Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

People Break Down Which Scams People Still Fall For

People Break Down Which Scams People Still Fall For
Scam Phishing Fraud - Free image on Pixabay

Usually, the lifespan of a scam is remarkably brief. The ploy works on a relatively small amount of people and their unfortunate fates tip off the rest of us.

As soon as that happens, the scam is largely dead. People see it coming a mile away and they'll never walk into the trap.


But some scams are better than others. Some--the most elite scams of all the scams--stand the test of time. These scams stick around because they are done so subtly, appear so above water, and are often conducted by otherwise legitimate groups or companies.

Thankfully, Reddit is here to pull the covers off of even those tricks. A recent thread on the site asked folks to share the least noticeable--and therefore most successful--scams they've ever come across.

balisto2222 asked, "What is a scam not many people notice?"

The Allure of the Cutting Edge

"That '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 They'll tell you 'oh you should rent one because tech is always changing and it might go out of date' when I moved out on my own 4 years ago I bought a modem at Best Buy for 70$."

"If I had been renting from the greedy isp's this whole time I would have 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!"

-- deepthought515

Too Little to Notice

"The Verizon $1 scam."

"Verizon tacked on a $1 fee onto 8% of their customer's 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 anytime 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 (3 total) until caught. Once caught, they paid a $25,000,000 fine."

-- peezoki

Not So Simple

"When a hiring company say 'we work hard but play hard.' It means everyone is over worked and an alcoholic." -- annoyingone

"mandatory happy hours" -- AccountENT42069

"They'll also probably expect you to spend lots of your free time with them, or you won't get the same opportunities they guys who do get." -- Rallings

Thwarting the Unit Price Calculations

"When the 'value pack' price is higher than the regular pack price. The trickier the grams to dollar conversion, the easier to trick people." -- TheBilingualSnail

"Or the bottle says 33% more! But it isn't free, it just a bigger package." -- sharpei90

"This is why I love walmart. The unit price is almost always in the top left hand corner of the price tag." -- jmmatthews20

Not All Fun and Games

"Surveys. Something like 'Which Frozen character are you?' tricks users into giving out answers to common security questions."

"I'm sure a lot of those could get direct access to the user's account by just clicking on the link as well."

-- average_joemama

Legal and Horrible

"The textbook industry, biggest scam there is." -- soul-man34

"McGraw Hill is Satan reincarnate. Want to do your home work? Gotta buy this $230 ACCESS CODE. Want to keep the textbook for later? NOPE. Expires after a year. Want to sell it? NOPE. Everyone has to buy a code." -- Recyclops3000

$69.99 When Conditions are Perfect

"If you have cable tv or internet or anything like that, the promos they offer on that stuff is almost never legit. Like $25-$50 higher than the advertised price sort of wrong. There's local sports fees, equipment fees, broadcast fees, discounts you only get for certain times, etc."

"Example, my cable company advertises $69.99 a month tv/internet/phone but if you actually price it out it's over $100/month."

-- UYScutiPuffJr

Boss Lies

"When the boss says 'We're a family' " -- Amehvafan

" 'we're family....except i can disown you anytime i want if it means me being better off, because y'know, fuck the worker's life lol' " -- Twisterlord

"My old boss used to say 'I make less than before I started this company.' I always wanted to ask if he had 300k in vehicles before he started the company." -- dudius7

Brilliant

" '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." -- 0xD153A53

"Similarly to this - in public transport a pickpocket will often throw or place an empty wallet on the floor, then point it out and ask if anybody lost a wallet."

"You instinctively check your pocket to make sure it's there. A good pickpocket will memorize 8-10 people, their hand placement, go to work and leave on the next stop with 4 or 5 more wallets more than they had when they got on." -- OcassionallySane


Want to "know" more? Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again. Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

A person cooking with a mis en place
person slicing green vegetable in front of round ceramic plates with assorted sliced vegetables during daytime

Chefs Break Down The Best Cooking 'Hacks' Everyone Should Know

While some people find cooking soothing and therapeutic, others might break into hives at the very thought of it.

Mainly owing to the fact that they don't always find the journey quite worth the payoff of a perfectly cooked roast chicken, or a spongy and creamy cake.

Keep ReadingShow less
Gavin Newsom; Screenshot of Donald Trump
Mario Tama/Getty Images; @atrupar/X

Gavin Newsom Hilariously Trolls Trump For Struggling To Stay Awake During Antifa Roundtable

California Governor Gavin Newsom mocked President Donald Trump for appearing to fall asleep during a White House roundtable about Antifa, which the administration recently designated a "domestic terror organization" even though it's not an organization at all.

Antifa is a loose network of anti-fascist activists with no central structure, no funding, no membership roster, and no offices or leadership hierarchy for prosecutors to target.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @timleesblee's TikTok video
@timleesblee/TikTok

Remote Worker Speaks Out After Job Uses 'Dystopian' Software To Track His Productivity

There are a few vital truths to every office-based job. First, there are going to be "busy work" moments, from meetings to admin tasks to minor side-quest-style projects that add to the company in some small way but otherwise feel like a waste of time.

Second, as human beings, we all need breaks to restore our mental focus, so a person who occasionally scrolls through their personal email, sends a few texts to a friend, or even scrolls Instagram for a few minutes, will likely be more productive than those who attempt to lock in and do nothing but their job throughout their entire shift.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot from @skylr.m's TikTok video
@skylr.m/TikTok

Texas Mechanic Speaks Out After Noticing How The Price Of Services Skyrocketed Within The Past Year

A mechanic in Texas turned heads with his observations about how dramatically prices have gone up in the past year.

TikToker @skylr.m from San Antonio, Texas, admitted that he doesn't know anything "about politics" but felt the price jumps he's been witnessing in real time are "pretty crazy."

Keep ReadingShow less
Tweet and photos from @ZONEofTECH's  Twitter (X) account
@ZONEofTECH/Twitter (X)

Man Hospitalized After Samsung Galaxy Smart Ring Swells On His Finger Before Flight

Most of us have worn a ring at some point in time. If the ring felt a little snug and struggled to pass the knuckle, we might have experienced that irrational fear that the ring might not ever come off again!

But for Twitter (X) user, Daniel, that became a valid concern while wearing his Samsung Galaxy Ring.

Keep ReadingShow less