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People Break Down The Stupidest Scams They're Surprised Folks Still Fall For

gold round coin on blue textile
gold round coin on blue textile
Photo by Kanchanara on Unsplash

We want to believe the world is a good place, and it can be. However, there are still those who seek to deceive us.

They prey on the innocent and naïve and run scams that take advantage of us and our assets.

Some of these scams are as old as time itself, and most people have wised up. They can recognize the tricks and protect themselves. However, every now and then, someone still falls for one of those stupid scams.

Redditors identified some of these scams and are ready to share.


It all started when Redditor MrTenBelow-1 asked:

"what's a scam so stupid yet people keep falling for?"

Gift Card For Bills

"People who fall for phone scammers telling them they can pay an overdue utility bill in Apple gift cards. WTF?"

– AdmiralBofa

"My client got taken for 40k in gift cards and a bit coin machine scam over the course of 2.5 days. The bank held her and begged her not to leave because they thought she was in danger but the scammer told her to tell them she has a right to her money and they gave up. They never called her husband which would have helped. The second Kroger refused to sell her the gift cards and told her they would call the cops and called her credit card company to tell them to close the card. Kroger was the hero in this situation. It helped snap her out of it but most of the money was gone."

"Talk to your older relatives. This is so common."

– pamidawashername

Bail Them Out

"As a teller manager, I have had a few elderly people who actually believe their grandkids are in jail, and need to take out 20k out of their accounts in cash, in order to bail them out."

"Literally tell them they are falling for a scam, and to call their grandkids in front of me. Of course the kid then answers."

"Their hearts are in the right place, but they need to think before they take large amounts like that, but also if they gave the scammers their personal addresses."

– Nouls

"Thank you for looking out for them! My grandma’s attempt to bail me out of jail with target gift cards was foiled by a kind bank teller like you. My grandma doesn’t have a cell phone so she called the police and me from the bank to make sure everything got sorted."

– gingersnap9210

Money, Money, Money

"Any get rich quick subscription program. The actual get rich scheme is launching a subscription program for a get rich scheme."

– Kretuhtuh

"Subscribe to my courses to learn how to get rich quick. I'm only offering this because I don't want to use my tricks to get rich quick and want to share it with you instead."

– eggtart_prince

Love = Money

"Sending ppl on dating apps money"

– marvelwonderwoman

"While I've never been scammed, they've made attempts on me while I was on dating apps. It's easy to spot when they're attempting to scam you, like using some Instagram model's photos on their profile, or they try to get you to move to another app like skype or WhatsApp. But some guys don't think with the head on their shoulders and lose hundreds to probably a guy in Nigeria."

– draiman

The Future Is No Mystery

"Psychic hotlines"

– fonduktoe

"Or, any psychic really. Storytime: in NYC a few years ago, I walked by one of those storefront psychics as the proprietor yelled out to her husband, “But I can’t find my keys!” Not great advertising."

– moltenlavashake

How Romantic

"My coworker who was widowed three years ago met a man online and has been speaking with him for over a year. He says he has an apartment in an upscale neighborhood of the nearby city. They haven't met in person yet because he is building a bridge in Dubai. He was going to come home for Christmas but the flights were very expensive."

"I am 95% sure this is a romance scam."

– elusivemoniker

"He’s building a bridge in Dubai 😂😂😂😂😂"

– Jellyb3anz

Don't Have Wheels

"I'm calling about your cars extended warranty..."

– WhoaSpoders

"Man I was getting those calls before I even owned a car"

– justaguyonreddit02

"Okay, I'm not proud of this, but I nearly got screwed by an extended warranty call."

"I had just bought a used electric car out of state. And even though I've never done this before I bought an extended warranty from the used car dealership because it covered the batteries."

"While I was waiting for delivery I got a letter from what I thought was the warranty company. I was getting a lot of paperwork so it didn't look out of place. It said to give them a call so I could finalize the warranty information."

"I called the number and they asked questions like mileage, trim package, etc. And after all that they said because of a change in their policy I could save $50.00 a month if I made the first payment before close of business Friday."

"The only reason they didn't get my credit card number is because I asked them why I needed to make monthly payments for something I paid in full on my loan. That's when the discussion started sounding fishy (phishy) after a few more attempts to convince me to pay I just hung up on them, and called the dealership."

"What's crazy is that the company is a legitimate extended warranty company. They just have shady business practices."

– could_use_a_snack

Sell, Sell, Buy!

"Pyramid schemes. For the life of me I can’t fathom how people think they’ll get rich selling stupid sh*t like oils or wax"

– AkuraPiety

"A family friend sells one of the kitchen things as an MLM and is always boasting about going on cruises and stuff... Of course she leaves out the part where she has to park on her driveway because her garage is literally floor to ceiling, wall to wall with boxes of unopened merch. She isn't getting rewarded for her sales, she's getting rewarded for her purchases."

"She cooked some kind of dip for us in a microwave to show off a product. It tasted like I imagine a dead cow's milky an*s tastes."

– WillemDafoesHugeCock

Heal The Virus

"“Hello, this is John White. I am calling from Windows Technical Support. We have received notification that there are many errors on your computer, and that it may have a virus.”"

– MasterAinley

"My friends mother kept a guy like this on the phone for 20minutes, did everything he told her and was so greatful the nice Windows man was trying to fix her computer. Then eventually asked him "Oh, was my computer meant to be switched on?""

– anderoogigwhore

Please Hang Up!

"My MIL almost fell for this."

"My wife got a call from her father about something completely unrelated and as they're talking, he says that her mom is on the phone with Microsoft. I overhear this. I've listened to my IT friends talk about how getting MS on the phone is a huge pain in the a*s, so I'm immediately wondering what is going on.""My wife prods a little and finds out that they called her. Immediately, I'm saying over and over again "Tell her to hang up. Hang up HANG UP""

"Her MIL is...well, she's an older Jewish lady who is allergic to silence. FIL is a very typical older Jewish man..."

"FIL tells her "The kids are saying you should hang up, they say it's a scam.""

"MIL says on the phone to the "representative": "My kids are telling me this is a scam, are you trying to scam me?""

"The fake rep says "Of course not, you know me, why would I do that""

"MIL: "He says it's not a scam.""

"FIL: "She says it's not a scam.""

"My wife: It scam."

"Me: HANG UP HANG UP HANG UP"

"FIL to MIL: They're tellin me you should hang up."

"MIL to FIL: Do you know where the checkbook is?""

"Wife: OMG TAKE THE PHONE FROM HER AND HANG IT UP"

"Me: Why is she not HANGING UP?"

"FIL to my wife: I think I might have to call you back, your mother can't find the checkbook"

"Wife, now screaming: SHE IS BEING SCAMMED"

"MIL, to the rep: Hold on, I think I need to talk to my daughter, can I call you back?"

"Rep: Sure, but if we could process payment..."

"FIL: I think you better tell him to call back later"

"MIL: That's what I told him [to the rep] I need to call you back hun"

"Wife: I am begging you dad, take the phone from her"

"Me: [screams]"

"MIL to the rep: No, that's not a good time, we'll be eating dinner"

"Me: I'm driving over there."

"And that's what I did."

"She hadn't given him any payment information thankfully, but she had scheduled a call with him later. I blocked the number and told her not to answer any other unknown numbers. I had to show her several articles proving this is a scam and she STILL said "Well ya nevah know, and I don't want any virus on my computer""

– Daddict

The Truth About Social

"Facebook is going to change its algorithm by you copying and pasting a post"

– mamaj747

"Literally yesterday I saw one of those dumba** "I do not give FB permission to blah, blah, blah...""

"Yes, honey, you already did when you signed up and every time you accepted their new terms of service. Buried in the fine print you entirely gave them permission."

– Cinemaphreak

Thin Out

"Those “lose 15 pounds in 5 days” type diets in supermarket tabloids"

– AssociateGeneral4275

"Dude it works, I lost 20 pounds in 10 days. The diet is called a very aggressive stomach flu. You can’t keep anything down and you sh*t your brains out."

– Omegaprimus

Steer clear of all of these!

Do you have any popular scams to add? Let us know in the comments below.

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