There will always be thieves who think they're smarter than everyone else and try to rob us of our money. Thanks to the internet and social media, they can even do it remotely while the whole world is locked down, going through a pandemic.
And while we try to calm ourselves down by saying that sooner or later they will get caught and punished, as one Reddit post shows, some won't. Because we're not even chasing them!
Сreated by user u/F1yff, it asked people the question: "What is a legal scam that is still happening in 2022?" and has received plenty of real-life examples that are still thriving. Here are some of them.
#21
Super-high interest, predatory rent-to-own furniture rental/loan things — where you end up paying, like, $3,000 in the end for a $500 laptop.
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243points
#22
Ticket master. WTF is a handling fee when I am the one handling my own phone?
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220points
#23
Charging patients in hospitals for TV service. Their bills are high enough, but you want to add $8/day to not have to sit in silence for 23 hours a day?
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220points
#24
Medication Costs
my dog had hookworm and so my doctor recommended i get treated as well just to be safe - pharmacy called me warning that it would cost me $2,995... asked my doctor if there was an alternative; was able to get an equally effective treatment for $45
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207points
#25
The troubled teen industry. It doesn't work. It traumatizes children. It's legal kidnapping.
I hope more attention comes to it and something happens. They're a business and the goal is to make money, not help troubled teenagers. Ffs, half the time the kids aren't even troubled!
E.T.A.: The "Troubled teen industry" refers to for-profit organizations aimed at steering rebellious and at-risk youth onto a better path through reform camps. But their methods are "tough love", negative/positive punishments and physical labor.
Because it's a business meant to make money, a lot of corner-cutting happens. They hire young and untrained staff for less pay rather than therapists and certified nurses & teachers. It's also not regulated at all so they can effectively do whatever they want with little recourse.
They use "scared straight" tactics and beat kids into obedience. They claim the best way to send a kid there is by surprise "so they don't try and run beforehand" - AKA burst into their room at 2AM and drag them into a van with very few belongings.
Look up "Elan School" for a notorious one.
Paris Hilton was kidnapped at 2AM and sent to Provo Canyon when she was 16. Look at how well that worked.
Go through this thread for some horror stories.
196points
#26
Why insurance goes up after an incident.
The fact that you give regular monthly installments is the intent that they will save you the hassle in case of a problem.
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192points
#28
Modern art collecting as a easy route to evade taxes. Wealthy person buys painting of black line for $20k, have art appraiser friend appraise for $1.2mm, donate painting to museum or non-profit, write off over a million in losses, zero taxes, celebrate black line like it’s an amazing and deeply moving piece.
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174points
#29
That news in America is entertainment. Can get away with saying pretty much anything and still call it “news”.
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172points
#30
College textbooks. "We updated a figure in chapter 8 and changed the page numbers for three Third Edition. It costs $180."
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172points
#31
if debt collectors can trick a grieving person into uttering words that imply you take responsibility for your dead relatives' debts, that can be treated as a binding oral contract and allow them to collect from you
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163points
#32
Usa tax paying system.
Paraphrasing: We know how much you owe, but we want you to calculate it and you have to get it correct under pain of prison or paying too much. Oh and the whole process is more complicated than it needs to be because of private interests.
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158points
#33
that cookies still exists on websites. sometimes i don’t have an option but just to give them goddamn cookies! cancel cookies!
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150points
#34
Extended warranties, so many promises made, but when time comes for a claim, almost all are denied.
146points
#37
If you’re a personal business owner, you may receive what looks to be a bill in your mail from the US Domain Authority. At first glance, you’re under the impression that you need to pay 289 dollars to renew your website domain name… HOWEVER. There is very fine print stating that you are not legally required to pay the listed amount. It’s actually an ad requesting you pay that amount in order to have your website listed on the US Domain Authority site. I can’t imagine how many people have been tricked by this. READ YOUR MAIL CAREFULLY.
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141points
#38
My kid's school charges a $3 "internet fee" if you want to refill their cafeteria cards via the website. If you do it in person there's no fee.
If they feel they have to charge a fee shouldn't it be the other way around since if you use their website you aren't taking up anyone's time?
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141points
#40
Funeral homes. Or to specify for the dunces among us, unethical funeral homes chasing profit at the expense of bereaved people...
The amount of Leeching done to grieving people just boils my blood.
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134points