Anyone here ever been scammed?

[trailrated]

I think part of the beauty of index investing is the lower risk involved...including getting scammed. After watching a marathon of American Greed last night, I am interested, has anyone on the forum been scammed before on investments?

[Koogie]

In business, yes.    In investments, no.    At least, not yet.

Unless you count unreasonably high MERs... ha

[Spork]

I haven't personally... but it happened to my dad quite a bit many years ago.  He was pretty well off and a seriously honest man.... and sort of had a view that the rest of the world was just like him.  He had an investment advisor that got him (and a number of his friends) hooked into several very questionable investment schemes.  None of them made money and quite a few of them had very bad tax implications that came back to haunt him years later.

[ketchup]

Closest would be answering a phone call about a "contest" I had "won" for a "free" cruise.  I just had to attend some "meeting"/"presentation".  No thanks.

[frugalnacho]

Closest would be answering a phone call about a "contest" I had "won" for a "free" cruise.  I just had to attend some "meeting"/"presentation".  No thanks.

I've had plenty of those.  My wife was convinced we won a free vacation and all we had to do was show up for some seminar (ie sales pitch) about kitchen knives or something and we would get a full 3 day all expenses paid vacation to some fancy resort.  It took about a half hour of convincing her that it was a scam.  I still don't know the details of the scam because we never went, but I am positive it doesn't make financial sense to send someone on an all expenses paid vacation for simply listening to a sales pitch.   I mean where does all the money to put us up and feed us come from, even if we did buy tons of their shitty utensils?  It just didn't add up. 

[johnintaiwan]

someone tried to over pay for a car I was selling with a money order and have his "associate" pick up the car and have me pay the difference to him. I didnt let him.

[Roland of Gilead]

Never fallen for a scam as long as I end up collecting *something* from SS.

[deborah]

At least once a week someone would ring up saying they were from Microsoft technical support and my computer was misbehaving. This has gone on for several years (although there were some quieter times in there).

I tried yelling at them. I tried calling them thieves and criminals. I tried getting someone interested in them (like the authorities). Don't tell me what I should try, I probably did.

A few weeks ago, they woke me up, and I thought - what if I pretend to go along with them? So I did. I have worked in computer security, so I figured that if I was asked to do anything stupid, I would probably be able to circumvent it.

I was a really stupid computer user...

Them:What do you see on your screen
Me: I see what I usually see.
Them: Tell me exactly what you see on your screen
Me: I see 1, 2, 3 ........ 23, 24 icons on the left hand side, and I see 1, 2 .... icons on the bottom of the screen
Them: I didn't ask you to count the icons
Me: But you asked me to tell you exactly what was on the screen, and by the way, I would prefer it if you didn't yell at me

After passing me between 3 of them, and spending about an hour on the phone, they hung up on me. And we haven't had a phone call since (the longest time they have left us alone for years)

When they finally got me to open up the internet, I didn't do what they said, but I think most people on this forum wouldn't have much of a problem. And I feel very virtuous - I stopped them from harassing several other people, and possibly really scamming someone - so I did my civic duty.

Can you see my halo?

[libertarian4321]

I think part of the beauty of index investing is the lower risk involved...including getting scammed. After watching a marathon of American Greed last night, I am interested, has anyone on the forum been scammed before on investments?

Yes, I bought Universal (Whole) Life Insurance when I was young and foolish.  I eventually got most of my money back.

[The Money Monk]

Never fallen for a scam as long as I end up collecting *something* from SS.

HAHA word, right there with you.

I though if I never get any I wouldn't consider myself 'scammed', just robbed, since I am being forced to be involved and wouldn't be otherwise.

[phred]

I don't believe so.  However, if a scammer is beyond world class, then I may never realize the scam and be taken.

[mikefixac]

Anyone ever hear of the "gifting" scam? It worked something like this: to join you gift a certain amount of money. Then later, you might be chosen to get much more money. During the meeting, God is invoked, along with in order to get, one must give.

A few of my friends donated $2000. And I went to one of the meetings (near Seattle WA). While the guy was speaking, (around 200-300 people in attendance), I wanted to stand up and ask the audience why they were allowing themselves to be fleeced. I didn't have the balls to do it, I wish I did. I was very angry that so many could fall for such a scam.

[Thegoblinchief]

I would consider signing up for a "free" home security system and paying way above market rates a scam. Such a shitty deal, and didn't keep our house from being robbed.

That's the only instance I can think of.

[Zamboni]

Once upon a time I was scammed by Edward Jones with their plethora or ridiculous loads and fees.

And once I bought a couple hundred dollar service package from a business that went out of business the very next month (which was definitely a scam since I'm sure they knew they were about to close up shop when they hooked a bunch of people by pushy marketing of their "special offer" on a service bundle.)

^^I've heard of those "gifting" scams.  Crazy that people will put money into that.

[blackomen]

Closest would be answering a phone call about a "contest" I had "won" for a "free" cruise.  I just had to attend some "meeting"/"presentation".  No thanks.

About 10 years ago while in college, I received a phone call saying I had won something and I needed to buy a magazine subscription for like $200 a year to claim that award (it was like $500 or something.)  I said no and they started insulting me.  I then just hung up spontaneously.

[fixer-upper]

I got married, once.

[shira]

You get an email saying You have won 50 grand just out of luck and you should give us your bank details. Don't ever reply to those mails.

[shira]

I got married, once.

Good one. :P

[NeverWasACornflakeGirl]

At least once a week someone would ring up saying they were from Microsoft technical support and my computer was misbehaving. This has gone on for several years (although there were some quieter times in there).

I tried yelling at them. I tried calling them thieves and criminals. I tried getting someone interested in them (like the authorities). Don't tell me what I should try, I probably did.

A few weeks ago, they woke me up, and I thought - what if I pretend to go along with them? So I did. I have worked in computer security, so I figured that if I was asked to do anything stupid, I would probably be able to circumvent it.

I was a really stupid computer user...

Them:What do you see on your screen
Me: I see what I usually see.
Them: Tell me exactly what you see on your screen
Me: I see 1, 2, 3 ........ 23, 24 icons on the left hand side, and I see 1, 2 .... icons on the bottom of the screen
Them: I didn't ask you to count the icons
Me: But you asked me to tell you exactly what was on the screen, and by the way, I would prefer it if you didn't yell at me

After passing me between 3 of them, and spending about an hour on the phone, they hung up on me. And we haven't had a phone call since (the longest time they have left us alone for years)

When they finally got me to open up the internet, I didn't do what they said, but I think most people on this forum wouldn't have much of a problem. And I feel very virtuous - I stopped them from harassing several other people, and possibly really scamming someone - so I did my civic duty.

Can you see my halo?

I do the same thing when they call my house.  My nine-year-old daughter finds it very entertaining.  I like to switch personalities while I'm talking to them.  First I'm asking them, "What's my IP Address?  What's my MAC address?"  Then I pretend to be a batty lady and I tell them that all this internet porn keeps coming up on my computer and I don't know how to get rid of it.  Then I tell them to hold on while I go find my computer.  They'll stay on the phone for a little while, meanwhile I'm off doing something else.  Then they'll hang up and call me back, and I'll tell them I forgot I didn't have a computer in the first place.  The best part is when they tell me, "You don't know what you're talking about," and I work in IT.  On second thought, that's probably a pretty good indication that I really don't know what I'm talking about....

[William]

Scammed while investing... nope.  I can't imagine that's too prevalent since the use of the internet.  Harder for shady people to get away with stuff thanks to Google.

[Paul der Krake]

I once lent a cigarette to a friend. Never got it back, it went up in smokes.

[trailrated]

I once lent a cigarette to a friend. Never got it back, it went up in smokes.

Now it seems he is just the butt of a joke

[CarDude]

I once lent a cigarette to a friend. Never got it back, it went up in smokes.

Now it seems he is just the butt of a joke

Feel like I got burned reading this.

[johnintaiwan]

i dont believe this story. He's just blowing smoke up our asses.

[TreeTired]

This happened to me a long time ago.   A gentleman approached me with a problem,  and I now can't even remember what his problem was... car trouble?  can't find his daughter?   I remember trying to help this guy for more than an hour, and finally gave him $20 (he didn't ask for money) and left.  Only later did it even occur to me that all he wanted was the $20 and I got pretty angry about all the TIME I wasted, not the $20.   Problem is, the only way to 100% avoid this type of scam is to never ever help anyone who is in need.


Of course everyone gets this kind of crap several times a day:  (from today's email)

I would like to inquire about your interest and capability to take custody of a
fund deposit as beneficiary for our mutual benefits and investment.
   
The fund is privately owned and running into millions of dollars.
   
Your prompt response to this message is important for further details.
   
Regards,

Dr. Ahmad Rafick Chathardo.
Please send your response to my confidential Email: skyteam70000@gmail.com     

[JoyBlogette]

Closest would be answering a phone call about a "contest" I had "won" for a "free" cruise.  I just had to attend some "meeting"/"presentation".  No thanks.

I've had plenty of those.  My wife was convinced we won a free vacation and all we had to do was show up for some seminar (ie sales pitch) about kitchen knives or something and we would get a full 3 day all expenses paid vacation to some fancy resort.  It took about a half hour of convincing her that it was a scam.  I still don't know the details of the scam because we never went, but I am positive it doesn't make financial sense to send someone on an all expenses paid vacation for simply listening to a sales pitch.   I mean where does all the money to put us up and feed us come from, even if we did buy tons of their shitty utensils?  It just didn't add up.

Usually they are trying to sell you a timeshare on those "free" vacation things.

[dude]

Oh man, as with so many of our young military servicemembers, I was the target of scam after scam after scam when I served.  Military towns are FULL of people -- "legitimate" businesses, most of them -- offering the young and naive all manner of overpriced goods and services.  I fell for the "no money down" motorcycle purchase.  It was months after the purchase that I realized I was paying a usurious interest rate and would end up paying 3x the bike's sticker price.  "Fortunately" for me, I crashed that bike and totalled it -- my injuries were not life-threatening and only left a few scars and no permanent disabilities.  Ah, and then there were the check cashing trucks.  Too stupid and undisciplined to actually open a checking account, I would cash my check, with hundreds of other fellow servicemembers, at one of these trucks which would pull up outside the gates of the base every payday, staffed of course with beautiful, sexy young ladies who would show their cleavage and smile at you while they took 3% off the top for the transaction.  Good lord, was I stupid then.  There were many, many others.  One I can recall is a photography package -- this being in the days before digital -- that involved paying some monthly fee for photo development and printing.  A total waste of money, but many guys I knew fell for it (I didn't bite on this one)  -- and again, always a hot young lady salesperson flaunting her charms in order to seal the deal.

This kind of thing still goes on every day outside of every military base in America, I can assure you.  "Spend like a sailor" is an time-honored saying for a good reason.

[alm0stk00l]

I bought the Carlton Sheets real estate learning package a long time ago. :(

[paddedhat]

Decades ago, my new bride was really pissed that we would not take a large pile of cash and get involved in a "giving" scam.  I told her it was fraud from the beginning, and rode out enormous pressure from her, and many of our friends for missing such an opportunity. In a few months the whole deal made front page news in the region's big newspaper, and some of my friends got to take a field trip to meet with FBI agents, and negotiate their fate, while returning every dime of their "gifts" even if they didn't have it anymore.

A few years back the same shit flares up again. This time the wife is the one telling folks to not be stupid, but it got ugly. She actually had her hairdresser and a few neighbors who wouldn't talk to her, since she made it clear that they were involved in committing a crime. About a year into this stupidity, there are local ring leaders buying new homes and new Tahoes, and "surprise" the FBI shows up. Lots of friends and neighbors get their fifteen minutes of infamy, and got their names in the paper as convicted scammers. Idiots are tapping their home equity to pay eight or even sixteen thousand to other idiots, in order to avoid jail time. I'm sure it will be nice and quiet for another decade or so, and we will go through the same shit a third time.

Greed and stupidity are a dangerous combination. I still find the whole thing fascinating and unbelievable.

[shotgunwilly]

This happened to me a long time ago.   A gentleman approached me with a problem,  and I now can't even remember what his problem was... car trouble?  can't find his daughter?   I remember trying to help this guy for more than an hour, and finally gave him $20 (he didn't ask for money) and left.  Only later did it even occur to me that all he wanted was the $20 and I got pretty angry about all the TIME I wasted, not the $20.   Problem is, the only way to 100% avoid this type of scam is to never ever help anyone who is in need.

I once walked out of a Lowe's and as I'm loading my truck I hear a pleading "Sir!"  I turn around to see a woman in her car with a baby in the back seat.  In a desperate, sad, frantic voice - "Sir, i'm sorry to bother you but I don't know what to do.  I have to make it to my mothers house because..."  As she briefly describes her problem why she's broke and needs to get the child to her mothers house. (I don't recall her plead exactly.) "Is there any way you can give me like $10 or $20, so I can get the gas?"  I am 26, but had already grown to trust almost no one in this world because of society, so I politely tried to say "I'm sorry, but I can't help you," But this one got to me... So I walked over to her car, said "follow me to that gas station right there, and I will get you the gas that you need" as I pointed to the gas station that was 100 yards from us.  She nods, I return to my truck, begin to drive over to the station, and she pulls out of the parking lot and speeds away down the service road.  Probably cursing me about how much of a "prick" i was.

It FLOORED me about how she could use a child as a tool/means of deceit.  I was furious.

It's a shame that the world is like this, but unfortunately the bad people in it have made me not trust anyone.  Someone can ask me for a handout on the street, and today I literally tell them "Sorry, but the bad apples have ruined it for you."

[eil]

I once walked out of a Lowe's and as I'm loading my truck I hear a pleading "Sir!"  I turn around to see a woman in her car with a baby in the back seat.  In a desperate, sad, frantic voice - "Sir, i'm sorry to bother you but I don't know what to do.  I have to make it to my mothers house because..."  As she briefly describes her problem why she's broke and needs to get the child to her mothers house. (I don't recall her plead exactly.) "Is there any way you can give me like $10 or $20, so I can get the gas?"  I am 26, but had already grown to trust almost no one in this world because of society, so I politely tried to say "I'm sorry, but I can't help you," But this one got to me... So I walked over to her car, said "follow me to that gas station right there, and I will get you the gas that you need" as I pointed to the gas station that was 100 yards from us.  She nods, I return to my truck, begin to drive over to the station, and she pulls out of the parking lot and speeds away down the service road.  Probably cursing me about how much of a "prick" i was.

I was about to post a very similar story. A woman drove up to me in a grocery story parking lot as I was getting out of my car. There was a long story about how her husband had kicked her out of her own house and she just lost her job and she was on her way to go stay with her mother who was 90 miles away, etc, etc. Except in my case, she was actually asking for gas instead of money. I was in a hurry and said that I was sorry that I couldn't help.

I actually felt pretty bad about it afterward... like I had missed an opportunity to help someone who seemed to be in genuine need. That is, until I saw her patrolling a different grocery store parking lot a week later.

[matchewed]

Investment scams, no. Financial scam once. I was broke and having problems with bills. I looked everywhere except to the people I owed money to for a solution. So I signed up for a service that would help with debt only for the low low price of $50 and my banking information (desperate and stupid don't mix). When I got their packet in the mail and it was just printed out on multi-colored paper with things like

COUPON FOR GROCERIES

VALUE $200

I knew I'd been had. I got pissed and called them up. I told them if they touched my bank account I wouldn't stop until I had the "company" all over the local news and everyone I could tell about that the company was just one big scam. There may have been stronger language. But mostly I was pissed at myself.

Other than that the usual offers that I refuse.

Want to buy brand new speakers out of the trunk of my car?

If you buy this stuff to sell and you get other people to buy it too to sell you'll make soooooooo much passive income.

We have you listed as an accredited investor (I'm not) and are interested in seeing if you'd like to invest in a movie about Noah's flood. We can't go into detail but there are several big names attached to this project.

Mostly a polite no in response. Except for the pyramid scheme guy who I eventually had to tell "Fuck off" because he wouldn't let up.

[eil]

I have had some close calls, but I'm pretty risk-averse by nature. One rule I live by is this: I don't give my money to anyone who takes it upon themselves to ask for it. In other words, I only give/spend money if I am the one who initiated the transaction.

This means:

• people who call/email/fax me to sell me something: no money
• people who ring my doorbell to sell me something or donate to their supposedly worthy cause: no money
• people who send me junk mail to sell me something: no money

A complementary guideline to this is to avoid products and services from companies that seem to have an enormous marketing budget. Anything in a TV commercial, or on a billboard, glossy magazine ads (not that I subscribe to any), etc. Not only do you get less value from whatever the product is, but because the cost of the marketing is built into the purchase price, you're also essentially paying to have more advertising shoved into your face in the future.

The only time I feel I've really been scammed is all the car maintenance that I could have done myself and saved thousands of dollars. It wasn't all that long ago that I paid $631.57 for a brake job that in retrospect should have cost me under $100 in parts and an afternoon of my own time. I remind myself of that dollar figure every single time I wonder whether to call up a professional to fix something or sit down in front of the Internet for a bit and learn to do it myself.

[gdgyva]

so far...no

my mother used to say i got the no-trust gene

i find it very difficult to trust anyone....it takes enormous amounts of time for someone to get into my trust zone

most scammers dont have the time or patience for a guy like me

:)

[Cromacster]

When I was a freshman in college my "bank" called my dorm room (a phone number I never gave out) and tried to get me to sign up for CC.  I went along with it and was interested as I didn't have a CC.  They finally asked me for my SSN and I refused to give it out over the phone.  After some back and forth and my refusal they gave up.  I called my bank back to see and they said it was a scam and good that I didn't give any info.

Looking back I was lucky to have some sense as a 18 year old.

[AssetGrinder]

A couple times at least.

Invested in an online casino that was just one big scam and lost a good chunk of change

Invested in a stockbroker who lost everything 15 years ago. Thanks to him pushing Nortel stock! LOL ya I know!

Several investments with family members.

This has taught me a few lessons. Dont trust anyone with your money. Most of all don't trust family members. Money issues rip families apart. Don't lend them money ever. Charity is a different thing. If a family member is down on their luck it is ok giving them money but give it as a gift and dont expect it to come back!

[Latwell]

I've been fortunate not to be part of any scams. When I was a teller, I saw many though. I've seen multiple in action and even watched my manager get scammed. Luckily, I've prevented more than I've seen.

1. A couple days before christmaa, a girl shows up last minute trying to cash a check. She has no account with us. The check is made out to her but the memo says, "for my scumbag daughter". Was by far the weirdest check I've ever seen. I refused to cash it. She then tried to beg me to cash it. She came up with some sob story about "my grandpa is in the hospital and my parents gave me this check so I could get groceries" and blahblahblah Christmas presents blahblahblah. Unfortunately for her, I'm impossible to persuade. However, my manager is very gullible and wanted to help the girl out. It took me forever to convince my manager that she was just scammed.

2. I prevented an elderly couple from losing money. They were selling something and someone contacted them about their item. They gave the person their address and the person sent some money orders. Of course, the money orders were fraudulent. So of you cash them, it ends up bouncing right after you already sent the item. I felt terrible telling them they were being scammed but it felt so awesome to have prevented them losing money and their item being sold.

3. Ex boyfriend had poor credit because of some very poor choices. It wasn't uncommon for him to receive items in the mail saying he owed them money. But then he started getting scammed. He received a notice saying he had a T-mobile account in collections. However, he's never had t-mobile and neither did anyone in his family. He almost paid it too. I had asked him why he would pay something he never had in the first place.

4. Also while working at the bank, we had a lady performing a famous scheme for investors. She had her own company and convinced people to invest in these "doctors". But the doctors didn't exist of course. Every other day she would withdrawal a couple thousand dollars and transfer five times as much from one account to another. I can't recall ever seeing her make a deposit at our branch. And every day she would leave, I'd turn to my manager and tell her that there was something really shady and fishy about her but I couldn't prove it. One day a red flag showed up, letting us know she had already been to another branch or two earlier in the day doing similar transactions. It only made my feelings about her becomes worse. Roughly two weeks after that point, law enforcement showed up and made us freeze her accounts and we had to notify them if she showed up. A couple days later she was in the papers and we found out that my feelings weren't crazy. She had stolen millions from investors and she now has a lovely article about her on the SEC website.

[iris lily]

This happened to me a long time ago.   A gentleman approached me with a problem,  and I now can't even remember what his problem was... car trouble?  can't find his daughter?   I remember trying to help this guy for more than an hour, and finally gave him $20 (he didn't ask for money) and left.  Only later did it even occur to me that all he wanted was the $20 and I got pretty angry about all the TIME I wasted, not the $20.   Problem is, the only way to 100% avoid this type of scam is to never ever help anyone who is in need.

Some years ago we had a rash of people knocking on our door about their cars breaking down on the highway ( we live near several interstate exchanges) and they needed $37. 56 for a car part. It's funny that it was always a specific amount, not "hey buddy can you lend me $20 dollars?" I suppose they thought it lent credibility to their request. Of course I didn't give them money.

Later there was a scammer, same type, only he was more creative. He said that he "stayed with" one of my neighbors down the street (pointed vaguely) and he ran through some common female names and happened to hit on one of a neighbor. I knew it wasn't real, but I did give him $20 for creativity.

One of our friends was hit up on the street by a young man who needed a ride across the river to see him sick mother in the hospital. The young man really did not have any money or a car. I think he's without a license due to drunk driving. Anyway, our friend ended up kind of taking him in--in a limited way at first, allowing him to stay at his house when he was there, but not allowing him there when our friend took vacation. Feeding him dinner often to make sure that he got something to eat. They also enjoyed each other's company.

 Then the young man really moved in and he has had a steady job for quite a while. So that is a success story, in a way. But now our friend is making plans to sell his house and he has told this young  man: you lived here for free for a year, yout got on your feet, now you need to be making plans to stand on your own.

[cpa cat]

As a teenager, I had a job as a cashier at a grocery store. The store had a system to pre-approve people for checks, so they didn't technically have to show ID.

So this guy comes to my register with $800 of meat. Then he wanted to pay for it with a check and presented the proof that he had been pre-approved at our store. I hesitated and asked for ID. He said he didn't have any and didn't need it due to the pre-approval (technically true). So I told him that I'd have to get manager approval for such a large check. He tried to bully me about it, saying he was pre-approved precisely so that I wouldn't waste his time with approvals.

So I call my manager, and I say, "I need special approval for this $800 check. The guy wants to buy $800 worth of meat - only meat - with a check." And my manager says, "Is he pre-approved? Well then, cash the check!" I asked if he was sure, given that the guy had no ID and it was a suspicious quantity of meat. And my manager says, "Maybe he's having a BBQ. That's what the pre-approval process is for!"

Of course, a week later, the police were investigating the guy because some poor old couple had their checkbook stolen - along with the pre-approval card (which - I guess they were supposed to keep separate? But that seems a bit unrealistic). And my manager asks if I remember it, and I say, "Of course I remember it. It was $800 worth of meat. You told me he must be having a barbeque and to cash his check." He claimed not to remember.

[surfhb]

Some months back I was talking to a woman on an internet dating site.    She must have kept meticulous records of our conversation since we text for a good month and often brought  up questions about our previous conversations and such.    We even talked on the phone once or twice

I knew she was a jeweler and was going to Europe to pick up some inventory.   She called me telling me she was stuck in customs and had to pay $5k to cover the extra charges.   

I had to Palm face myself because I was really looking forward to meeting her.   I wonder if she actually made money on some poor saps ?

[Silverwood]

I've had the Microsoft people call me. I tell them I don't own a computer.

I had a guy off Kijiji come by to help fix my bike. The next week my garage was broken into and a bunch of things were stolen. My garage was a mess so you'd of had to been inside it to know where things were and what was there to take.

I trust nobody now. 

[Celda]

I was playing an online game and someone told me they'd send me "plate legs" (a piece of armor) in the mail, but first I had to send 300 gold pieces. That sum had probably taken me a good 30-40 minutes to get since I was low level. I sent them the gold, but never got the plate legs.

In the same game I sent some guy 22,000 gold (much later at a much higher level, able to get gold a lot faster) in return for his buying me "premium account" (which cost real life money). He never did. However, I had paid for several months of premium account from the same person in the past (that he legitimately did buy), so I just look at it as a slightly higher purchase price.

As for being scammed out of real life money:

Last week I went to the dentist and was billed $400+. In exchange, I had one half - the left side of my teeth cleaned. The 2 hour visit was mostly spent taking x-rays and photos of my mouth, "oral cancer screening", and other crap I didn't really want. I don't mind paying for x-rays - but charging $50 to take photos of my mouth with a goddamn digital camera pissed me off.

Luckily I had insurance, but still. Now I still need to go to another dentist for the other half of my teeth to be cleaned.

[DoubleDown]

My dad told me a funny story that back in the 1970's someone posted a tiny classified ad in a couple of dozen national newspapers. The ad simply said, "Please send me $1.00. PO Box XYZ, 12121."

This person collected well over $100,000 (which would probably be equivalent to $250-400k today?)! At first I found it hard to imagine over 100k people sending $1.00 to an anonymous ad, but knowing how ridiculous people can be, I completely believe it. Eventually someone attempted to sue the ad poster saying they had been defrauded*, but because nothing had been promised in return for the $1.00, there was no claim to be made.

* I think back in those days, it was pretty common to see ads requesting money in return for promises of prayers, good fortune, financial windfalls, etc. But the genius behind this ad promised nothing, just asked for $1.00 and got it!

[Sylly]

I was about to post a very similar story. A woman drove up to me in a grocery story parking lot as I was getting out of my car. There was a long story about how her husband had kicked her out of her own house and she just lost her job and she was on her way to go stay with her mother who was 90 miles away, etc, etc. Except in my case, she was actually asking for gas instead of money. I was in a hurry and said that I was sorry that I couldn't help.

I actually felt pretty bad about it afterward... like I had missed an opportunity to help someone who seemed to be in genuine need. That is, until I saw her patrolling a different grocery store parking lot a week later.

I had something similar, where a teenager approached me at a gas station, telling a sob story about how he, his father and his sister need gas to get home. I was stupid and gave him $10. I'm not 100% sure there was actually a dad in the SUV (!!), but if there was, man, that's pretty screwed up to use your kid like that.

I felt pretty bad about it afterward too, but for falling for it. I try to convince myself that that's the price of willing to help people, but I'd rather direct any charity to a trusted charitable organization now.

[Cwadda]

My mom and dad were security breached by a hacking agency out of the blue. They had a credit card being sent to them by the time we had a hold of what was going on. Very scary.

[ephillipsme]

Closest would be answering a phone call about a "contest" I had "won" for a "free" cruise.  I just had to attend some "meeting"/"presentation".  No thanks.

This is a common one, I have had this call before.
 

[ephillipsme]

I was selling some furniture on Craig's list and got an odd email about movers and a certified bank check and a rush to pick up the merchandise.  the email had numerous grammatical mistakes so laughed a little about it.  Still selling an oak china cabinet.

[johnrafael30]

I feel you! Scammers are popping all over the internet nowadays besides, there's a lot of unscrupulous people who seek advantage when natural disaster strikes. unfortunately, Storm Isaac ravaged the Gulf Coast a week ago. Unfortunately, he was just the start of the hurricane season. Sadly, these catastrophes also bring out a unique breed of rip-off artist that preys the traumatized and financially-strained victims of the tragedies.

[FoundPeace]

i dont believe this story. He's just blowing smoke up our asses.

Doctors actually used to do this, apparently the smoke was good for resuscitating drowning victims...
http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2014/05/origin-expression-blow-smoke-ass/

And yes I was scammed once. I thought I had called Delta Airlines and they told me they had a special deal where they would give me a gift card for filing out a survey they would send in the mail. For some reason they needed a cc #. I went along, and afterwards I tried to get them to connect me with a Delta agent. They hung up. Turns out I dialed the wrong number. I immediately called and canceled the card and alerted AMEX that I had been scammed. Turns out they tried to use my card multiple times. I can't believe I was so stupid, but I thought I was safe because I had called them!

[iris lily]

...It FLOORED me about how she could use a child as a tool/means of deceit.  I was furious.

There's a post on our neighborhood chat list today about last' night's panhandler who is out with his 6 year old daughter asking for handouts.

Once, years ago, a woman came to my door panhandling, had a child with her, said they were hungry. Most reasonable person would have at least offered them food, but I didn't even do that. I closed the door and called the cops.

Police will 1) remind the woman that panhandling in my neighborhood will not fly  2) they will interview her about dragging her child around, begging  3) they will get her into social services if she agrees