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azflyboy posted:The scam Goldline (which was the one Glenn Beck hawked the hell out of) ran was basically pulling a bait and switch on people. So let me get this straight; the people who have the gold are going to sell it to me knowing that when the economy collapses I'll have gold that's valuable and they'll have all of my worthless cash. Nope, no scam alerts going off there.
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Apr 24, 2016 19:59
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Cat Army 
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So lately I get one or two of these per week from different addresses (and they go right into my Spam folder):quote:Position available / (288505698217) I'm wondering if it's just the same old "Work from Home" scam, or else when you reply they to ask for your SSN and/or bank account number so they can deposit your "paycheck."
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Apr 24, 2016 20:04
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Marenghi posted:An ad I keep seeing popping up is automated binary trading. It's obviously a scam but I'm not sure which end they're taken the money from. They claim thousands of dollars back if you fail, so are they doing trading through their own platform, and reneging on an obvious lie when the time comes. Or is the bot some sort of virus and they use that to make their money. Probably some version of a Ponzi scheme. Or a virus.
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Apr 26, 2016 11:57
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photomikey posted:Please BE WARNED! Over the last month I have become a victim of a clever 'Eastern European' scam whilst out shopping. My Grandma started sending her chain emails to you too?
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May 12, 2016 00:11
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When I worked in a garage in NJ about 40 years ago, this was a common scam. Dudes showing up and selling all kinds of stuff out of the trunks of their cars - tires, steaks, stereo speakers, etc. The reason they could sell it to you for such a "good price" was that it "fell off a truck."
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Jun 27, 2016 23:04
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drunk asian neighbor posted:NJ is like that but the law isn't enforced at all. They polled a bunch of local cops and literally not a single one said they'd ever written/would write someone a ticket for doing it. Also most attendants are usually pretty appreciative of not having to do anything. Former NJ resident here. I worked in a gas station during and after HS for a while. I could count on one hand the number of time I was tipped. It was usually around Xmas.
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Jul 17, 2016 21:56
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PT6A posted:Repackaged as a plane part, it sells for $10 (if you're lucky!) Unless its for the government. Then it sells for $100.
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Jul 19, 2016 21:30
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Absurd Alhazred posted:Corrected for government-speak. 
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Jul 20, 2016 00:29
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Maw posted:They all say 'TEMPORARY COSMETIC RESULTS ONLY' all over too, everything about it is just terrible bullshit. I considered writing an effort post about them in this thread before, but am p lazy. All of these quicky weight loss scams have the same thing in common. If you read the fine print at the bottom of the screen (if you can. It comes up and then disappears pretty fast), it says "Results not typical." "Normal results are a loss of 1-2 pounds per week when used in conjunction with a program of diet and exercise." Which is typical of the weight loss you could expect when doing a program of diet and exercise. In other words, they're straight up telling you that it's worthless.
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Jul 29, 2016 12:25
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Ytlaya posted:So that's why that random person outside of a gas station wanted me to buy them detergent several years ago! I went in with them and was like "what do you want" and they pointed to some really expensive detergent and I was like "gently caress no." I would have been okay with something <$5, but this particular detergent was like $20 IIRC. Tide is easily flippable? Why? Because it's expensive and you can sell it cheaper because it's stolen?
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Sep 1, 2016 02:17
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Lutha Mahtin posted:Yesss, that's the article I couldn't find earlier. For all of you not in the know, prepare to have your minds blown. I was not in the know. I did have my mind blown.
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Sep 1, 2016 11:57
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Great bit about Soverign Citizens. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8W_iok4UBLk
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Sep 13, 2016 23:13
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BiggerBoat posted:Over the course of a rather long job search, I've received maybe 10 calls/emails from a company called Primerica. It's loving ridiculous. NO WHERE on my resume, in my job experience or in my skill set is there anything whatsoever to suggest I would be good at sales or slinging life insurance. I'm a freelance illustrator, graphic designer and pre-press specialist. That's all I've ever done. Got several calls from them over the years. Same thing; nothing in my resume even remotely qualified me for a job, nor was I actually looking. I coworker of mine called Primerica "the Amway of financial advisers."
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Sep 18, 2016 18:25
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ToxicSlurpee posted:MLM isn't a Ponzi scheme in the end; there are similarities but Ponzi basically paid the first investors with later investors. It looked like the promises were kept but they weren't. Yeah, their business model is to use you to use your family and friends to buy stuff at a ridiculous markup, and convince you that the only way to get ahead is to recruit more suckers and buy more motivational tapes. Fraud, not technically, but still pretty lovely.
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Sep 20, 2016 02:57
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Reminds me of the paper that was co-written by the guy's cat and was submitted to a scientific journal.
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Oct 24, 2016 17:06
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Nine of Eight posted:My Grandfather got that one pulled on him by someone pretending to be my cousin; he told the scammer that he didn't give a gently caress and he should call his dad instead before hanging up. Yeah, after my mom who's 84 got about 10 of the IRS scam calls, I told her about this one. I said if she ever gets the call to tell them just to let his rear end sit in jail.
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Feb 6, 2017 18:53
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Xenoborg posted:Gotten 4 calls today from a robot that left a voicemail saying there was "an arrest warrant issues against your name and identity". I guess if I called back they would probably try and "settle" the issue with apple gift cards or western union. Mine was a call from the IRS saying I was going to be prosecuted for owing a fine and back taxes. I called the number, told them I was Special Agent Smith from the FBI and asked what the problem was. It sounded like a call center in India, and they hung up rather quickly.
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Jun 24, 2017 00:55
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CommieGIR posted:Pretty much any
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Jun 30, 2017 16:49
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I find it ridiculous that people would actually believe that the "authorities" (IRS, FBI, Sheriff, etc.) would want you to pay your fine with an iTunes gift card. On second thought, it's ridiculous that people believe a Nigerian official is going to give them $10 million but it happens all the time.
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Aug 11, 2017 11:57
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Proteus Jones posted:I refuse to believe anyone is that loving stupid. See my post above about people getting scammed into paying "fines" to the IRS with iTunes gift cards. 
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Aug 15, 2017 00:44
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CommieGIR posted:Another phone driveby scam today from a Florida number, where a badly done automated voice told me the IRS was suing me. Did they tell you to buy iTunes gift cards and send them to them?
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Aug 24, 2017 00:16
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Got this in my Gmail inbox this morning:quote:Hello and welcome to our team [MightyJoe36] So what, I order stuff off Amazon with stolen credit cards or something? I vaguely remember seeing something like this before
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Nov 17, 2017 16:37
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mostlygray posted:Both my wife and I got got hit with the Primerica thing. At least my scammer was honest. He straight up told me it was a scam and you'd hate your life. But if you bust rear end and don't care about others, you can get rich fast and then get out of the game. That was his actual sales pitch. I've been hit with the MLM pitch several times over the years. It's basically always the same pitch:  Person: I have my own successful business where I'm my own boss and make tons of extra money. We're looking to bring on some new people and you seem like you would be a good candidate. Me: Is it Amway? No, no. It's nothing like that.: Then what is it?: Well, if you come to this meeting on Thursday night, you'll find out all about it.: Its it Amway?: No,no. It's not like that.: Then what is it?: Come to the meeting on Thursday night and you'll get all your questions answered.: I'm not coming unless you tell me what it is.: Okay, it's Amway. But, whatever you've heard about Amway is not true. This is really a chance for you to be your own boss and make tons of extra money and eventually quit your job and run your own successful business. : Good luck with that (walking away).
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Dec 13, 2017 13:09
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BiggerBoat posted:armageddon pancake mix. I'm curious.
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Dec 20, 2017 02:59
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BiggerBoat posted:Jim Bakker. THAT Jim Bakker. The convicted felon. Okay I googled it. JFC. I guess you really can sell literally anything to people. 
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Dec 20, 2017 13:32
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JnnyThndrs posted:Used cars today are more expensive across the board because everything is pricier, plus the average car will run 150-175,000 miles instead of 100,000 miles, so high-mileage vehicles are more valuable than they used to be. But you can still find ugly-looking shitpiles that run OK for a couple grand, Craigslist is full of them. Or just check out the used car lots near a military base, or in any low-income neighborhood.
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Jan 1, 2018 20:21
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BiggerBoat posted:My former friend who got into it and vanished down the Amway rabbit hole tried to sell me and I said "give me a call when you even make $10,000 in one year and I'll look at it." I never heard from him again. Even if he did manage to make $10k in one year is no guarantee that you'll make even close to that much. Years ago I was listening to some radio talk show and the guy was talking about those "self-made millionaire" books and said something that stuck with me: "I don't doubt that the guy who wrote that book became a millionaire. What I doubt is that he can teach you to become a millionaire."
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Jan 15, 2018 14:23
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Professor Shark posted:I have so many people on my Facebook that repost these things. I know some of them know that it's fake, but they just can't risk it. You thought the chain emails your Grandma sent you in the 90s died, but they just got re-packaged.
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Jan 16, 2018 12:53
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Here's a good article to read before you get the next call from a recruiter who sounds like he's calling you from a call center in India:quote:As competition for jobs among India’s youth intensifies, the offer of a lucrative career in a call centre can be difficult to turn down – even if the work turns out to be operating a scam. https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/jan/02/the-scammers-gaming-indias-overcrowded-job-market
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Jan 23, 2018 13:56
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Professor Shark posted:Netflix has a series called "Dirty Money" and the second episode is about Scott Tucker, a guy who created a Payday Loan company that was even scummier and blatantly illegal than most. I remember a year or two ago there was a "Native American" loan company advertising on TV for a short time. Their pitch was basically if you couldn't get a loan anywhere else, you should call them. (The reason I put "Native American" in quotes is that I am unaware of any Reservations here in Ohio). I wonder if it was this guy.
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Jan 28, 2018 20:08
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shame on an IGA posted:Western Sky Financial was a majestic thing, making $500 loans with a capitalized $350 origination fee and 342.9% APR So I guess when I joked to my wife that it was "going into debt with the Native American mob" I wasn't too far off.
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Jan 28, 2018 22:36
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Blue Footed Booby posted:I've literally told these people "sorry, I don't buy truck meat." Haven't seen them in years, though. You've made me all nostalgic. Same here. Haven't seen it since I worked in a gas station 40 years ago.
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Feb 4, 2018 21:35
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Proteus Jones posted:Plus, everyone knows those hidden camera ones on news programs are totally staged for *reasons*.
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Feb 7, 2018 12:52
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Zodijackylite posted:I'm able to understand the appeal of most of these scams - they appeal to some urge to win now, get the better of a situation, or misrepresent what they're selling. I honestly can't figure out what urge could possibly make people buy meat from a van. Can't find it on YouTube right now, but there was a Seinfeld episode where he buys his dad one of those electronic organizers that at the time were really expensive. George tells him to tell his dad that he "got a deal" on it, and hint that it might be "hot." This really impresses the old man. "Look at this! Jerry got me a deal on it. It might even be stolen." The thing that makes people buy Van Meat, Speakers, and other questionable stuff off a truck is the same thing that gets them to fall for stupid stuff like Nigerian scams - they want to think that they're smarter and/or a better negotiator than everybody else or they want to believe that they can get something for nothing. People wonder why, in the year 2018, it's still almost impossible to buy a new car without going through a dealer and going through the whole "what would it take to put you in this car today" and "let me talk to my sales manager" bullshit. They tried the "no-haggle" car sales with Saturn in the 1990s and the company ended up folding. The majority of car buyers want it that way. They want to go into a dealer and pretend that they're a great "horse trader" and then brag to their buddies how they out-negotiated the sales guy and "got a deal." Same thing with Van Meat.
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Feb 9, 2018 13:15
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Collateral Damage posted:I canceled my land line years ago. I would have, but it comes bundled with my cable/internet. My land line number is the one I give out when I don't want people to call me.
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Mar 6, 2018 12:57
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BiggerBoat posted:Further, for the most part, they get to decide who the "biggest acts" are. Which is why you get a new artist with a unique sound and after their first "breakout" hit they end up sounding like every other top 40 artist.
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Mar 15, 2018 12:00
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Guess I hit the jackpot. Got this in my inbox this morning:quote:
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Apr 30, 2018 11:40
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Wrex Ruckus posted:Got a text from a local area code number that says "Sorry, I can't talk right now. Call back later." My guess is a scammer looking to see if it's a good number. I get "ghost" voicemails on my landline daily which I'm sure are robocalls.
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May 3, 2018 15:22
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Got this one this morning. No I didn't leave out my name, it was addressed just like this:quote:Dear ,
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May 18, 2018 16:02
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Asimov posted:- Jehova's witnesses on Saturday knocking with annoying frequency. No thanks I am already familiar with TEH WATCHTOWER My wife, on the other hand, loves to grab her bible and debate these people with scripture until they get fed up and go away.
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May 24, 2018 12:52
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