Why Do So Many People Fall for Robocalls and E-mail Scams?

Many robocalls and email scams are super blatantly obvious. Yet every year, people lose billions of dollars to these frauds - and the reasons why may be more psychologically devious than you think.

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[e.s.lavall]

How not to fall for scams - give nobody money ever.

[schonlingg.wunderbar]

Funfact: The talk stays very relevant if you replace "scam" with "advertisment".

[Alverant]

This is where having a low self esteam is handly. You never think those single women are interested in YOU.

[TheTwick]

It’s simple, I haven’t answered the phone in over 20 years!

[EveloGrave]

I got a call saying my SSN was deactivated for fraudulent behavior. When they asked for my SSN I asked them for it. They just hung up.

[BrentsCardsAndCoins]

A few years back, I listed a bunch of toys for sale and thought I had a buyer lined up. I wanted $200 plus shipping for the huge lot and he agreed. Well, as shipping arrangements were being made, I was getting this story about him being military and how special shipping arrangements would need made, so he would send me a check for $900. I don't remember the exact details, but I do remember being uneasy after he messaged me.

The check arrived (shipped FedEx) and I went to the bank and asked if they could look into this check before I cash it because the whole story sounded pretty fishy. Sure enough, after they checked it out, the check was for an account that had been compromised. So I told them I didn't want the check back then messaged the buyer to tell him the check declined. He did the usual acting surprised, but he knew what was going on.

If I would have straight cashed it, the buyer would have gotten free toys and I'd be out the shipping. One thing that kept me from getting scammed is not being a greedy idiot. I act on logic before emotion, so I don't get cheated that easily.

[Twisted]

Scammers should get the same punishment as thieves, jail.

[Master_Therion]

I got an email offering me processed pork, gelatin and salt in a can.
I didn't open it because I knew it was Spam.

[Michifulz]

I know someone who fell for a job scam, they did all the work to look up the job, the company, everything they could, nothing seemed fishy. unfortunately, they were a bit nieve and when told to buy equipment through the employer they did, ultimately losing quite a lot of money. It isn't just dumb people who fall for scams.

[brokenacoustic]

If youre not in my contacts list, your call gets declined and number blocked, and your email goes to the garbage.

[Varizen]

I used to work as a Fraud Prevention Agent for Apple, and if you tell people that the $1000 iTunes giftcard they're trying to purchase isn't legit because the person telling them to buy it is shady, people will fight you. In the place I currently work, someone was sending emails claiming to be the Dept. Chair, and was asking them to make emergency purchases of high value gift cards, and he had to email everyone saying he'd never ask for that and to report those emails after 2 people had told him they did what he asked.

[Trag-zjyo]

Scammers aren't the only ones using "foot in the door." Give to a charity and you will be flooded with requests.

[IDreamOfCrafting]

Being a bank teller, I've seen and heard it all. It's incredible how many people get caught up in this.

[GabrielKnightz]

This is where being a severe cynical depressive comes in handy. Oh yeah! someone wants to do something nice or something Good magically just happens. Why don't i just retrieve my pot of gold from my pet unicorn butt, you stay right there.

[norma]

If it sounds too good to be true...it probably is

[tylerpeterson]

My grandma was the target of a scam where the scammer called pretending to be "your grandchild." She was told I was in CA (I live in the Midwest) for a friend's funeral, had my wallet stolen, and now I need money to get back home. Something didn't seem right, so my Grandma asked the scammer to say my middle name. Obviously he couldn't do that, and hung up. We're so glad to know Grandma has the awareness necessary to deal with at least one type of scam.

[gnuling]

The person who made the messenger history animation is a genius. It's just perfect!

[saumitrachakravarty]

It's very true. No matter how smart you are, chances are there is a scam that suits you is hiding in the corner.

[jaclyniicole]

I work in banking and we frequently take classes on phishing and how to look out for scammers (particularly against the elderly). It's sad just how many people fall for these things. On the other hand, my boyfriend does like to poke fun when Scam Likely calls and just makes fart noises at the scammer or pretends that he's ordering a pizza.

[itisdevonly]

There was a pretty clever scam recently that almost tricked me. I got a text message purporting to be from a shipping company, saying my online order was being held up because shipping wasn't paid in full. I had literally just made an order of something that had claimed free shipping and was using that shipping company, so it seemed somewhat plausible, but also still a bit scammy, if it were the case that a company claimed free shipping when it really wasn't. But I was still skeptical and had my husband check it. It wasn't related at all to my online order; the scammers were just faking the website of the shipping company, which you couldn't tell from the web design, but could tell from the url. Also, the part where you enter your tracking number would accept any garbage input and tell you you needed to pay to get your ordered item. My husband also informed me that that company never ships without payment upfront, so they would never start shipping something and then require further payment to complete the shipping.