No matter how you spin things, potential scams are everywhere, just waiting to pounce on us. That’s just the reality of life. So, it falls to us—hard-working everyday consumers—to be wary of anyone trying to weasel our cash out of our wallets.
However, not all cash grabs are blatantly obvious. The savvy members of the r/AskReddit subreddit spilled the tea about all the products and services that they believe are “massive scams” that prey on a lot of victims. Scroll down for their advice—their tips might help you save your hard-earned bucks.
#1
Companies that sell stars or naming stars …. No one owns stars . You can’t own a star and there is no governing body who authorises the naming and ownership of stars . You my friend have just purchased a piece of paper for $200
Edit : after a chalenge from a few people on this here is the clarification after some googling
“The only body which can give names to astronomical objects is the International Astronomical Union (IAU). This hasn’t stopped commercial firms from ‘offering’ individuals the ‘opportunity’ to sponsor stars etc. These names will be recognised by no one and you will be wasting your money unfortunately.”.
Image credits: Former-Departure9836
#2
Those E-commerce guys that sell their guru courses on how to make $10K plus a month.
Image credits: Strange_Employer_232
#3
The remote closer ads/ influencers that claim they are making 10k a month. It's a MLM scheme and the authorities should take action against these people fooling desperate people online for their hard earned money.
Image credits: KaranSJ
ScamWatch, run by the Australian Government, warns people that scams are usually presented as amazing opportunities either to make or save money. They’re often portrayed as being extremely time-sensitive.
Meanwhile, you should be suspicious if someone you have never met suddenly asks you for your help. You should always be wary of any emails or text messages that have suspicious-looking links or attachments. And your alarm bells should be ringing if you’re asked to pay in unusual or extremely specific ways or you’re asked to set up any new accounts.
The best approach if you notice any red flags is to never give out any personal details or transfer any money. You should either hang up the phone or delete the spammy emails or messages. If the scammers are pretending to be a trusted organization or institution, you can always get in touch with them via their official contacts to double-check any suspicious-sounding requests.
#4
Diamonds.
Image credits: Witwebiss
#5
Those bracelets with a sticker on them that claim to align your magnetic field or whatever.
Image credits: anon
#6
Sudafed regular. You absolutely should be going to the RX counter and getting the non prescription but controlled version.
Image credits: SecretProbation
Everybody can fall prey to scams, no matter how educated they might be. Everyone can find themselves distracted and in a situation where they lack self-awareness. However, the more physically, socially, and financially vulnerable someone is, the more likely they are to be targeted by crooks.
However, this doesn’t mean that we can’t fight back against potential scams. Knowledge really is power. The more up-to-date we are about new types of scams, the more we can keep ourselves and our loved ones safe. Although, it’s a constant battle with no end in sight. For every scam you learn to avoid, new ones will pop up to take its place.
#7
Ticketmaster.
Image credits: flyushkifly
#8
Insurance. I'm not talking medical, house, or vehicle insurance, but insurance on electronics, appliances, etc.
Image credits: KeltarCentauri
#9
Anything with the word.. DETOX in it.
Teas, herbs.. magic potions.. whatever .
My favorite are the foot pad things that suck the toxins from the soles of your feet.
Your Kidneys and liver are your detox. Doesn't matter what tea you drink.
Image credits: SpecialProcess5585
A very important rule of thumb when it comes to protecting yourself and your funds is to listen to your gut. When we’re in tune with our instincts, we can tell when something’s off. Broadly speaking, if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
For example, if you get a very tempting offer that promises you great riches for doing next to nothing, then it’s very likely that someone’s trying to scam you. Nobody gives away free money… (unless you bought a very lucky lottery ticket or you inherited something, but those situations are super rare).
#10
Commercials on premium TV channels. Don’t we pay to NOT have commercials? Isn’t that the purpose of paying for premium TV.
Image credits: FarYard7039
#11
Stanley cups. all this hysteria for an overpriced water bottle?
Image credits: Shiftymennoknight
#12
Snake oil.
Sorry, I mean “essential” oil.
Image credits: Kahzgul
Slow down. Sit down. Ask yourself some basic, common sense questions about the offer. And then, get in touch with your family, friends, coworkers, or neighbors for their thoughts. There’s nothing like an outsider’s perspective to protect you from swindlers. If nobody’s available to talk, take some time to think about what the offer entails. Sleep on it.
Many scammers rely on pressure to get you to part with your hard-earned cash. So, any offers that are super duper urgent are probably attempts to get you into a mind frame where you’re easier to manipulate. Fairly good deals and sales happen all the time; there is absolutely no reason to rush. Ever!
#13
Ear candles.
Their wax looks like ear wax, so people believe the candle "sucked" it out of your ear.
But they look exactly the same if you just burn them in your hand.
Image credits: CTX800Beta
#14
Fast fashion.
Image credits: MimiBBaker
#15
Credit monitoring. They setup a system where false information can ruin your life and then charge you to know when it happens so you can get on top of it before the damage is done. And, on top of that, when they leak the personal information of hundreds of millions of people because their security sucks, their "punishment" is to give you their service for a short period of time for free despite the fact that your information being out there means you'll need to pay for it after that free period ends.
It's a modern-day, digital version of the mob's, "It would be a shame if your house burned down, let us help protect it" extortion racket. They've convinced the world that our identities are being stolen rather than what it really is...financial institutions are being defrauded. And they've shifted the burden for their problem onto us.
Image credits: d1v1n0rum
Meanwhile, if someone asks you to divulge any private information, it’s also very likely that you’re in the process of getting scammed.
You should never ever give out any sensitive info, whether that’s your bank details, your account passwords, your address, or your and your loved ones’ names or dates of birth. Sure, some of your info is probably easily accessible and already ‘out there’ in the wilds of the internet, but you don’t want to give crooks any more ammunition.
#16
For profit colleges & fully online courses for some jobs. For example, you can’t become a nurse by only taking online courses. I also heard about someone getting an online cosmetology program. So many students pay thousands of dollars for programs that are not accredited.
Image credits: AnneShirley310
#17
Printers and printer ink.
Image credits: Bazzrt
#18
The US medical residency system.
Image credits: nishbot
What’s the biggest scam that you know of that people keep buying into? Has anyone ever tried to scam you, dear Pandas? What advice would you give someone to help protect them from swindlers and crooks?
Share your advice in the comments! And if you have any warnings to share from your personal experience, we're all ears.
#19
(Mobile phone) games with microtransactions.
Image credits: Fubushi
#20
Chiropractors.
Image credits: Jgs4555
#21
Sham-wow. I mean, I get the sham, but where's the wow?
#22
Homeopathic "medicine"
NFTs/digital collectibles.
Buying online/digital movies, tv series, music albums, etc. because it can always get taken away by Amazon, Apple and Google. Buy physical copies.
Scientology
Diamonds
Most "collectibles". Most stuff made to be collected won't be worth much decades from now, things made decades ago that were never meant to be collected are what's valuable today (an iPhone 1 still in the box sold for $63,000).
#23
Political parties.
#24
Scientology.
#25
MLMs.
#26
Not a product, but bots and fake comments online are a scam of people making robots pretending to be people - and they are everywhere.
Soooo many of the comments you read (and let influence you) are not people. Total scam.
#27
Cable TV.
Generations of families tricked into paying hundreds of dollars/ month for them to pump ads with just enough tempting content keep us watching.
It's a f*****g lobster trap. The whole, entire thing is a trick, and clearly, we're not smart enough to catch on.
#28
Donut holes. The bakery steals the middle of your pastry and then sells it back to you.
#29
Crystals.
I love crystals.. in a geological way.
But they don’t heal s**t.
#30
Tax prep industry….all this should really be straightforward.
#31
Triple A games with their season passes and lootboxes and what not.
EDIT: I was referring to triple A game studios, not baseball. Sorry to those I've confused, was not aware the term existed in baseball.
#32
# US Health Insurance.
#33
Does anyone remember NFT’s?
#34
Wedding dresses. You can buy an identical evening gown in a different colour for a few hundred, but make it white and call it a Wedding dress, you add a zero to the end of the price. So a £400 evening dress is £4000, because its white and in a bridal shop.
#35
For-profit healthcare.
#36
Bottled water(unless your tap water isn't safe to drink).
Not the fancy kind, but your regular grocery store brands.
#37
Turbotax. Really, the entire tax industry. They've lobbied for years to keep the government from sending you the bill/refund that they already know about. Instead, literally everyone has to buy into it *(Ha! Intuit!)* unless you're going to file them on your own.
#38
Plastic recycling is a scam sold to us by the oil companies (from which plastic is made), so we won't feel bad about using single-use plastic. It's not cost effective to sort plastics into the myriad recyclable categories, so your trash company is just throwing it all in the landfill with your trash.
https://ift.tt/W3nNPrp.
#39
Timeshare.
#40
US Healthcare System, Herbalife, Joel Osteen, BeachBody, Scentsy.
#41
Alkaline water. Your body will convert all water to alkaline.
#42
Religion.
#43
Smartphones these days are meant to barely last a few years.
#44
Laundry softener. Absolutely not necessary and actually makes your clothes worse. Use vinegar if you have to or just use nothing.
#45
That important, difficult jobs that we need more of (preschool teachers, custodial staff, care workers for the old or disabled, etc.) should pay dramatically less than important, difficult jobs we need fewer of (CEO).
#46
Phone charging cables designed to work for 3 months.
#47
#Oscillococcinum.
#48
Dating apps.
They gain nothing from you finding a good relationship. If anything they lose ad revenue after you delete the app. They're there to sell you on buying premium versions or add-ons. They'll give you just enough matches, likes, etc to give you some hope. But their goal is to make money off of you, not to help you be happy.
#49
Anything a YouTuber promotes. My golden rule is if a YouTuber is selling you something, it’s because it sucks and nobody with any real influence would promote it.
#50
Gambling. Spending a bunch of money to lose money. The promotional materials are insidious, especially for sports betting. Chances are you ain't hitting that 17-team parlay ticket that Draftkings just posted on its social media account.
#51
Any of those stock tip subscription sites. The ones that offer you the “inside scoop” on stocks that are going to shoot up
Literally all of them are pump and dumps. All of them. The stock shoots up because all of the subscribers buy the stock at once, then the big guys sell at the top and the price crashes again leaving the subscribers bagholding some dirt company
Remember kids: no one, not even the best analysts in the world, know what the f**k any share or any investment product is going to do tomorrow.
#52
I think skincare. Isn’t it kind of a fraud? There are certain products: cleansing, exfoliating, maybe moisturizing, and absolutely sunscreen. But those Vitamin C serums for $180 in a delicate little bottle promising to reverse ageing… this is such a sham. And so many people I know spend hundreds and thousands on these products trying to look younger.
#53
Banking. You give them all your money, they use it to make themselves more money, charge you for the privilege, and if you want to take out large sums you have to give them notice because they dont actually “have” it.
#54
$12 coffee.
#55
Cosmetics. We've convinced most women that they don't look presentable or professional without it. At its core, it preys upon insecurities. I wouldn't have nearly the same issue with it if it was truly more of an optional thing,.
#56
Housing market.
#57
Kids.
#58
Not exactly a product, but Amazon. The quality is s**t and you can get better, cheaper stuff directly from original manufacturer websites. And the money doesn’t go to human scum.
#59
Vitamins and herbal supplements. In a few cases, like when a person has a legitimate deficiency, they help. There are few herbs with legitimate medical benefit. Otherwise it's a complete waste of money.
#60
Medical insurance. I pay $100/month for insurance to tell me my regular appointment is now $73 instead of the base $75, and that my Epi-Pen is not covered at all. F**k medical insurance, from the bottom of my heart.
#61
Salt lamps. The claim sellers make is that they can miraculously change the air around them which somehow apparently improves your health/sleep etc. Load of BS. I bought one once because I liked the shape of it. It used to drip salt onto the table and make a mess. It eventually rusted and stopped working.
#62
Collagen supplements.
#63
New big appliances and cars. They last maybe 1/3 of what they used to because it’s more profitable if you always need a new one.
#64
Printer ink?
#65
Herbalife.
#66
Religion
From George Carlin ::
"Religion has actually convinced people that there's an invisible man living in the sky who watches everything you do, every minute of every day. And the invisible man has a special list of ten things he does not want you to do. And if you do any of these ten things, he has a special place, full of fire and smoke and burning and torture and anguish, where he will send you to live and suffer and burn and choke and scream and cry forever and ever 'til the end of time!
But He loves you. He loves you, and He needs money! He always needs money! He's all-powerful, all-perfect, all-knowing, and all-wise, somehow just can't handle money!".
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