Rip-Offs ~ Scams ~ Cons

[Luxman]

Post links or personal stories about getting ripped-off, scammed or conned.

https://board.freeones.com/search.php?searchid=34986176

Biggest Rip Offs That You've Probably Been Tricked Into Buying

 

[Pornfan99]

Interesting. This video might "push" me to finally check out Harry's / Dollar Shave Club. I do like the Gillette Sensor's "springs," to minimize razor cuts. If the other makes offer that feature, I'll try them out.

 

[FreeOnes_Adam]

Water. What you want is reverse osmosis filtered water. If you're buying Arrowhead of Crystal Geyser, or other "spring" water, you're buying tap water. If you're lucky, they ran it through a charcoal filter at best.

 

[Luxman]

Payday Loan Predatory Lending: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)

 

[Bluejaye]

Water. What you want is reverse osmosis filtered water. If you're buying Arrowhead of Crystal Geyser, or other "spring" water, you're buying tap water. If you're lucky, they ran it through a charcoal filter at best.

Not only that, in the UK at least, tap water is subject to more stringent safety tests than bottled water.

 

[Rey C.]

I'm guessing that bottled water is the most common rip-off. I know for a fact that the water that's bottled at the local Pepsi plant comes from the county water supply.

Another one that could have been on the list is whole (or most any kind of cash value) life insurance. I fell for that when I was in my 20s. But I cancelled the Northwestern Mutual whole life policy once I started calculating what I was paying and what the returns were. Buy (level) term life insurance and invest your money in mutual funds. Whole policies are expensive on the insurance side and the investment returns are sub-par.

I can't really call it a rip-off, a scam or a con, but people who have too much taken out of their paychecks so that they can look forward to a big tax refund the next year are being foolish. All you're doing is giving the government an interest free loan. It's YOUR money! Calculate your withholding so that you'll either get a very small refund or pay a very small amount - most people can do that (if they'll take the time).

I totally agree with #1 on the list: lottery tickets. And yet, 59% of millennials (defined as being between the ages of 22 and 37) considered earnings from winning the lottery as a viable retirement strategy.
Warren Buffett calls lotteries a tax on the poor and the ignorant... and he's right.

 

[Luxman]

It's been a few years since I last gambled or bought a lottery ticket.
I've been to casinos less than ten times, and I always went with max $100 in my pocket, in case I drink too much...two beers and I start to feel drunk.
I only won a few times, but always less than $50.

Casino Stats: Why Gamblers Rarely Win
https://www.investopedia.com/financial-edge/0910/casino-stats-why-gamblers-rarely-win.aspx

 

[D-rock]

I really wish there was a reasonable option for razor blades. I'm either forced to go with one of two corporations in a duopoly that basically indirectly collude with each other and sell a ridiculous amount above the cost of production, or go with a couple of places that make you get a continuous subscription and aren't quite as good, or get really crappy cheap razors.

 

[Monder]

The dental industry is a total joke.
Examination fee-usually $50 to $60.
The examination fee consists of the dentist taking a few seconds to look at my x-rays and about 10 seconds looking into my mouth.He then takes about a minute to explain any work I need to have done.Total time is never more than 3 minutes at best and they charge at least $50 for that?
What a joke!
I feel bad for people that don’t have insurance.

 

[Luxman]

Multilevel Marketing: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6MwGeOm8iI

 

[Luxman]

"60 Minutes" Presents: 21st Century Cons

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTu9kgsZoV0



Debt Buyers: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxUAntt1z2c

 

[tvstrip]

How about the whole "overbooking" strategy of hotels & airlines? I've worked in the industry so I can tell you that none of them stop selling at 100% capacity. At minimum they'll continue to sell to 110%.
Why? They bank on at least 10% are no shows, even though they totally will charge them for it. There are enough no shows that even if they pay penalties for the overbooks that do show up, including compensation, they still come out on top.

One hotel I worked for owned several properties in the cites, so if the other properties had vacancies, there literally was no limit to the number of rooms we oversold, because if the "overflow" showed up, we'd just send them to one of the other properties, saying we found them a "better room" for a "better price". I could taste the BS in my mouth every time I said that.

 

[Luxman]

Televangelists: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)

 

[Rey C.]

Meet Kitboga, the YouTuber Exposing the World's Scariest Tech Support Scams

This guy is a master at taking down scammers and nearly driving them mad. His Youtube clips are hilarious... and informative.

 

[Monder]

I’m sure most of you have heard of the whole Subway sandwiches not being a foot long as advertised stories.
http://money.com/money/4079569/subway-footlong-lawsuit-12-inches/

 

[Luxman]

The auto industry is very corrupt.

5 Scams Your Car Mechanic Doesn’t Want You to Know

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=660dJbO076k

 

[Luxman]

Forged fingerprints land men in jail | 60 Minutes Australia

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6rp6ruC7ss

 

[Rey C.]

HOUSTON -- A woman says her 82-year-old grandmother, who lost all of her money to a con artist, was so devastated by the scam, she committed suicide.

Stancik said her grandmother fell prey to a sweepstakes scam. She was told she won money but needed to pay fees and taxes.

Jones ultimately sent all of her money to scammers and later had to borrow money from family members, took out all of her life insurance and then tragically committed suicide.

She died with $69 in her bank account.

 

[Luxman]

Spray foam insulation nightmare: What can happen if it's not installed correctly

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Hh5MYv7lWc

 

[Supafly]

I worked as a painter and laquerer for years, and, as I had my apprenticeship in the early 80ies, I witnessed a LOT of use of materials that, looking back, shouldn't have been used in quarters for everyday use for living. I was glad to see water-based laquers rise and shine.

Regarding insulation - I don't understand, why the peoplke don't use already ready styrofoam-sheets, or organic insulation materials. It is logical to me, that cheap spray insulation can't be healthy.