Funniest Scams You Wouldn't Believe Exist
March 4th, 2021 by admin
Ring-ring. Hello? It's a scammer calling. Click. Does that scenario seem familiar? We knew you'd say yes. Fraud, scams, and hoaxes are serious problems in our digital age. In fact, more than 3.2 million reports of fraud were reported to the FTC in 2019. And, apparently, imposter scams were the top hitter.
Individuals reported losing a total of $667 million to fake relatives, fake government officials, or fake romantic interests (ouch on that last one).
Somehow, scammers are getting more and more creative. The moment we think we've seen it all, they come up with something new to make us stop, do a double-take, and question our ability to tell fact from fiction.
Hilarious Scams and Stories
To add insult to injury, most of the scams out there are really…stupid. Those of us who can snoop out pranks can easily laugh it off, but if you happen to fall for it, you'll think it was hilarious-eventually. Speaking of laughter, these are the funniest scams we've found so far, and you won't believe they exist. Get ready to giggle.
Cookie Hoax
Who knew that Neiman Marcus was the cookie genius? One woman supposedly got tricked into purchasing a "secret" cookie recipe from Neiman Marcus for the whopping amount of $250. Of course, she got scammed by a cookie-loving imposter who definitely did not work for NM. To get her revenge, she sent the recipe out in an email blast. There never was a secret recipe in the first place. You can imagine how silly this scenario is.
Cobra Venom
Nutra Pharma, a biopharmaceutical company published false press releases about a fancy and next-generation pain reliever, which was sourced from the venom of cobras. Sadly, it turns out that the Florida pharmacy actually never had a cobra farm, never had cobras, and indeed had never produced cobra venom.
Turning Water into…Gasoline?
I know you expected the story of Jesus when he miraculously turned water into wine. But Wang Hongcheng somehow convinced the military that he had the same miraculous power, but this time, with gasoline. The eager investors quickly dumped almost 37 million dollars into the "scientist's" incredible discovery, only to learn the man never was able to convert water into gasoline. (Not only did he fool the government, but there is still a group today that is positive he was only imprisoned because he refused to give up the secret formula).
Frat House Ponzi Scheme
Ah, a college scam. Between 2018 and 2019, a clever frat member of the Phi Kappa Tau house at the University of Georgia set up a hefty Ponzi scheme. He convinced at least eight "investors" to pour money into a hedge fund that didn't exist and would never exist. Somewhere around $200k was instead spent on Las Vegas gambling binges, bar tabs, and all the fun things frat boys love to do.
Bring on the Spam (Or Not)
So, what scams are raining havoc upon us now? What will be the biggest and funniest (but annoying nonetheless) hoax of 2021? This isn't a call for a competition, so don't get excited. However, feel free to place your bets on what well-thought-out narrative or joke we will be falling for in the future.