Have you ever been scammed by nice people that you least expected to be scamming? Your neighbor, your boss, or even your landlord – the world of spamming is alive and well and if you don’t have your wits about you – there is a chance you could be scammed as well.
Often times, those scams are so successful that people don’t even realize that they’ve been robbed blind. Let’s start now and take a look at this list of lesser-known scams unsuspecting folks fall prey to every day.
1. The extra drink
The scammer: Your restaurant server
The game: Your server tricks you into giving him free drinks if your server like the drink you order he might just order a few extra to add onto your tab and then you will need to pay for your bill with his drinks on it as well as yours. This is something you could barely notice but you should be aware of what you drink so that you are not out of pocket thanks to your thirsty server.
2. The inflated tip
The scammer: Your restaurant server
The game: Your server jacks up her own tip on your bill if you are using a credit card which means that whether you know about it or not, they will wind up with a big tip without you even knowing about it – or if you do, it will be when you get your statement so it will be way too late to do anything about it. Keep your receipt and check it to make sure that if you do have anything on there that is suspicious you can call the credit card company and explain what has happened and you can get a reimbursement.
3. The fake rental
The scammer: Your prospective landlord
The game: A con artist posing as a landlord will collect the security deposit for the rental and does this to a bunch of other folks then skips town with the loot. The rental is listed at an incredible price and you can even walk through the property before you lease it, however, once he has your money he slips, leaving you out of pocket and without a vacation home to enjoy your holiday. Before you hand over your money, do your homework and ask for a copy of the landlord’s ID so you have all the information you need ot put in a complaint should anything go wrong.
4. The invisible money
The scammer: The person buying a big ticket item from you
The game: A con artist makes a big purchasing using a check, money order or similar and then once the check bounces they are nowhere to be found – this happens alot with big ticket items and if you want to avoid being caught out for big-ticket items like cars, boats, computers and anything else of value you should always either pay in cash or use a bank to bank transfer system.
