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Scams. Is anybody that stupid??

Discussion in 'Non-Vegas Chat' started by queuetee, Sep 27, 2016.

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  1. CrazyMNCatLady

    CrazyMNCatLady Tourist

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    I work in a bank, and yes, there are many people who are that stupid/gullible. The younger ones (50 yo or less) usually end up falling for the fake boyfriend. Sadly, the older (senior citizens) fall for the sweepstakes. Actually just got off the phone with someone who has sent upwards of $100k to claim his $300k+car prize and STILL thinks it's coming even though I and Social Services have told him literally hundreds of times that he is being scammed. Sad and frustrating!
     
  2. Richard Alpert

    Richard Alpert LOST

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    I hope I continue to only lose my money the natural way--in Vegas!

    I once lost $150 in a pyramid scheme...No, wait...It was just the slots at Luxor! :cool:

    RICHARD
     
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  3. gotChopin

    gotChopin Low-Roller

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    Oh those Nigerian emails? I thought they were real.
    I answered one long ago saying I was to inherit some prince's 1 million dollars all I had to do was to write them a check for ten grand for a holding deposit to some strange address.
    Which I did.
    The next month I had a deposit of a million dollars which to this day I enjoy using immensely.





    --
    Seriously though, I did once join an insurance group called WMA back when I was in college. I remembered going w the local group in Monterey Park to all these meetings and had all kinds of free food and a trip to san Francisco for their annual national meeting where I stayed in a hotel for free and ate tons of food and I didnt pay a dime.
    Later I learned it was all a pyramid scheme and many people got duped but bc I was a poor college kid w no money these two chinese 'directors' reluctantly took care of me for those three weeks I found out it was a hassle for them but they were trying to recruit my friend and his family for weeks. Lol
     
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  4. bubbakitty

    bubbakitty Doing retirement again and happily so....

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    Want a headphone jack for iPhone 7? Take a drill bit.......
     
  5. donfairplay

    donfairplay VIP Whale

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    Ooma can block 255 or 355 (I forget the exact number) callers, but you have to sign up for premier ($10 a month, but billed annually). There is an option to send all calls to voicemail without having to sign up for premier.

    I don't have ooma anymore, no complaints, but once you're a landline receiving spam calls they won't ever stop. There was an article in the WSJ about the big cell phone providers teaming up to block spam/scammer calls, but I'll believe it when I see it.
     
  6. dmr

    dmr Registered Abuser

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    They have been pulling that in the Omaha area on small businesses, requesting payment with gift cards! Amazing how many fall for it!
     
  7. TrewBrew

    TrewBrew I may be right, I may be Crazy.

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    My wife and I own several Child care centers and had this tried on us. We have a cop as a client and was there when the call came in and they person was busted. It was obvious that the call was a scam but I can also see when a small business person gets the call the panic can set in There is a lot on the line and always the fear that late payments can cost you your business.
    When we were smaller we would always get strange scams coming to the door. One time an asphalt company came to the door "we have extra product and can repave you parking lot" was the come on line. Give me a break
     
  8. daveg000

    daveg000 VIP Whale

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    You can sign your phone numbers up at NOMOROBO and get rid of most of the irritating calls - one ring and they are gone!
     
    15 NIGHTS, 16 DAYS, May 8-23, MGM PK, GOLDN NUGGET, TIMESH, MANDALAY
    15 NIGHTS, 16 DAYS, May 8-23, MGM PK, GOLDN NUGGET, TIMESH, MANDALAY
  9. MikeOPensacola

    MikeOPensacola El Jefe

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    http://www.darwinawards.com/

    Over the years this site has provided me with many a chuckle. Not sure if they are true but it makes for some fun reading.....

    :peace::beer:
     
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  10. C0usineddie

    C0usineddie VIP Whale

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    People are that stupid yes.

    my Mom lives in a senior place and one of her freinds was getting nigerian mail. Sge swore they were real. mom tried and tried to talk sense to her but it didnt work.

    Even took her to the local congressmans office and the congressman himself told her they are fake but the following week, there she was again with another letter swearing this one was different because it looked real.
     
  11. LucyR.

    LucyR. VIP Whale

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    A friend of mine got a call that her dead father owned him money. My friend told him to go talk to Jesus in Heaven and ask if her dad was there. Then she hung up laughing.
     
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  12. LV_Bound

    LV_Bound VIP Whale

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    Had to help an old retired guy in the neighborhood who not only paid $400 for the Tech Support to remove his virus but he also provide them with his credit card info.
    It took a few weeks to rectify but it was resolved after getting the credit card company involved.
     
  13. dmr

    dmr Registered Abuser

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    We had a receptionist fall for the "Toner Cartridge Scam" not that long ago.
     
  14. hammie

    hammie VIP Whale

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    My nephew saw a used car on eBay, it was exactly what he was looking for and a couple of thousand below market. He contacted the seller who suggested they talk over the phone outside of eBay. The seller said the car belonged to her son and he was just shipped to Iraq and that the money would be used to to pay some of her mounting medical bills. This car was about 1800 miles away and the seller wanted the funds sent to a western union office and that my nephew would save money by transacting the deal outside of eBay. Oh, the seller was also going to split the shipping costs as well.

    My nephew then talks to his father, a guy who is not too savvy, and gets his blessing, he goes to a western union office and proceeds to send over $4,400 to the seller. His entire savings from a summer job. The car was to be delivered in about 5 days. It never shows up and my nephew was out of luck.
     
  15. Uranium 235

    Uranium 235 Low-Roller

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    It's sad that we don't all have a bullshit detector. I've never come across something that violates the rule 'if it's too good to be true...'
     
  16. PsyDoc

    PsyDoc High-Roller

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    Well, to me that sounds like plain fraud. That could have happened to most of us (me included). Maybe it wasn't the best idea to transact the deal outside of eBay, but there are many people who have been scammed on eBay too.
     
  17. dmr

    dmr Registered Abuser

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    It really surprises me that someone would be naive enough to send four figures to a stranger via Western Union!

    I also occasionally do Ebay and call it "Ebay Roulette" due to the iffy nature of what you can actually get sometimes. I would NEVER do Ebay for a major purchase like a car!
     
  18. hammie

    hammie VIP Whale

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    It was fraud, the photos of the car and the vin number were lifted from an ad on craigslist. But they say you can't cheat an honest man.

    I bought two cars that I saw on eBay, both sales were transacted outside of eBay. The first was a car that didn't meet its "reserve" price, so I drove about two hours to meet with the seller, test drove the car, bought it on the spot. That was 7 years ago and I'm still driving it. The second time the seller ended the auction early for me and I bought it outright. This seller is still in business and has a 99.5% positive rating, is about an hour from me, and has a physical car lot. Both cars were under $4k. I also helped two family members buy cars that I found on eBay.

    As for sending money to unknowns, I listed an industrial optical device on eBay and sold it to a buyer in France. My terms were to wire the funds upfront, in a couple of days, he wired $5k to my bank. So a year later, I listed a $20k piece of equipment on eBay, and the same guy in France saw the listing and bought it with the same terms.
     
  19. Valgal

    Valgal VIP Whale

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    My husband recently heard a news story about a woman in Lynchburg who was convinced her college age daughter was kidnapped and that she would be killed if she didn't do exactly what they said. She drove around for 12+ hours taking money out of her accounts and wire transferring money. She lost about $10,000. Her daughter was never kidnapped. She was too afraid of calling the police during her ordeal because she could hear a young girl crying in the background. She truly believed they were going to kill her.
     
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