10 Scams That’re So Dumb, But People Keep Falling For It

Despite their apparent absurdity, scams continue to ensnare unsuspecting individuals.

Tricksters are always thinking of new and clever tricks to take money from others. Some of these tricks seem so silly that you’d wonder how anyone could believe them. But the truth is, people do fall for these tricks, and it can cause big problems.

Someone asked on a popular forum, what’s a scam so stupid that people keep falling for it? and here are the top results:

1. Phone Scams

“People who fall for phone scammers telling them they can pay an overdue utility bill in Apple gift cards.” said one.

“Not just utility bills, but back taxes and legal fines. I got a call from someone pretending to be a border agent. Seems legit to think I can avoid federal prison with the right amount on an apple gift card.” another added.

2. Get-Rich-Quick Schemes

Don’t be fooled by scammers promising overnight wealth through courses and secret tricks. 

“Subscribe to my courses to learn how to get rich quickly. I’m only offering this because I don’t want to use my tricks to get rich quickly and want to share it with you instead.” said one.

“Any get-rich-quick subscription program. The actual get-rich scheme is launching a subscription program for a get-rich scheme.” another said.

3. The Facebook Privacy Hoax

By agreeing to Facebook’s terms of service, you have already permitted them to use your data. Here’s what to do instead.

“Yesterday I saw one of those dumb people saying “I do not give FB permission to blah, blah, blah…”

Yes, honey, you already did when you signed up and accepted their new terms of service every time. Buried in the fine print, you entirely permitted them.” a user shared.

4. Fad Diets

Fad diets promising quick weight loss, such as “lose 15 pounds in 5 days,” are often unrealistic and unhealthy. 

“All diets are scams. Anyone can fairly easily lose weight. But no diet has been successfully proven to indefinitely maintain the weight loss. And that’s not even deconstructing all the prejudice and ignorance that is tied in with dieting culture around fatness and fat people. I highly recommend listening to the Maintenance Phase podcast for more information about this.” a user suggested

“Those “lose 15 pounds in 5 days” type diets in supermarket tabloids.” Another added.

5. Tech Support Scams

“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.” said one sarcastically.

“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?” another shared.

6. Beware of Social Media Scams

“It’s always important to be cautious about online giveaways, especially when the prize seems too good to be true.” said one.

“Congratulations, you just won free tickets to Fhloston Paradise!!! DM me for details.” another said.

“Scammers often use social media platforms to trick unsuspecting people into giving away their personal information, so it’s important to stay informed on how to identify and avoid these scams.” another added.

7. IRS Calls

“The IRS and refund scams. The IRS will never call you, they will send you a letter in the mail if there is a tax issue.” said one. 

8. Online Courses

Online courses promising to teach dropshipping, crypto, and other skills can be expensive, but the same information is often available for free on YouTube or through self-learning. 

“People always forget they don’t make their money off dropshipping or crypto. They make their money off selling idiots their useless course.” said one.

“Buying a “rich” influencers course on dropshipping, cyrpto etc. your paying a couple hundred dollars for something you can learn from youtube or self learning.” a user said.

9. Multi-Level Marketing Scams

“Multi-level marketing schemes that prey on stay-at-home moms is a scam.” said one.

“My wife is currently willingly shoveling my money into that. I hate it. It smells like hell. When I told her it was a scam and she won’t make money. She said, you don’t know I won’t make money; maybe I’ll be good at it. And nothing but hostility beyond that.” another shared.

10. Lottery

“Lottery. My parents used to waste at least $50 a week on tickets. Even when we were behind on bills, couldn’t afford groceries, and getting sued. They cared more about buying lottery tickets than feeding their children and running the water. They would say they were entitled to win because they were religious and would use the money for good. I don’t talk to them much anymore, so I’m not sure if they still buy tickets obsessively, but they most likely do.” a user shared.

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This article was originally published on Mrs. Daaku Studio.