Tell me about common cons/scams: "Thanks, you suck. Hello, this is Linda."

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Tell me about common cons/scams: "Thanks, you suck. Hello, this is Linda."

ExcessBLarg!: Sep 1, 2001

Last week I was going through airport security when a middle-aged woman stopped the guy behind me in the X-ray line with some story that her daughter was going off to college for the first time and she forgot her carry-on and she's just on the other side of security and, could you take this suitcase through and give it to her? Honestly I didn't stick around long enough to find out what happened.

I don't know if it was a scam or not. Probably not, it's a strange enough circumstance that it's a plausible story, although frankly I'm not sure how she got past the TSA boarding-pass check to begin hassling people in the X-ray line. Either way, if she had asked me I would've turned her down--I'm not taking responsibility for whatever crap is in that bag. I know that for international travel they actively warn you about not accepting luggage from others, but this was a relatively-small domestic terminal.

# ¿ Aug 27, 2016 06:26

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# ¿ Mar 21, 2025 01:58

ExcessBLarg!: Sep 1, 2001

Lutha Mahtin posted:

do airlines not ask you several times about this exact circumstance when you check in anymore?

Maybe. I usually fly Southwest where you do the 24-hour online check-in to get a good seat. There's a page of things they say you can't bring in a carry-on, which probably includes other people's luggage but it's been years since I've actually read it.

Thanatosian posted:

Am I the only one who would report her to security?

Honestly I'd rather not draw any more attention to myself by merely reporting someone else. If she were an imminent threat or there was obvious evidence that a crime was taking place, sure, that wasn't really the case.

# ¿ Aug 28, 2016 21:56

ExcessBLarg!: Sep 1, 2001

I can't remember if I mentioned this before, but one of the local roofing companies replaced virtually every roof in our neighborhood (except ours) during the spring/summer of 2020. I assume they were looking for work during the early days of the pandemic before the stimulus money started rolling in.

They knocked on our door and offered a free inspection, which I declined. Reading reviews of them online, they appear to always find some evidence of storm damage and then work with the homeowner to file an insurance claim for a full roof replacement. They don't appear to cover the deductible so it's not totally illegal, but I'm still surprised that every one of our neighbors agreed to participate in insurance fraud.

Thing is, our neighborhood isn't that old--the oldest roofs were 15 years at the time. We bought a few years before and the home inspection listed our roof in great condition, and we've had no major storms since that would otherwise destroy a neighborhood of roofs. I'm also surprised that localized damage (the kind you might not see from the ground) can't be patched and require full replacement.

# ¿ Apr 20, 2022 03:04

ExcessBLarg!: Sep 1, 2001

Le Faye Morgaine posted:

Target at least often lists their online products at a much lower price versus the in store versions. Not only can you just have them send it to the store without paying shipping, but also they will straight up do a price match right at the register. I didn't know that until today, but I don't know how many other people even think to do it, or how many other stores do this as well.

The explanation I've heard is that "Target.com" is a separate entity than "Target" (brick and mortar) and so sets prices differently. Even if that's true, there's obviously some common ownership given the use of the "Target" trademark and that the retail stores facilitate the Pick Up At Store option, and so it's certainly intended for customers to think of them as the same brand.

Eric the Mauve posted:

It's mainly an effort at staving off their inevitably being driven out of business by Amazon

And yes, it's this.

I don't think it's that scammy for a few reasons though:

The in-store price is clearly labeled in store. Nobody is being duped.
Target, Best Buy, and Petco will all do price matching at the register if you ask. Never tried at Walmart.
Sometimes Walmart's in-store prices are actually cheaper than online. In fact, BrickSeek is basically the only reason I'd ever go into a WalMart.
Target, specifically, has a 30 day price match policy. So if you buy something, realize it's cheaper on target.com or anywhere else, just take the receipt back to the store and they'll do a price adjustment for you.

Edit: If it's scammy because you have to do some nominal legwork, you could make the same argument regarding other methods of price differentiation including coupons. Some people clip coupons from the weekly circular, others look up prices online. Some do neither because they couldn't be bothered.

ExcessBLarg! fucked around with this message at 20:43 on Aug 31, 2022

# ¿ Aug 31, 2022 20:40

ExcessBLarg!: Sep 1, 2001

Fruits of the sea posted:

I mentioned a similiar grift earlier in the thread where they place bowls of nuts/olives or salad on the tables at restaurants. Touch it and you get an extra 50 euro (or thereabouts) surcharge for the item.

I don't know about this one, have you actually had this happen (for �50) or have just "heard" of it?

My impression is that it's a normal thing, if perhaps a cultural misunderstanding. Maybe there's a scammey version of it but I don't know how common that is.

When we went to Portugal some years ago we were repeatedly warned about the couvert which is a bowl of olives and nuts or whatever like you describe that they bring to your table automatically and for which they charge you.

I assumed it was a cultural thing. Olives and nuts are tasty and yeah I'm hungry and wouldn't mind having a few while waiting. Also they usually cost like �2. I suppose they aren't supposed to charge you if you don't eat it, but I assume locals typically do eat it and that passing on it is actually rare and not some kind of "gotcha" move.

I assume it's an American thing to either (i) not eat olives in a Mediterranean country, or (ii) expect heapings of free bread and get pissy when there's a nominal charge for food you eat. Similarly I could see the (ii) category of people ask to keep the olives and bread coming, not realizing they have to pay for food.

ExcessBLarg! fucked around with this message at 21:49 on Aug 31, 2022

# ¿ Aug 31, 2022 21:07

ExcessBLarg!: Sep 1, 2001

wizard2 posted:

I get a text from an email addres at least once a week. I found an Apple Tech Support Q&A page that went something like:

Both the email and phone number are just aliases for the same Apple ID though. If there's an iMessage spam problem that's on Apple to sanely restrict throw-away Apple IDs.

# ¿ Feb 26, 2024 17:44

ExcessBLarg!: Sep 1, 2001

Apparently Google enabled RCS messaging on my phone automatically (previously it would ask and I would deny) and the first RCS message I get is international USPS phishing spam.

Going to turn this right off.

# ¿ Jul 6, 2024 13:53

ExcessBLarg!: Sep 1, 2001

cruft posted:

Can you help us understand what RCS mechanism is used that causes you to get junk texts, when no RCS would prevent them?

Not sure. The spam was from +66, and I assume that international texting either has some cost such that it's prohibitive to do at scale, or T-Mobile is just good about filtering that crap out, things for which RCS isn't a problem.

# ¿ Jul 6, 2024 19:02

ExcessBLarg!: Sep 1, 2001

Elissimpark posted:

Similarly, I used to work in 'asset management' for a large bank. A branch lost the original paperwork for some guys mortgage. When the dude found out, he just stopped paying. And there was nothing to be done, because while there were accounts and electronic records of transactions, without the signed paperwork, the loan could not be proven to exist and there was no legal recourse for the bank without this proof.

Wouldn't the county have record that the property was purchased with a mortgage secured by the property itself? Or does it not work like that?

Like if you finance a car there's definitely a lien on the title.

# ¿ Aug 7, 2024 18:27

ExcessBLarg!: Sep 1, 2001

I'd just note that in the six months since my phone enabled RCS messaging (I had previously opted out, but Google forced the issue around the time Apple enabled it on iPhones) I've been getting a good deal more "SMS" spam including scam stuff.

Like I've been pretty good just ignoring phone calls, SMS, etc., that don't come from known contacts. But the RCS stuff has been leaking through just enough that I have a moment of surprise when it happens.

# ¿ Jan 8, 2025 18:36

ExcessBLarg!: Sep 1, 2001

And today I learned about Douglass Commonwealth.

# ¿ Jan 8, 2025 19:09

ExcessBLarg!: Sep 1, 2001

Organza Quiz posted:

I went to double-check that my instinct was correct and wikipedia has the stat as only 10% of people in India speak English as a first, second or third language. Hindi is much closer to a de facto national language but even then is only spoken by just over half the population.

The difference is that Hindi has geographical prominence (the northern half of India) while English proficiency is a function of class stratification. The Indian educated/business class communicate in English when their home languages differ (particularly for those from the south), which does make English a lingua franca.

There was a push by the federal government to make Hindi a national language shortly after independence, but that didn't fly well with folks who viewed that as creeping influence by northern states. English works better in that regard because it was always foreign, and puts states on equal footing. Plus there's the whole rise in English use internationally that benefited post-independence India economically.

cruft posted:

But I guess it's possible for a government to publish documentation in a language that most of its citizens can't read. The catholic church stuck with Latin way after the fall of the Roman Empire.

I genuinely don't know how much an average Indian citizen needs to communicate with their federal government vs. their state government, but it may be the case this isn't really an issue.

# ¿ Mar 13, 2025 18:50

ExcessBLarg!: Sep 1, 2001

cruft posted:

I guess I'm one of those people who feels like the government should strive to make its work and legal documents accessible to average citizens

From what I understand, the federal government of India is responsible for its defense and external affairs, while the state governments are largely responsible for their citizens. Given that the states of India are largely drawn on ethnic/linguistic lines (or, possibly, that past internal conflicts resulted in population migrations that reinforce said lines), it makes sense for the federal government to publish documents in Hindi and English, and for state governments to them make relevant documents available in their own official language.

It isn't really comparable to the relationship of federal vs. state governments within the US, especially since the division of states in the US has very little to do with ethnicity.

# ¿ Mar 13, 2025 20:32

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# ¿ Mar 21, 2025 01:58

ExcessBLarg!: Sep 1, 2001

Solar is great for fossil fuel conservation and all, I'm just suspicious the panels will last 15 years with our weather.

# ¿ Mar 16, 2025 17:26

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Tell me about common cons/scams: "Thanks, you suck. Hello, this is Linda."