Unraveling the intricate web of deception, this article delves into seven cunning scams that have ensnared unsuspecting victims. These tales of trickery span the globe and have left customers blushing. Brace yourself for a rollercoaster ride through the world of scams, where clever tactics and unsuspecting targets collide with surprising outcomes.
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#1 The Parking Lot Scam:
“Outside the Bristol Zoo, in England, there was a parking lot for 150 cars and 8 coaches, or buses. It was manned by a very pleasant attendant carrying a ticket machine charging cars £1 ($1.40) and coaches £5 (about $7). This parking attendant worked there for 25 years. Then, one day, he stopped turning up for work. The Bristol Zoo Management was initially concerned and contacted the City Council, but the Council stated that the parking lot was the zoo’s responsibility.” It was never supposed to be paid parking!
#2 The Sex Toy Scam:
“Rumor has it that in the early days of internet shopping in Denmark, a company claiming to sell sex toys directed customers to their homepage via banner ads. After making a purchase, customers would later receive a posted letter saying that they were sadly out of stock along with a check with your prepaid amount. The clever part was that the cheque had the very explicit company name written all over it, making it very clear where it came from. The company was basically banking on customers being too embarrassed to cash the check, allowing them to keep the money without shipping the product.”
#3 The Gem Scam:
“The ‘gem’ scam is notorious in Thailand. Tourists are often approached by seemingly friendly locals, who may even pose as tourists themselves, gaining their trust. They then lead tourists to a gem store where they are pressured into buying overpriced gems. The scam leverages the tourist’s trust and unfamiliarity with local prices.”
#4 The Cashless Payment Scam:
“In many cities in China, people can pay for their purchases via cashless methods such as WeChat pay. One particular shop found that their sales revenue constantly mismatched their sales, for a few months, then it went back to normal. They searched for the source of the discrepancy high and low, and discovered that some customers would pretend to pay by showing the cashier [a fake] QR code on the counter, and then they would leave without completing the payment.”
#5 The Bicycle Lock Scam:
“A guy buys a new, nice bicycle and uses five locks to secure it. One day, he leaves his bicycle outside, locks it with the five locks, but then he notices that there’s one more little lock. It looks strange, certainly not his lock. The thieves had placed a fake lock on his bicycle to make him believe his bike was safe, while they took the real locks.”
#6 The “Beware of Pickpocket” Sign Scam:
“A pickpocket put up ‘beware of pickpocket’ signs to divert attention. When people read the signs and checked their wallets, the pickpocket [saw where they stored their cash, and] took advantage of the distraction to steal from them.”
#7 The Sports Game Scam:
“A scam involved predicting sports game outcomes via email lists. The scammer divided the list, predicted opposite outcomes to different halves, and kept the recipients who received the correct prediction. After multiple rounds, they had a list of ‘winners’ to target with more predictions.” This time, nobody was paid.
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