Scams are everywhere and the internet has led to increasingly sophisticated frauds that can fool even the most hardened skeptics. Be careful out there - these people have warned you.
BetterFroyo asked the good people of Reddit: What scam did you fall for?
Submissions have been edited for clarity, context, and profanity.
15. This magazine scam.
My college roommate and I fell victim to that magazine scam where people go door to door saying they're selling magazine subscriptions to help raise money for homeless children with AIDS or something. They play on your sympathies and get you to write them a cheque. Spoiler alert: You never get any magazines nor help any children.
I was uneasy about it at the time but I'm uneasy around people in general so I thought I was just being paranoid. Years later, we found out this was a common scamming technique. Big lightbulb moment for me there.
14. A fake DNA test.
When I was eleven, I signed up at "genealogie.de" - a page that, supposedly, helps with finding out more about your heritage. I read through the entire AGBs (not kidding) and there was no indication that it'd cost anything.
A week later I get an email saying I have to pay 60 bucks by May 21st of that year. I'm telling you this because what that sh*t lead to was the actual fun part - since I was only 11, I was scared sh*tless and decided not to tell my parents. I even did some research on how I, as a kid, could get the money to those people.
I was so scared, I scribbled the words "It will all be over on May 21st" on my desk at school - which lead to me being taken aside by a teacher asking me whether I wanted to kill myself. I explained the situation to her, she told me to talk to my parents and it all ended well. We didn't pay a penny, my father wrote them a "what pathetic people would try to scam a child?"-email and the thing was settled.
13. Instascam.
Instagram ad offered a backpack as free and all you had to pay was shipping. Shipping was vastly overpriced but still lower than what I thought the bag was worth. It never came.
There's an episode of the Reply All podcast about those "free" product ads on social media. Definitely worth listening to. https://gimletmedia.com/shows/reply-all/dvhe3l/117-the-worlds-most-expensive-free-watch
Fell for this too, with yoga wear on Instagram. Luckily I paid through PayPal and got a full reimbursement.
12. More like Ruinscape.
One time on Runescape I fell for the "buy limit" scam. Some dude said he needed help buying feathers but had hit his buy limit. I myself had just recently learned about the buy limits and been inconvenienced as well so I sympathized. If you don't play, the guy basically put up his own items at a marked up price on the general market, tricked me into buying them, then dipped before I got paid back and I was stuck with all of his feathers and no money.
Ah yes the Runescape days. Back in those days I remember I got scammed out of a steel platebody. Guy convinced me that it would be duplicated it if I dropped it and pressed alt f4. Wasn't a very bright moment there all those years ago, but then again... it was a steel platebody.
11. Don't give money to strangers in parks.
While in high school, was walking through a park and a woman was walking my way. As soon as we passed each other she says: "you dropped something." I turn around and she's holding a gold necklace. I told her it's not mine, she says it's not hers, but agrees that we both found it and I can give her $50 to keep it. I think to myself that it's worth a lot more, so I give ger $50 just to get home and get scolded by my dad for falling for stuff like this. Turns out it'a a well known scam and I paid $50 for a cheap metal necklace.
This reminds me of the show Better Call Saul. There's an episode where these people have a bulk amount of fake Rolex watches and they pull the same scam on unsuspecting suckers.
10. Just like in "101 Dalmatians."
A man from a gas company said that they were inserting new electricity and gas meters in all the apartments in my block. When I opened the door he walked straight in but showed me his ID, so seemed legit. My shower had been interrupted so I was in a bad mood and very keen to get rid of the guy. He said he just needed to phone his company for proof from me that he had visited as he was new to the job. It turns out that me confirming this on the phone was a voice signature binding me into a new 2 year contract with this service provider, who then wanted to increase the price of my gas and electricity by 100%. After he left I felt uneasy and searched the company, and then phoned citizens advice for help. Turns out they targeted my place because they searched where the students were living as they are more vulnerable.
What was the resolution? Tell me you didn't just let them walk over you and you sorted it
Citizens advice were amazing and sorted it all for me. They undid the contract on the grounds that: A) I was lied to as they stated it was a building-wide change when it wasn't B) They had gained entry into my flat without my permission to do so C) The verbal contract was enacted without me knowing so D) My landlord states in my contract that I cannot change my electricity provider without asking for consent first
They also filed grounds against student vulnerability and as I have chronic illnesses they factored that in. I was rewarded £20 'compensation' but in order to access it I had to give them my bank details, which I didn't do.
9. Well done, girl.
Girl asked me to throw something away for her. I got up to throw it away and she took my seat.
Power move.
I do a similar thing with my gf all the time. Whenever I have an empty can or wrapper, I pretend I need to do something which requires both hands, like zipping up my coat or putting something in my wallet and ask her "could you hold this for a moment?"
The first few times she asked when I needed it back after 15 min. Now she realizes what happened as soon as she takes whatever I give her and she throws it at my head.
8. Oh, a free trip, you say?
Didn't fall for it entirely, but I recently wrote my name and number onto one of those pink slips saying you could "Win a trip to the bahamas" and was texted about a month later saying that I won. I got so happy. I called their number and apparantely they were paying for the hotel but not anything else. Decided to look more into it and their website (harmony beaches) looks super shady and out of date. Apparantely it's a scam to get you to go to timeshare meetings (people try to convince you to buy expensive stuff and buy into pyramid schemes) Alot of people have been scammed this way. Dodged a bullet honestly.
I get calls like that now and then, and also for a trip to Florida. I live in Florida LOL! And for those who don't know, "winning" a trip to the Bahamas when you live in Florida is about like being told you won a trip to the Grand Canyon when you live in Arizona. I can take a 3 day cruise to the Bahamas for about the same price as a day in mouse world over in Orlando. Besides the timeshare scam, the other scam for these is usually telling you they just need a credit card to pay the taxes and/or port fees. Of course, you know what happens once they have the credit card info!
7. They're just knives.
Cutco.
Well almost, I "passed" the interview, but apparently so did everyone else except the first person who I suspect was paid to act like she didn't get in judging by her exaggerated "🤷♀️" when she walked out the office as she was looking at us to make Cutco seem exclusive.
I told my dad and he advice me to abandon ship with them ASAP.
6. Yeah, that's not gonna work.
When I was 14 I wanted to get CPR certified so that I could put it on my babysitting flyers. I found some website online that charged me like $20 for an "online certification." Did it and put that sh*t on my flyers only to later realize I had been scammed and it was not possible to get certified online. I'm just glad nobody's kid ever needed CPR because I did NOT know how to do that sh*t (I have since become certified for real through my work).
I can't help but imagine you having that certificate for, like, five years and telling people you're CPR certified. Then one evening you're eating dinner watching Netflix and you just randomly realize you don't actually know how to do CPR.
I mean...this is accurate lmao. I'm just glad it was while watching Netflix and not while somebody is dying because someone pointed to me and was like "SHE knows CPR!"
5. Think of the future...
Getting money on your birthday and your parents saying they'll "save it."
Those parents don't end up in good retirement homes.
4. Not a scam per se, but still sketchy.
I was trying to renew my car registration online and was in a hurry. I clicked through everything really fast, and since my name, address, credit card number, etc was saved in my browser, it auto filled out most items and I didn't really need to read any of it. After I paid, I got some strange confirmation email saying I could download the PDF guide about car registration that I bought.
I retraced my steps, and it turns out I clicked an ad on the car registration page that redirected me to a site that looked exactly like the site I was on, but was instead some page to buy this PDF guide. Technically not a scam because in the fine print they do say what you are buying, but it was obviously praying on idiots like me who didn't carefully read the whole page and who blindly clicked on the "renew now" icon.
3. Timeshares.
Wife and I went to Las Vegas for the first time back in 2015. Wanted to get tickets to a show. They were a bit expensive so we decided to think on it for a while. Walk outside and saw a stand saying they were selling discounted tickets. All you had to do was sit in on some sales thing for two hours the next day.
We thought, "How bad can it be? Let's just say no to anything they say."
Sitting in on that thing was one of the most miserable ways I ever spent two hours in my life.
So if you're going to Las Vegas, avoid anything saying they'll sell you something for a discount. Timeshare meetings are the worst.
2. Craigslist.
A buddy of mine is really gullible and has fallen victim to many scams. When selling his phone on Craigslist he fell for the old "I wanna buy your phone for my relative overseas..." TWICE. Shipped the phone both times only to never receive payment. The other scam he fell for was when he got a call saying he won a $500 gift card to Walmart and all they needed from his was his personal information. Surprisingly he has not fallen victim to identify theft.
1. Welcome to the jungle.
First time in New York. I had to recharge my subway card, and was standing behind a guy on the MetroCard machine. A guy walks to me, dressed in MTA uniform and tells me that I don't have to wait. He asks me how much did I want to put on the card, and says he's got one ready for that. Swipes a card on the scanner, I go in, he gives me the card and asks me for the money. That was when I realized it was a scam, but I feared he would get violent or anything so I didn't say nothing, gave him the money and he gave me a card. Needless to say, it was empty.
In the future go to the police the NYPD takes people scamming or harassing tourists very very seriously. Most scams fall under a three strikes equals mandatory minimum 5 year sentence rule.
People Are Roasting Trump Over His Mind-Numbing Observation About The Wetness Of Water 😂
Donald Trump thanked the first responders who came to the aid of victims of Hurricane Florence. The storm devastated portions of North Carolina, dumping massive amounts of rain and damaging millions of dollars in property. Many natural areas were destroyed, some farmers lost everything and more than a few people have been left homeless. The first responders after this massive storm were literal life savers, and Trump was absolutely right to thank them. Unfortunately, the sentiment of his message was lost for many people because he didn't seem to put any effort or preparation into what he was saying. Then, in the middle of his off-the-cuff message, he confused everyone by talking about the wetness of water.
As Trump described the storm and the importance of first responders he told the world:
This is a tough hurricane, one of the wettest we've ever seen from the standpoint of water. Rarely have we had an experience like it and it certainly is not good.
The Tweet went out in the middle of the day on Tuesday, September 18th. At the time of this article, it hasn't even been up for 24 hours and already has over 13,000 comments. Many of them pointed out how Trump didn't even seem to try...
and how asinine his description was.
We don't know if Trump will continue to address the public by releasing these kinds of videos, or if they will continue to be as unrehearsed as this one is. We assure you, if they are, Twitter will have plenty to say about it.
H/T: Huffington Post, Twitter
Michael C. Hall Is Starring In A One-Night-Only Broadway Musical About Skittles—And No, We're Not Making This Up
Super Bowl Sunday: it's the only time when commercials are more popular than the show they interrupt. However, this year's best ad might not even be on TV.
Funny, irreverent, and sometimes controversial, Super Bowl ads have become as much of an event as the big game itself. Even those who don't watch football will tune in and watch as brands fight it out for the most talked about commercial of the year.
For advertisers though, getting your ad in front of one of the largest television audiences out there doesn't come cheap. A 30-second spot for this year could cost up to $5 million!
Candy maker Skittles decided to skip the Super Bowl and head for Broadway. For one-night-only, Skittles The Musical will appear on Broadway starring everyone's favorite serial killer, Dexter actor Michael C. Hall. No, we're not kidding.
The concept has so many people scratching their heads that Skittles needed to make another ad just to explain it.
Skittles The Musical ))) Starring Michael C. Hallwww.youtube.com
Anxious over appearing in the musical Hall sits down with a therapist, who like the rest of us is not exactly sure what it is. Hall explains the 30 minute advertisement is a real musical, you even have to buy tickets to go see it.
At one point Skittles even takes a self-deprecating jab at themselves and Hall, implying the musical is a terrible career decision.
After all, who is going to pay $207 a ticket to go see a 30 minute advertisement for Skittles?
A whole lot of people apparently
Tickets to the performance at the Town Hall theater in New York are almost sold out. People may not know what's going on, but they are ready to taste the rainbow.
@Skittles I’m ready! Purchased my tickets #SkittlesTheMusical— Corey (@Corey) 1548091647.0
@playbill @Skittles https://t.co/uo9aLkDV2f— robbie. (@robbie.) 1548135341.0
@playbill @Skittles My mind is blown and my heart is warmed. How fun! “Broadway the rainbow” indeed ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜— Allison Wonderland (@Allison Wonderland) 1548185407.0
If someone takes me to see skittles the musical I'll love them forever.— ☆Bambi☆ (@☆Bambi☆) 1548218569.0
On its surface Skittles The Musical may just look like an over the top gag from a brand known for its unusual marketing, but Skittles recruited some serious Broadway talent to put it together including playwright Will Eno and a cast straight from some of the biggest shows on Broadway.
According to Skittles the show will take "an absurdly self-reflective look at consumerism and the ever-increasing pervasiveness of brand advertising in our lives."
And if that wasn't enough Skittles will also be donating all the proceeds from the show to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Skittles parent company will match that donation up to $50,000. You had our attention Skittles, now you have our interest.
Wait so rather than spend a bucket load of 💰to take out a 30sec ad during the SuperBowl, @Skittles will present a L… https://t.co/OVnNQfQ506— Christopher D. Clegg (@Christopher D. Clegg) 1548096836.0
@cadimy @playbill @Skittles If you read the article, it addresses that they're doing a short show in lieu of a supe… https://t.co/3Hxm2lNLyI— a dope ghost (@a dope ghost) 1548094203.0
@lnternetqueer @playbill @Skittles well that's quite neat!— 🦇 (@🦇) 1548094980.0
There is no telling how a commercial/Broadway musical from the bizarre minds over at Skittles will turn out, but it's guaranteed to be an performace like Broadway has never seen before.
Time-Lapse Video Shows What A Rocket Launch Looks Like From Outer Space—And It's Dazzling 😮
We've all seen videos of rockets launching from the ground, but what does the event look like from space?
European Astronaut Alexander Gerst, on board the International Space Station, managed to capture time-lapse footage of the Russian Progress MS-10 cargo spacecraft flying through Earth's atmosphere on its way to delivering supplies to ISS.
Very few people will ever have the chance to see an event like this in person.
Russian Rocket Launch Seen by Space Station - Amazing Time-Lapse Videoyoutu.be
Gerst created the video by setting up a camera to take regular photos through the wrap-around Cupola window of the station, which resulted in a video roughly 16 times faster than real life. Watching the rocket launch in person took 16 minutes but, in Gerst's video, the launch, stage one re-entry, and escape from the atmosphere all occur within one minute.
@_TheSeaning @Space_Station That's awesome!— Scott Waby (@Scott Waby) 1542898886.0
The rocket in the video, known as Progress 71, was on its way to delivering 5,652 pounds of supplies to ISS. The next flight, pushed back to December 3 after a sensor malfunction resulted in the cancellation of an October 11 liftoff, will bring replacement personnel for NASA astronaut Serena Auñón-Chancellor and Russian cosmonaut Sergey Prokopyev. Both have been in orbit since June).
If all goes according to plan, the Canadian astronaut David Saint-Jacques will take off from the steppes of Kazakhs… https://t.co/o0LpNWTsJQ— CTV Vancouver (@CTV Vancouver) 1543800600.0
People online were amazed by the footage from space.
@_TheSeaning @Space_Station Seán, thank you for this. THIS is easily one of THE most mesmerising, and exquisitely s… https://t.co/a440XaOEX6— Nathanial_LB - نثنيال (@Nathanial_LB - نثنيال) 1542915054.0
@_TheSeaning @jasonrdavis @Space_Station SO COOOOL— Justin Foley (@Justin Foley) 1542908365.0
@_TheSeaning @Space_Station wow. just...wow. this is incredible— Sarafina Nance (@Sarafina Nance) 1542918245.0
I hardly think I need to hyperbolize this at all, because it’s simply so freaking cool: Time-lapse video of a rocke… https://t.co/lx32324AWv— Phil Plait (@Phil Plait) 1542989889.0
@BadAstronomer I watched this 5 times with my jaw on the floor... And then made everyone around the Thanksgiving ta… https://t.co/iMbSm8nvIO— Marc Leatham (@Marc Leatham) 1542990342.0
@BadAstronomer @LongDogSecurity https://t.co/Yv3YZQI9Oe— MO News DAilY (@MO News DAilY) 1543001454.0
@BadAstronomer I think that’s the most beautiful photo of Earth I’ve ever seen— Ben Migliore (@Ben Migliore) 1543092741.0
@freak1ngawesome Reverse of shooting star— Shivani Jadeja (@Shivani Jadeja) 1543667552.0
@AntonioParis What an inspiring way to begin my day! Thank you! 💫🚀✌🏻— Heather Call-Me-Elf-One-More-Time Hartley (@Heather Call-Me-Elf-One-More-Time Hartley) 1543492212.0
Videos like these are a nice reminder that space truly is the final frontier! If ISS is looking for a soundtrack to put behind their video, we have an idea:
Star Trek: The Next Generation Intro HDyoutu.be
White Supremacists Used App To Trick Brett Favre And Soulja Boy Into Recording Messages Supporting Anti-Semitism
White supremacists are truly a scourge. Every time they think you can't go lower, they find a new way to burrow underground and prove you completely wrong, as they did when they targeted two celebrities over the internet and tricked them into spewing garbage.
Brett Favre, star football player, and Soulja Boy, recording artists, were approached by a group claiming to be "a U.S. veterans organization for Cameo, a company that enables consumers to book personalized video greetings from celebrities."
Favre recorded the message, assuming the "request stemmed from [his] interest in veterans affairs" and recorded the message, a service that the perpetrators paid $500+ to complete.
Later on, Favre found his request was appropriated for the agenda of an anti-Semitic hate group.
"I was distressed to learn that the request came from an anti-Semitic group that reposted my video with comments implying that I endorsed their mission. Nothing could be further from the truth. I am therefore donating my $500 Cameo fee to Charities supporting their fight against hate and bigotry."
I'm on Cameo & kinda jealous they didn't request me. Maybe I need to lower my price? Most importantly Brett Favre d… https://t.co/8hsC292nRs— Tom Arnold (@Tom Arnold) 1543784713.0
@TomArnold How do you not know something is anti-Semitic. #ComeOn— keith lyle (@keith lyle) 1543785859.0
@BuzzFeedNews Log everyone off everything now— Zinskē (@Zinskē) 1543635691.0
The organization refers to itself as the GDL, or Goyim Defense League. "Goyim" is the Hebrew word for a non-Jewish person.
According to BuzzFeed News, the group is run by two YouTubers who go by "Handsome Truth" and "Sway Guevara."
"Brett Favre here with a shoutout to the Handsome Truth and the GDL boys," they tricked Favre into saying. "You guys are patriots in my eyes. So keep waking them up and don't let the small get you down. Keep fighting, too, and don't ever forget the USS Liberty and the men and women who died on that day. God bless and take care."
The coded phrases here include "small" for "small hats," a slur for yarmulkes, and the USS Liberty:
"The USS Liberty is a dog whistle referring to an incident in 1967 where Israeli forces fired on the US spy ship, killing 34, during the Six-Day War. In the aftermath, Israel said that its pilots had thought the ship was an Egyptian vessel, and apologized — the government eventually paid out $6.7 million in reparations to the survivors and families of the dead. Ever since, there have been unproven conspiracy theories surrounding the circumstances that question whether the attack was intentional. Both the Israeli and the United States governments have said that it was a case of mistaken identity."
Soulja Boy was also tricked by the group, recording a video saying "Shoutout to Handsome Truth and Sway at GDL," and "GDL for life, b*tch."
The head of the group, Handsome Truth, admitted to the deception in a Livestream on Wednesday:
"Here's the deal, guys, they can reject it if they don't like it, right, so we were trying to get it, like — we wanted to be cryptic enough to where they would say it."
@BuzzFeedNews Sellebrities. I feel bad for people who are forced to treat themselves as products.— TomCat (@TomCat) 1543635593.0
@BuzzFeedNews Only in America...way to go potus, maga sadly 😟😥😠!!!— S Johnson (@S Johnson) 1543677369.0
@BuzzFeedNews This is what happens when you’ll do anything for money and fame...— gwyn (@gwyn) 1543641284.0
@BuzzFeedNews What a load of garbage!— Klopezdranat Tagor (@Klopezdranat Tagor) 1543682300.0
"Soulja Boy was unaware that the video on Cameo was tied to a group that promotes hate," said a Soulja Boy spokesperson. "The promo video was what the Cameo had directed and in no way supports his personal beliefs. He greatly apologizes to anyone who may have been offended."
The malice of this particular incident runs deep.
"On or about November 22nd, Cameo talent received requests that appeared to be aimed at supporting the American military. After recording the videos Cameo learned that the request came from an anti-Semitic group and contained content that could be interpreted as anti-Semitic," Cameo said in a statement to BuzzFeed News.
"This was a blatant misuse of the Cameo platform and a violation of Cameo's terms of service. This is the first incident of its kind in more than 93,000 Cameos and a gross misrepresentation of the talent's political beliefs," the statement continued. "Cameo immediately removed the videos from the website, requested YouTube to remove the content and created new filters to prevent this from happening in the future. The user has been banned from purchasing Cameos."
But will it quell the hate speech? Racism, anti-Semitism, homophobia, and misogyny have become commonplace since the election of Donald Trump, and it seems there are weekly incidents of that bigotry. Patrick Little, profiled by the Anti-Defamation League for spreading anti-Semitic hate speech, ran for State Senate in California, winning less than 2% of the vote and being barred from all California Republican events for his gross anti-Semitism. He greatly endorsed the white supremacists' actions.
If historical signs are correct, this sort of speech is likely to be misunderstood and catch fire, thereby inspiring even more hatred. The fight against bigotry must get stronger.
It only costs $500 to get Brett Favre to say something on video. So white supremacists used him to endorse anti-Sem… https://t.co/VdkFnujxrK— Gabriel Snyder (@Gabriel Snyder) 1543780513.0
Alexa, show me 2018 in one headline. https://t.co/7HtmwySIU4 via @mashable— Will Greenwald is still spooky in November (@Will Greenwald is still spooky in November) 1543754183.0
@mashable @BrettFavre may have been tricked, but vicious @ScottWalker taught our children to be Nazis and the best… https://t.co/7gMTCQCmRV— Brian Keith O'Hara (@Brian Keith O'Hara) 1543758130.0
just alt right folks paying Brett favre to unwittingly endorse anti semitism, the world is definitely not fundament… https://t.co/JaeOo61dXJ— R Zach Lamberty (@R Zach Lamberty) 1543635101.0
H/T: BuzzFeed News, Mashable