We live in the age of the scammer, and unfortunately, con artists are forever thinking up new and clever ways of getting their mitts on our money. But it doesn’t stop there – many of today’s scams are LEGAL. Make sure you’re not falling victim to any of these 18 common (legal or otherwise) swindles.
Insurance
So many areas of our lives seem to require insurance (car, medical, dental; you name it…), which is generally fine – except there always seem to be sneaky clauses and minute details that somehow give the providers any excuse not to pony up.
Tipping
There seems to be a culture within many businesses nowadays of asking for tips where it’s not warranted. This includes static cashiers, bank tellers, and other workers who already earn a decent salary – and have not gone above and beyond their role to deserve a tip.
Withdrawal/Overdraft Fees
Why should we have to pay to withdraw our OWN MONEY? Also, there’s a deplorable level of irony in overdraft fees – because they’re charging us for NOT having money. Logic fails.
News Reporting
Mainstream news is – at best – biased, and at worse, is salacious nonsense created by crooked journalists who will do anything for a story. Reporting used to be a commendable, respectable career. These days, that’s not the case….
Timeshares
Name something harder to get out of than timeshares. We’ll wait. Not only are the annual fees extortionate, but trying to chew your leg out of the timeshare bear trap is nearly impossible. Also, if a person passes away before managing to cancel, it gets handed down to their kids – even if they haven’t opted in.
US Healthcare
Getting sick in the United States is an expensive affair. Not only will most institutions try and wring you dry by performing countless unnecessary tests when you go into the hospital, but they’ll try and insist on multiple future visits, too. And depending on who your provider is, not all insurance packages cover it all.
Bank Charges
Have you noticed that almost ALL areas of banking now seem to have some stupid and unnecessary fee attached to them? Give it time, and they’ll soon be charging us to walk through the doors of our local bank branch.
Fitness Influencers
Please do not waste your money on any influencer-affirmed “diet teas” or other such silliness being flogged by some moron on Instagram. Not only do most of these products not work, but they’re not even used by the influencers, who are often dishonest about certain areas of their regime, including steroid use.
YouTube Stock Advisors
YouTube is not the place to go for stock advice. YouTube is for entertainment – and their game is to generate mega engagement – not to help you make money on trades. Sorry to break it to you, but it’s YOU who is the product here – you’re not the customer.
Online Payment Service Fees
This is as bad as tipping people who frankly have not done enough to warrant a tip. Many online payment services are now charging what’s called a ‘convenience fee,’ which, ironically, is nothing but an inconvenience – and an expensive one.
Online Subscriptions
Online subscription companies are beyond sneaky. Not only is it near-impossible to cancel said subscription via the internet, you have to take time out of your day to call up the company and speak to an automated service/be on hold for half an hour before speaking to a real human to cancel it. And then, nine times out of ten, they’ll shamelessly hold onto your bank details to “resell” the subscription.
Cryptocurrency-Romance Scams
There are multiple online scams exploiting the Lonely Hearts niche. One of which is the cryptocurrency con, in which scammers target singletons online via social media or dating sites to convince them to download an app and invest in a fake crypto account in the guise of the victim building their wealth (when what’s really happening is they’re having their bank accounts drained).
Payday Loans
These may seem like a godsend when you’re in a financially tight spot and need a bit of extra dough – but they are bad news. And that’s the genuine ones. There are now scammers creating fake payday loan companies where the victim can “apply” for a loan by paying an application fee. Once this money is handed over, the “company” disappears into the ether – along with your money.
One-Time Password Bot Scams
Scammers and hackers are now enlisting the help of bots to get their filthy paws on your cash. How it works is they convince the victim to share authentication codes, which will be sent via text message. They will then receive a text or robocall asking them to authorize a so-called transaction by trying to gain access to the recipient’s bank details using these codes.
Student Loan Forgiveness Scams
Grifters have found a way to cash in on those struggling to pay off their student debt by creating phony loan forgiveness/relief companies for graduates to apply to, which then gives the scammers access to their bank accounts, social security numbers, PayPal accounts – you name it.
Puppy Purchase Scams
This scam involves exploiting those looking to buy a dog by demanding an upfront fee for the dog or puppy in question. They then may ask for additional money to deliver the animal to you, which of course, doesn’t happen. Once the money has been sent over, you’ll never hear from the seller again. The best way around this one is to go to your local shelter if you wish to add a four-legged friend to your family – adopt, don’t shop.
Check Washing Scams
Although checks are becoming somewhat obsolete, they still exist, and there’s still a handful of creeps out there who will pilfer mailboxes looking for them. The term ‘check washing’ refers to when scammers steal a check and use cleaning chemicals to erase certain details on the check to then add their own and then cash it in.
IRS Apple Gift Card Scams
Many of us have received text messages or emails supposedly from the government accusing us of owing thousands of dollars in back taxes – and that this can be settled with Apple gift cards… of all things. Although this seems absurd, many people are still falling for this scam.
16 ANNOYING PHRASES THAT MAKE PEOPLE IMMEDIATELY HATE YOU!
We wanted to know the most irksome things someone can say that turns you off! These online users didn’t hold back! 16 ANNOYING PHRASES THAT MAKE PEOPLE IMMEDIATELY HATE YOU!
OBSOLETE MILLENNIALS: 14 SKILLS THEY LEARNED IN THE 90S THAT HAVE NO PLACE IN TODAY’S WORLD
A lot has changed since the turn of the century – just ask this nostalgic lot!
OBSOLETE MILLENNIALS: 14 SKILLS THEY LEARNED IN THE 90S THAT HAVE NO PLACE IN TODAY’S WORLD
THE FALL FROM GRACE: 12 PROFESSIONS THAT WERE ONCE REVERED, NOW A TOTAL JOKE
These 12 professions that are now obsolete show how much the times have changed.
THE FALL FROM GRACE: 12 PROFESSIONS THAT WERE ONCE REVERED, NOW A TOTAL JOKE
FROM ‘OKAY BOOMER’ TO ‘UGH BOOMER’: 10 HABITS THAT IRRITATE MILLENNIALS
Each generation has its quirks. Most label it as an “old person thing” when asked why grandpa or grandma does something unusual. The defense from the other side is that “it was the way things were back in our day.”
FROM ‘OKAY BOOMER’ TO ‘UGH BOOMER’: 10 HABITS THAT IRRITATE MILLENNIALS