Some scams are really obvious. There are some things you think and see and just know that they are untrue.
[ADVERTISEMENT]
For example, yesterday, I received a call from a random mobile number. It left a robotic-sounding message telling me my tax information was fraudulent and that I needed to press the number one to find out information on my case so I would not get arrested—while a little spooky, it was very obviously fake.
Some scams are less obvious—they are normalized parts of life that sometimes we do not realize are unethical. This thread on Reddit asked people to divulge the things that they think are scams that many other people do not.
Just buy a modem!
deepthought515:
"Renting a modem from your ISP is a huge waste of money. They’ll tell you, 'Oh, you should rent one because tech is always changing and it might go out of date.' When I moved out on my own four years ago, I bought a modem at Best Buy for $70. If I had been renting from the greedy ISPs this whole time, I would have spent close to $500 on rental fees. And while tech is always changing, a modem is not something that changes very much. So please, if you are renting one, go out and buy yourself a modem!"
A fine less than the scam? Make it make sense
peezoki:
"The Verizon $1 scam.Verizon tacked on a $1 fee to 8% of their customers' bills each month, so over the course of the year, they did it to every customer, about 150,000,000.Their rationale was: 50% wouldn't notice and just pay the charge, or would notice and wouldn't spend any time fighting a $1 charge. 50% would notice the charge and call to have it removed. Of those, 35% would get frustrated while on the call and give up.This added approximately $120,000,000 to the bottom line each year (three total) until they were caught. Once caught, they paid a $25,000,000 fine."
FACTS
soul-man34:
"The textbook industry is the biggest scam there is."
They straight up just take your data!
average_joemama:
"Facebook surveys, such as 'Which Frozen character are you?' trick users into giving out answers to common security questions. I’m sure a lot of those could allow direct access to the user’s account by just clicking on the link as well."
Always check the unit price!
TheBilingualSnail:
"When the 'value pack' price is higher than the regular pack price. The trickier the grams-to-dollar conversion, the easier it is to trick people."
Probably means they don't value your work-life balance
annoyingone:
"When a hiring company says, 'We work hard but play hard.' It means everyone is overworked and an alcoholic."
Honestly just buy a new printer
kyotorobato:
"Printer ink."
Tbh, this usually means they will exploit you harder
Amehvafan:
"When the boss says, 'We're a family.'"
Don't give in!
BoredForever1:
"Basically anything where they keep asking you questions that you're saying 'no' to until finally you feel guilty for saying no too many times, so you say 'yes.' This was an actual sales technique taught to me, and we were told to use it to boost our VIP membership numbers, but I felt too guilty to use it.E.g. 'Would you like to sign up to be a member? It's free and cardless.''No thank you, maybe another day.''Are you sure? You're going to get a lot of points from what you're buying today.''Nah, those points never lead to anything.''Actually, ours lead to a discount voucher!''Um, no thanks, I'm in a bit of a rush.''It'll only take 20 seconds max; all I need is your email and phone number.''I don't want to be spammed with 100 emails a day.''You can always unsubscribe from emails any time.''Umm...oh, alright.'"
Watch out for this!
NightsDream130:
"That shop with the 'Closing Down Sale' that's lasted years. They are never closing down!"
Do your research first, folks?!
aprilized:
"The 'wellness' industry that promotes things like 'detox' and other scams. There are many. It's a multi-billion dollar industry."
Huh...
dyslexic_draws:
"All claw machines are designed to be rigged. Manufacturers can not only limit the grip strength of the claw but also manually adjust the 'dropping' ability depending on the frequency of attempts. A good claw machine tempts the player with a possibility of a win, but the number of attempts to achieve that win/prize guarantees a profit for the owner."
Yup...
0xD153A53:
"Beware of 'pickpockets' signs in touristy areas. It triggers an individual to reflexively check their pockets, allowing observant pickpockets to know where your wallet is."
LMAO beware of this type of message in your inbox!
sock-puppet69:
"LIFE COACHING!Not only is it a huge scam, but a lot of life coaching schools are structured like cults, similar to Scientology. Please beware!!!"
These are all so shady!
Moneia:
"Freemium games,[As well as] freemium games... Loot boxes, release day DLC, microtransactions, season passes, pre-order bonuses, deliberate multi-edition confusion, and you've already paid your $60."
Yeah, this one sucks
SquilliamFancySon95:
"Adobe Creative Suite. It used to be that you could just buy the program you wanted in one lump sum, but now you have to choose a plan with a bunch of features you don't want and pay $50 a month."
Always cut open the bottles! Just in case
Vectrus:
"Sunscreen, lotion, anything in a squeeze bottle. Everyone’s instinct is to just toss it after they can’t squeeze any more out. But if you cut open the bottles and scrape out the inside, you get around a quarter to a third more of the product. My wife just cut open our various sunscreens that we thought were out and got an almost full Tupperware container of sunscreen."
What little-known scams are you aware of? Share with us in the comments
