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30 American Marketing Scams That People Can’t Believe Others Fall For

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In 2014 L'Oréal USA was involved in a scandal for claiming that their skincare boosts gene activity to rejuvenate the skin without any scientific evidence to back it up.

This can only labelled as m arketing fraud - an illegal practice that makes false or misleading claims for financial gain. It includes talking big about the product’s attributes, concealing side effects or potential harm, and selling poor-quality items as up-to-par ones.

This company is just one example of how organizations are taking advantage of consumers. After all, people tend to believe that others are telling the truth more often than they actually are.

So when redditor Conradjenn started a discussion about American consumer scams, more than 6,000 people came forward with their own fraud stories. Scroll below to find the most mind-boggling ones that prove not all businesses are out to make a fair financial profit.

This post may include affiliate links.

#1

30 American Marketing Scams That People Can't Believe Others Fall For "If we cut taxes for business and the wealthiest Americans the wealth will trickle down to the working class." Didn't work in the 1920s, didn't work in the 1980s, didn't work in the 2000s, and really didn't work in the 2020s.

Cetophile , Pixabay / Pexels Report

Final score:

107points

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#2

30 American Marketing Scams That People Can't Believe Others Fall For Post secondary education.

The fact that you can’t declare bankruptcy on student loans is f****d up.

The fact that schools require you to buy the latest editions of textbooks for each year is a scam.

The fact that school is so expensive and time consuming that you are basically locked into a decision for the rest of your life is f****d up.

The fact that so many high schools pressure kids to go to college even when they have no idea what they want to do is f****d up.

The fact that so many schools pressure kids into useless degrees is f****d up.

The fact that information is free, yet most jobs requiring a college degree to even be considered is f****d up.

Education needs to be reformed so badly.

goblin_goblin , Christina Morillo / Pexels Report

Final score:

102points

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#3

30 American Marketing Scams That People Can't Believe Others Fall For American Hospital billing. The minute you ask for an itemized receipt and breakdown, they start removing charges left and right and the bill gets reduced by ~30%.

Girl_Princess , Laura James / Pexels Report

Final score:

97points

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Corporations have used fraudulent claims for a long time. In the US, the tremendous growth in advertising that took place after the Civil War was largely influenced by a long history of Western marketplaces. Back then, ethical issues regarding marketing were rarely brought to daylight as it was merely used to announce available products.

However, by the end of the 19th century, scams in marketing flourished, along with consumer suspicions about promoted food. Only in 1914 was the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Act put in place to limit self-regulation and prohibit false claims of advertisers. Afterward, if it turned out that an agency was deceptive, it faced legal problems.

#4

30 American Marketing Scams That People Can't Believe Others Fall For Two decades of "low fat" diet foods that were all packed to the brim with sugar.

loki8481 , segundo Report

Final score:

83points

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#5

30 American Marketing Scams That People Can't Believe Others Fall For Health Insurance. You pay for it. Then when you use it, nothing is covered or it covers only a portion plus deductibles/copayments.

pujarteago1 , Marek Studzinski / Unsplash Report

Final score:

82points

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#6

30 American Marketing Scams That People Can't Believe Others Fall For Televangelists.

Low-Celery-7728 , MART PRODUCTION / Pexels Report

Final score:

82points

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This continued as advertising progressed into television. However, the FTC hadn’t been given the appropriate legal instruments or staff to effectively monitor advertising. Therefore, in addition to their actions, a Lanham Act was introduced that allowed consumers or competitors to take legal action against false advertising. All they had to do was bring evidence.

#7

30 American Marketing Scams That People Can't Believe Others Fall For That diamonds are rare and you must have one.

Electronic-Pool-7458 , Edgar Soto / Unsplash Report

Final score:

81points

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#8

30 American Marketing Scams That People Can't Believe Others Fall For Sam Walton getting to build Walmarts in every small town by making a commercial with himself standing in front of a huge American flag and swearing that all of his stores would only sell products made in the USA. Then almost all of the countries mom and pop stores went out of business, Sam died, and now the shelves are stocked with nothing but products made in China. Biggest sellout of America that’s ever been.

GodaTheGreat , TaurusEmerald / Wikipedia Report

Final score:

80points

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#9

30 American Marketing Scams That People Can't Believe Others Fall For Turbotax.
The IRS already has all your tax information, your work and investments are required to send it to them. Other countries just have their IRS equivalent send you information that you can correct or contest if you like.
But in the US massive tax filing software companies spend millions of dollars lobbying congress to prevent an easier tax filing system which effects every single American citizen over 18 every single year.

Worried_Place_917 , Karolina Grabowska / Pexels Report

Final score:

75points

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Ultimately, it’s difficult to monitor and analyze every advert that’s out there especially because they all include some kind of manipulation tactic that attracts people to buy the product. Whether that would be exaggerations, half-truths, or ambiguities, consumers need to be aware of them and take time to read about the product.

Currently, marketed goodies tend to create a false sense of health or target our fears to trick people into purchasing them. Like healthy-sounding phrases such as “gluten-free” or “organic” that lure buyers with the impression of being nutritious.

In fact, in 2018, researchers found that most bottled water advertising campaigns trigger people’s subconscious fear of death. They also stated that it symbolizes something safe and pure that can be very compelling to people who want to avoid health risks.

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#10

30 American Marketing Scams That People Can't Believe Others Fall For Insulin at 3000% markup.

starcadia , Pavel Danilyuk / Pexels Report

Final score:

70points

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#11

30 American Marketing Scams That People Can't Believe Others Fall For Black Friday deals.

Take it from a former retail worker - it’s the same deals year-round, folks.

PrimeVector19 , Max Fischer / Pexels Report

Final score:

68points

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#12

30 American Marketing Scams That People Can't Believe Others Fall For High fructose corn syrup. We subsidize it, it's in everything, it's not good for us and we pay for the healthcare fall out later on.

OkInitiative7327 Report

Final score:

67points

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#13

30 American Marketing Scams That People Can't Believe Others Fall For Body hair on women is gross. Literally just a campaign created to sell razors because the company (can't remember which one) wasn't selling well enough to men.

itspronouncdcalliope , bruce mars / Unsplash Report

Final score:

61points

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#14

A two party political system.

djauralsects Report

Final score:

60points

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#15

30 American Marketing Scams That People Can't Believe Others Fall For Basically everything you see when you enter the workplace as an American. Our employers can fire us for any and all reasons unless they are dumb enough to call us a racial slur while doing it. We have the most advanced healthcare in the world that is only accessible if you are well off enough to pay for it. Everything costs about 4x as much as it should because after all we have shareholders to pay and executives need their bonuses.

The worst part about it all is that we do it to ourselves because there are enough of us that are dumb enough to be taken in by the "American Dream" of starting up and hitting the big time lottery. The lottery is only for the very good looking and the sociopaths adept enough to grift everyone else. There is no big time lottery for the normal person and we need people to start realizing that.

Dapper_Platform_1222 , Christina Morillo / Pexels Report

Final score:

59points

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#16

30 American Marketing Scams That People Can't Believe Others Fall For "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day"

Created by cereal companies, it has no basis in fact and was used as a combination of marketing and religiousness - the founders were Seventh Day Adventists promoting cereals in sanitariums

Malvania , Binyamin Mellish / Pexels Report

Final score:

58points

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#17

Medicines. Here in Europe for example is forbidden to advertise any type of medicine. I think you can guess the reason why.

evalunaofficial Report

Final score:

55points

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#18

30 American Marketing Scams That People Can't Believe Others Fall For Trickle down economics and billionaire worshipping.

OJC1975 , Andrea Piacquadio / Pexels Report

Final score:

51points

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#19

30 American Marketing Scams That People Can't Believe Others Fall For The old food pyramid. Eat 6-11 servings of bread/rice/pasta per day. So that recommends eating some combination of
* wheat bread @ 420-770 calories
* white rice @ 960-1760 calories
* spaghetti @ 1200-2200 calories per day

LastChristian , Joe Ross Report

Final score:

47points

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#20

Any and all products and services related to weight loss and dieting. The whole diet industry and culture. No one with a shred of moral fiber could advertise something with a proven 95% failure rate.

deeBfree Report

Final score:

47points

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#21

Payday loan companies.

Final score:

45points

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#22

30 American Marketing Scams That People Can't Believe Others Fall For Food shortage is a lie. So much goes to waste.

darthTharsys , Ron Lach / Pexels Report

Final score:

45points

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#23

Subscriptions. Instead of just a flat fee they pull more an more money out of you, but at least you can cancel when you want.

Yellow_Jacket_97 Report

Final score:

44points

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#24

30 American Marketing Scams That People Can't Believe Others Fall For "YOUR COMPUTER HAS A VIRUS!"

Click here to install another one.

thenewmadmax , Oladimeji Ajegbile / Pexels Report

Final score:

42points

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#25

Planned obsolescence.

Final score:

39points

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#26

30 American Marketing Scams That People Can't Believe Others Fall For Timeshares are up there. Even worse are the guys who claim they can get you OUT of them. Those guys are often bigger rip off artists. John Oliver did a whole segment on it. Funny, but f****d up at the same time.

MetalTrek1 , Ben Mack / Pexels Report

Final score:

37points

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#27

Credit scores, health insurance/medical care, and houses being owned/sold/bought by billion dollar conglomerates.

Boogiebadaboom Report

Final score:

37points

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#28

30 American Marketing Scams That People Can't Believe Others Fall For Social media will bring us together.

PapaDeE04 , Tracy Le Blanc / Pexels Report

Final score:

32points

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#29

Kenneth Copeland Ministries.

MostlyHostly Report

Final score:

30points

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#30

Churches.

DuceBanner Report

Final score:

29points

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#31

United States elder care. A lot of money changes hands with very little actual care... And the money ISN'T going to actual caregivers, they make peanuts and after understaffed and overworked.

LV_orbust Report

Final score:

24points

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#32

I would say all the wars. Your tax being used to subsidize organizations buying from your arms companies.

Sea_Investigator_ Report

Final score:

23points

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#33

I feel the entire jewelry industry is a huge scam.

I wear two rings and necklace. The entire value of them all is supposed to be around $200. They are not important in my life or make it easier. I just enjoy it.

Some people spend $30k on engagement rings. That is a life changing amount of money. My spouses engagement ring was $150 dollars and she is happy as hell and shows it off any chance she can get. Her reaction to a $150 ring would be the same effect from a $30k ring.

Yet the industry keeps pushing on us that to show our love we need to fork out the price of a car on a small little circle.

MyLandIsMyLand89 Report

Final score:

23points

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#34

Why are we doing our own taxes? Just send me the bill like in other countries.

CtForrestEye Report

Final score:

22points

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#35

Overdraft fees. Banks treat you worse than check cashing companies and then have the nerve to blame you for the overdraft. They used to rig the game with ordering items processed largest to smallest to inflate multiple overdrafts. They used terms like current balance and available balance to further confuse you. They’d let you overdraft from the atm fee. All to generate more fees. My branches when I managed banks never made less than $20000 a month!! We had 30 branches in my city. At $20k a month per branch, that’s $600,000 a month a fairly small community bank stole from its customers, every month!!! It’s not as bad now, but I bet they still take in the fees. By the way, society frown on check cashing co and loan sharks, but overdraft fees are higher than what they charge. I am ashamed to ever work at a bank.

Huntingteacher26 Report

Final score:

22points

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#36

30 American Marketing Scams That People Can't Believe Others Fall For They made water a commodity.

Drexelhand , Pixabay / Pexels Report

Final score:

20points

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#37

That the customer is always right, no, you are f*****g not.

Clarebobacus Report

Final score:

20points

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#38

The wedding industry.

SeatownSpy Report

Final score:

20points

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#39

30 American Marketing Scams That People Can't Believe Others Fall For Chiropractic, exercise products that "target belly fat"

CaptainAwesome06 , Andres Ayrton / Pexels Report

Final score:

19points

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#40

Vehicular depreciation. How is it that my brand new, 56 thousand dollar car is suddenly worth 28500 as soon as it leaves the lot?

tagallant79 Report

Final score:

19points

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#41

Free.

Your not getting free shipping, the bags at the grocery store aren't free, your cellphone is not free when you renew your data plan. It's all factored in to your cost.

MikeMazook Report

Final score:

18points

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#42

MLMs.

Zebo1013 Report

Final score:

18points

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#43

30 American Marketing Scams That People Can't Believe Others Fall For 1-877- Kars 4 Kids

It’s not a charity. It’s a way of getting the public to pay for certain Ultra-Orthodox communities to send their kids for vacations in Israel. They do it under the guise of it being a trip for religious eduction (at least for those aware of how the funds are used), but the general public assume it’s a more general children’s charity

AsYooouWish Report

Final score:

16points

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#44

30 American Marketing Scams That People Can't Believe Others Fall For Extended car warranties. They don't cover s**t, and you still have to pay a portion in the end.

Jaded_Jackel Report

Final score:

16points

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#45

Tech support scams and romance scams. 10 billion dollars in I think 2022 alone. Or maybe it was a year prior. 6 billion scammed from innocent American consumers by Indian tech support scam call centers alone.

Martiallawtheology Report

Final score:

16points

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#46

30 American Marketing Scams That People Can't Believe Others Fall For Telling you that "you signed it, you're f****d" in many situations.

Unenforceable and illegal clauses exist. If something smells fishy, you should look into it. If it's housing-related, there may be advocacy groups to help you out, hell a lot of lawyers will advise you (advise, but not represent in any capacity) as part of their pro-bono work on Landlord-Tenant.

juanzy , Pixabay / Pexels Report

Final score:

15points

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#47

30 American Marketing Scams That People Can't Believe Others Fall For Cigarettes were sold as beneficial to your health initially.

ITeechYoKidsArt , Elsa Olofsson / Unsplash Report

Final score:

15points

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#48

The American dream itself.

Destroyer1231454 Report

Final score:

15points

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#49

Everything to do with consumer debt. Credit cards and payday loans are marketed as financial freedom when reality is the complete opposite.

justjojo333 Report

Final score:

14points

#50

Recycling convinced Americans that unchecked consumption wasn't devastating to the planet.

vertigo3pc Report

Final score:

13points

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“This Breaks My Heart”: People Stunned—And Angry—After Woman Buys Lost Luggage From Airport

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#51

Online service fees.

sportsnatic Report

Final score:

13points

#52

That being an employee at will benefits anyone other than the employer.

greekmom2005 Report

Final score:

13points

Happy to be a wallflower 9 months ago

What does this one even mean? Do they mean "at will" as in willingly? Because ofc you benefit from being an employee, probably not as much as your employer, but you still have a job and money

2points

Kraneia The Dancing Dryad 9 months ago

Meaning you have the choice to work there. Also means the employer can fire you for any reason not discriminatory. Meaning they can just let you go cos they don't like you lol

3points

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#53

When car dealerships and tire shops want to upcharge for filling your tires with nitrogen, claiming that it's better than regular air. It's too bad that most people don't seem to know that regular air is already 78% nitrogen. Biggest scam ever.

Linux4ever_Leo Report

Final score:

12points

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#54

I'm going with rinse & repeat - no way this wasn't just designed to sell more shampoo.

conradjenn Report

Final score:

11points

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#55

"It's cheaper to eat out"

Puzzled-Rope-5392 Report

Final score:

10points

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Austeja Zokaite

Hi, glad you swung by! My name is Austėja, and I’m a writer at Bored Panda. With a degree in English philology, I’m interested in all aspects of language. Being fresh out of university, my mission is to master the art of writing and add my unique touch to every personal story and uplifting article we publish. In my time here, I’ve covered some fun topics such as scrungy cats and pareidolia, as well as more serious ones about mental health and relationship hiccups. When I’m not on my laptop, you’ll probably find me devouring pastries, especially croissants, paired with a soothing cup of tea. Sunsets, the sea, and swimming are some of my favorite things.

Hi, glad you swung by! My name is Austėja, and I’m a writer at Bored Panda. With a degree in English philology, I’m interested in all aspects of language. Being fresh out of university, my mission is to master the art of writing and add my unique touch to every personal story and uplifting article we publish. In my time here, I’ve covered some fun topics such as scrungy cats and pareidolia, as well as more serious ones about mental health and relationship hiccups. When I’m not on my laptop, you’ll probably find me devouring pastries, especially croissants, paired with a soothing cup of tea. Sunsets, the sea, and swimming are some of my favorite things.

Mindaugas Balčiauskas

I'm a visual editor at Bored Panda. I kickstart my day with a mug of coffee bigger than my head, ready to tackle Photoshop. I navigate through the digital jungle with finesse, fueled by bamboo breaks and caffeine kicks. When the workday winds down, you might catch me devouring bamboo snacks while binging on the latest TV show, gaming or I could be out in nature, soaking up the tranquility and communing with my inner panda.

I'm a visual editor at Bored Panda. I kickstart my day with a mug of coffee bigger than my head, ready to tackle Photoshop. I navigate through the digital jungle with finesse, fueled by bamboo breaks and caffeine kicks. When the workday winds down, you might catch me devouring bamboo snacks while binging on the latest TV show, gaming or I could be out in nature, soaking up the tranquility and communing with my inner panda.

What do you think ?

BookFanatic 9 months ago

Oh, yay. Yet another "Let's bash America" post.

5points

Matthew Barabas 9 months ago

they very clearly deserve to be bashed.

-1point

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DB 9 months ago

30 posts but only 3 or 4 that had anything to do with marketing. Great job, BP.

4points

No Clue 9 months ago (edited)

What is this c**p where all of a sudden, when I click to read more comments, the first comment under the post becomes a giant, multi-line BP "ad" for their other articles I might be interested in? That I now have to scroll past to get to and start reading the user comments? I'm already here and have an account and the links to other articles are already everywhere, including the main page and at the end of each article. How freakin annoying. C'mon BP!

1point

Linda Hill 37 minutes ago

Big pharma is the worst of all

0points

BookFanatic 9 months ago

Oh, yay. Yet another "Let's bash America" post.

5points

Matthew Barabas 9 months ago

they very clearly deserve to be bashed.

-1point

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DB 9 months ago

30 posts but only 3 or 4 that had anything to do with marketing. Great job, BP.

4points

No Clue 9 months ago (edited)

What is this c**p where all of a sudden, when I click to read more comments, the first comment under the post becomes a giant, multi-line BP "ad" for their other articles I might be interested in? That I now have to scroll past to get to and start reading the user comments? I'm already here and have an account and the links to other articles are already everywhere, including the main page and at the end of each article. How freakin annoying. C'mon BP!

1point

Linda Hill 37 minutes ago

Big pharma is the worst of all

0points

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