Scam calls are nothing new, but in recent years, scammers have been getting more creative with their tactics... and creepier. One scam that's been on the rise involves someone pretending to be a family member in trouble, often a child or grandchild, needing urgent financial help. With AI now able to mimic voices, it's become even more unsettling. But for this childless man, who's been receiving the same scam call twice a year for the past seven years, it's less of a scare and more of a chance t…

If you've ever had your personal information stolen, you know it can be really frightening. Not to mention inconvenient. There are so many calls you have to make - filing a report, straightening out which payments are fraudulent, getting a new credit card, etcetera. Not to mention, it can be an extremely lengthy process, too. So that's why if you were ever a fraud victim, you know this man is a true hero.

Nobody knows how many things need to go into consideration when buying a new car before they actually have to do it themselves for the first time. It is not only about the miles and the price, and it's not even about what brand and model it is, there is so much more you have to consider before you make a purchase. For example – Getting the car inspected. Before you buy your first car, most people will tell you that you shouldn't rely on the inspection your car dealership performs and that you s…

Don't try to rip off someone who's really good at sleuthing.

It's always a risk when you're buying something from Marketplace. Like anything you purchase, you have to do your due diligence and assess the product carefully before going for it and making the purchase. Sometimes, we're overwhelmed and we forget to be careful when we buy products that appear to be perfectly fine. This Redditor certainly acknowledges his own part in that when he bought a broken ottoman. That being said, when he tried to return said item, it became clear that the previous owne…

There are so many scams out there nowadays. And with AI, they are becoming more and more believable, too. There are AI scams where scammers use relatives' voices to make it sound like they need money urgently and ask for card information, most often prying upon grandparents. There's also the infamous work gift card scam, fake charity scams, overpayment scams, and so many more. A lot of us experience the agony of getting multiple calls to our cell phones from random numbers. It can be pretty irr…

Moving is already stressful enough; getting scammed during a move is about as low as a scammer can go. The closest I have ever been to getting scammed during a move would be during the apartment hunting process in New York City last summer. After applying and securing an apartment that was already near the top of our budget maximum, the listing agent decided that this place was in such high demand that he could then add a ton of extra fees on the place, none of which were communicated to use be…

Have you ever been so deep in the job search that you started applying for anything and everything that slightly piqued your interest? Especially with those “easy apply” buttons on job boards. It makes it way too easy. Well, you might want to think twice before you hit the panic-applying stage. So, the OP was right there with us, exhausted by his job search. When he got his first offer, he couldn't be more ecstatic. In my opinion, everything he described about the company and the offer seemed p…

We've all heard of the gift card scam via email. And if you haven't, maybe you should read this…

A lot of things in life aren't what they seem, but at least we're terrifyingly used to disappointment, thanks to having most things oversold to us by advertising only to have the reality be somewhat lackluster in comparison. The liberal usage of old or adjusted photos on dating apps is just the same strategy that real estate agents use when they photoshop a tiny bed into a photo of a closet-sized room in order to make it bigger and justify selling a two-bedroom house as a three-bedroom. In both…

There is no shortage of dishonest people in this world, a fact that becomes readily apparent as soon as you get in even the most minimal of traffic collisions. There are honest people, too, but you're hardly going to remember the time you got into a traffic collision with the nicest guy on earth, are you? At that point, you're exchanging information and going your separate ways, and while inconvenient, it becomes kind of a non-issue. People don't like owning up to accountability, and to be fair…

Who wants to be sitting on an airline for longer than they have to? Well—due to Southwest's unique seating arrangement, where no seats are assigned, and all seats are first-come-first-serve, the less honest among us are hugely incentivized to vie for priority boarding without having to fork out extra for it. The way people do this is by asking for a wheelchair before they arrive at their gate, which qualifies them for priority boarding from the airline. This frustrated passenger hit out against…

We all love a good loophole. Social media is full of people telling their favorite loopholes to get cash after a cancelled flight, return kids' clothing years after you bought it, or ‘hack’ a stores' return policy to your benefit. As a customer, finding a loophole can be great, but when too many people start to abuse the system, it results in a crackdown to stop customers from getting free stuff. Next up, this employee refused to do something his boss kept insisting on — but it was actually rea…

There's nothing more violating than having your things taken from your own home, even if it's just on your front doorstep. For this reason, “porch pirates” are derided in neighborhood chats

If, at first, you don't succeed… tell a sob story and beg your target for cash instead. This is the scammer's creed—at the first sign of their scam going sideways, they'll crumple like paper and resort to tearful begging instead. That, or get overwhelmingly aggressive. The begging is really just the continuation of the same initial scam, and just because you were wary and caught them out on the initial attempt doesn't mean you won't be suckered in by the crocodile tears that follow. Commenters…

Everyone knows a good ol' fashioned scam when they see one. "Take the money and run", is a scumbag's catch phrase, right? Usually scams involve some grifter making a quick buck on empty promises, weaponizing human emotions and taking advantage of every weakness before dipping out– just like your crummy manager at work!