These guys take more than just a little off the top. “Sweeney Todd” isn’t the only barber bleeding patients dry: A man sparked outrage on social media after revealing the ludicrously high gratuities he was prompted to select while paying for a “walk-in haircut,” as detailed in a viral Reddit post. In the Reddit post, … Read more
No one wants a golden ticket to a Scottish Willy Wonka-inspired experience. Police were called to Willy’s Chocolate Experience in Glasgow, Scotland, on Saturday after parents felt scammed by the “absolute shambles of an event” and gathered to demand refunds. Tickets for the barren event, which cost $45 a person, promised a “paradise of sweet … Read more
Her mineral man wasn’t rock solid. A grieving British widow says she was conned out of $63,000 in life savings by a “romance scammer” who preyed on her via Facebook. The sexagenarian, known only as Lyn, was tricked into sending a fraudster called “Derek” cash for hospital and hotel bills — until she cashed in … Read more
Heartache could be the least of your Valentine’s Day woes. Federal agencies are warning love-seeking consumers to be highly cautious of cyber romance on Feb. 14 as scammers, with the help of artificial intelligence, are running rampant online. “Valentine’s Day provides a timely reminder for the public to not fall prey to criminals using love … Read more
A major bank is warning Australians to remain vigilant against scammers this Valentine’s Day after an estimated $21.4 million was lost to romance scams last year. The day designated for lovers – February 14 this year – has been known to attract sophisticated scammers who target vulnerable people and attempt to extract money under the … Read more
What comes to mind when you think of someone getting scammed? A grandma on the phone with some jerk? If so, this will probably surprise you. The total money lost by teens in online scams grew by nearly 2,500% between 2017 and 2022. Victims under the age of 20 lost a staggering $210 million in 2022 alone. Educating our … Read more
Australians have reported losing more than $220,000 in Booking.com scams in just one year amid a huge spike in cases. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s Scamwatch website received 363 reports of scams mentioning Booking.com last year, a whopping 585 percent increase on the year prior. In 2022, a significantly lesser 53 reports were made. The data … Read more
New Yorkers consider the Hamptons the Empire State’s biggest ripoff, a new survey says. Over 40% of approximately 5,000 polled New Yorkers think the Hamptons is the attraction that’s least worth the price, followed by the Empire State Building (31%) and the Statue of Liberty (14%), according to a Casino.org study. Almost half of those … Read more
A growing number of Taylor Swift fans gripe that they’ve been “scammed” by the pop star’s online merchandise store — with many pointing the finger at her record label Universal Music Group over chronic mismanagement of the site. Store.TaylorSwift.com — which sells gifts, CDs and vinyl, as well as T-shirts and sweaters from her record-breaking … Read more
These scammers are gonna be on the receiving end of some bad “Karma.” Several die-hard Taylor Swift fans have been reportedly scammed out of hundreds of dollars after tricksters created several AI-generated advertisements that looked and sounded like the Grammy award-winner endorsing Le Creuset in an attempt to steal money and data from fans. The ads … Read more
Don’t become a pour victim of this popular con. Police are warning about a sharp rise in counterfeit Stanley cups amid a heightened surge in popularity over the portable item — one not to be confused with the coveted National Hockey League trophy. “This past summer, we found them for as cheap as $19. Sounds … Read more
An Australian real estate agent who spent nearly $20,000 on sneakers he claims are fake has been denied a refund because he knowingly bought them off a 17-year-old boy. The man took the teen and his dad to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) in October, gunning for a refund on his hefty purchase. … Read more
Christmas came early for epicurean-minded cybercriminals. This is yet another reason to pay before you post: A Chinese restaurant customer was left flabbergasted after an innocent social media mishap resulted in her getting stuck with a mind-boggling $60,000 bill. The bankruptcy-inducing incident occurred on Nov. 23 while the woman, identified only by her surname Wang, … Read more
This greasy spoon did her dirty. In the concrete jungle — where taking a dip in the murky shallows of the dating pool often leaves wannabe lovebirds high and dry — an online dater claims she was catfished by an East Village eatery that posed as a potential suitor on an app in an effort … Read more
This is uber-deceiving. Sarah Stusek, who runs @sarahshooots on TikTok, claimed that food delivery apps are catfishing customers, but fear not, because there’s an easy way to tell. “A lot of small businesses do it,” she said in the viral video posted on Nov. 17 with 3.8 million views, but also pointed out that large chains moonlight … Read more
This hirsute scammer failed to finesse her mane course con. Restaurant owner Tom Croft caught a sleazy customer putting hair in their food in an attempt to score a free meal on security cameras. “There are people out there that are willing to put a business’ reputation and staff’s jobs at risk for a $15.88 … Read more
Beware of faux-zempic. Health authorities are warning of a drastic rise in fraudulent Ozempic pens after several people in Austria were hospitalized from injecting themselves with a pseudo substance. The patients suffered hypoglycemia and seizures, indicating that the pens contained insulin instead of semaglutide — Ozempic’s active ingredient. It’s unclear whether the users obtained the … Read more
A woman has lost her entire life savings after falling victim to an elaborate employment scam. Brisbane mom Nikki, who requested to keep her surname private due to safety concerns, found herself desperate for work after her husband’s debilitating medical conditions required her to become his full-time carer earlier this year. The 53-year-old exclusively told … Read more
A con man living in Spain has been arrested for faking heart attacks on 20 different occasions to get out of paying for his meals at various restaurants. The 50-year-old man, a Lithuanian national identified as Aidas J., lives in the southeastern port city of Alicante and has acted like a “typical Russian tourist” while … Read more
Beware of the “dinner swindlers.” One self-appointed “credit card friend” — the person who foots the bill in advance with the expectation that participants will pay them back — was recently faced with her biggest fear: a dine-and-dashing friend. Bria Jones, a TikTok influencer and recovering “credit card friend,” is no longer putting her card … Read more