I got a great idea: We burn down the police, mob up on our way to the mall, and just take whatever we want. Afterwards, we burn down the witnesses, and only the dude with the greatest lighter, or the most fuel, will survive and collect all the results of our shared and, in perfect togetherity, executed theftism. Or so. Or we ... just buy stuff at places not ripping us off? So that we don't even feel any justification, let alone obligation, to steel? Because ... because, a huge corp paying minimum, or even working around that by whatever scam they're not ashamed of - should be ashamed to not be ashamed - gets people in the situation that they need to think along the lines described here in the first place. OTOH, while I get why honesty is generally good, I don't understand how many people jump to the defense of such greedy and damaging companies, who don't bother steeling themselves, but have the law written around their practises. McCarthy would be proud of you.
Dumb teenager 3 months ago
You can get into just about any music festival or large event for free by wearing high vis and looking busy. I heard of a guy who snuck his mates into one by wearing a high vis jacket and sneaking them in in wheelie bins
Jess Smith 3 months ago
Here's my life hack list, in roughly decreasing order of ethicality for finding free books & scientific articles to read: *Your local library! Open access stuff [about as ethical as local library] *Public domain books (basically equally ethical as OA) *Libby/JSTOR *Personal websites of authors *Internet Archive/Open Library *SciHub and other scientific paper piracy sites[1] *Various PDF/etc download sites, LibGen, Annas Archive [gigantic drop] [like at this point you're evil] *Stealing treasured children's book from poor children/genealogies with like one copy in existence chronicling deceased relatives or other family heirlooms [1] See scientists and peer reviewers who do the work typically don't get paid, journal prices/profits are outrageous and the major benefit - a citation - can be given without buying it.
veryvenasaur 4 weeks ago
I'll admit to the one mildly scam-like thing I've done. At arcades, you can get a bunch of tickets from whack-a-mole if you have multiple people join you and use their hands. Similarly down the clown gets more tickets with multiple people. It's definitely not illegal and you still loose money on the prizes but it does work.
Michael P (Perthaussieguy) 3 months ago
If most of these are Americans I can guess they are GOP voters. (sorry to bring politics into it but it makes sense)
You May Like 30 People Debunk The Worst Life Hacks They’ve Heard Doctors Share The Wildest Examples Of Correct Self-Diagnoses, Here Are The 30 Best Ones "What Are Some Of Your Favorite Life Hacks That Teeter The Line Of Unethical?" (20 Answers)
Viktorija Ošikaitė
Shelly Fourer
Mantas Kačerauskas
Related on Bored Panda
