“I once called an Indian scam call centre so many times until the scammers begged me not to call them again,” one user on Reddit said. Well, that was fun, but as experts will tell you, it is not very smart. Once you notice that you are dealing with a scammer, your best move is to run, or stop talking to them if that is the way to go. Engaging with a scammer once you know who they are only puts you at more risk and also wastes your time. However, scammers are on every corner of the internet and, if you don’t have anything better to do, then having some fun isn’t so bad. Here are 10 of the funniest ways people dealt with scammers.
Yes! I Died
One Redditor raised eyebrows a while back when they posted a screenshot of an email from a scammer. The email stated that someone named Mark Douglas had submitted a request to the attorneys (the scammer claiming to be the attorney) claiming that the Redditor had died from a road accident and that if Mark Douglas paid the VAT charge, then they would hand over the $10.7 million of the user’s inheritance in their possession to him. Of course, the inheritance didn’t exist and if the Reddit user had replied to it, they would have asked them to pay the said VAT charge which was actually the catch for the scammer.
The Redditor wanted help with the possible scam baits for this scammer now that they were supposed to be dead, and this was the best of them all, “You could respond with, “My death was definitely a bump in the road, but it could have been much worse. Anyway, I never told my attorney he could have the money before I died. “Does me getting the money back require my being alive?” One user replied. That probably killed it.
I Don’t Have a computer
Scammers posing as Microsoft customer care agents steal billions from people around the world, especially elderly people. So, one scammer called a Reddit user named Alcohol_Intolerant telling them that they were from Microsoft and that they wanted to help fix a problem on their computer. The Redditor knew that it was a scammer, so they replied that they don’t own any computers. The scammer caught in her heels asked “Are you sure?” “I am.” The Redditor answered and that was the end of the scam.
We Don’t Use Those Here
Another Reddit user was sharing their experience of how they shut down phone scammers by simply claiming not to use whatever device they scammer claims to be interested in. like “Hello, there is a problem with your computers,” They would reply, “we don’t use those here!” In their scam bait replies, they don’t use everything, from phones to printers. It is a quick and perfect method of shutting down scammers.
Linux Cannot Execute This Filetype
Scammers getting you to download malware that gives them control of your computer is one of the most popular ways that people get scammed. A Redditor named Degeneratesinc met one and while on the phone, pretended to be playing along and doing everything the scammer wanted them to do. They pretended to be totally dumb, causing the scammer to explain everything, from how to turn on the computer to how to download a file which took nearly 30 minutes. After the alleged file had been downloaded, the scammer asked for what the dialogue box said and the Redditor replied, “Linux cannot execute this Filetype.” The scammer hung up because they had claimed to be Microsoft customer care.
I Just Sent $50
Nigerian Prince scammers are so common that people no longer reply to their emails. However, one Redditor did, just to toy with one and when the time came to pay the advance fees to the prince sending millions of dollars to the potential victim’s account, the Redditor copied a previous Western Union payment message and inserted the scammer’s account but changed a few last digits and sent a screenshot. The scammer now has to reply and retype the account each time, only to get similar results. The scammer kept saying they didn’t receive the money, while the Redditor continued playing with their minds until the Nigerian Prince got angry.
These Are Scammers. Don’t Cash These Cheque
Ben Taylor runs the YouTube channel Pleasant Green on which he tells people about his adventures with scammers and how to avoid them. In 2019, after the FBI reported that Americans lost over $37 million to fake cheque scams, he decided to investigate. He realized that a Nigerian scammer named Andy was one such scammer who recruited Americans to print fake cheques and mail them to unsuspecting victims.
The trick is always that once the victim cashes the cheque (which is usually an overpayment for something, and they need you to pay them back the extra amount to their account, bitcoin, or gift cards) and pay the money to the scammers, they now have to pay the bank because the checks are fake. In 2019, the Youtuber got himself hired by the scammer to print and distribute these cheques but instead of sending the checks, he sent a letter to the victims telling them not to cash the checks and that the person paying them was a scammer. His mission was bankrupting the scammer by getting them to lose their money in delivery fees.
Speak Louder Please
So this Redditor Dontmockmymoomoo was being taunted by phone scammers who kept calling him claiming to want to solve this problem or that but he kept hanging up. They wouldn’t stop though and the calls kept coming for weeks. Once, when they called telling him that he had qualified for a business loan, he pretended to be somewhere where he couldn’t speak loudly so that the scammer would put the maximum volume on their phone while he whispered. When it got to the giving the credit card number part, he whispered the first four digits then suddenly screamed into the mouthpiece. He said he heard a rattle of a phone dropping on the other end so he probably got some eardrums ringing.
Giving The Phone To A Toddler
We wouldn’t recommend this to your baby but one Redditor said it worked for them. When the scammer calls asking for your details so they can correct a problem with your computer or put money into your account, just hand the phone over to a toddler. This Redditor Crotonurmom said they used to give the phone to her toddler telling the scammer that the toddler was the head of the household but that he was autistic. They would then sit back and watch the drama unfold.
Getting A Scammer To Donate To Charity
One Redditor wasn’t so keen on how to help the needy on Thanksgiving, so they replied to a scammer that had promised them a windfall of $500,000 if they wired them $500 “processing fees.” Well, the Redditor convinced the scammer that they were a reasonable businessman and they would wire the $500 if they received a $20 payment from the scammer as the bank fee for that amount. When the scammer sent the money, the Redditor forwarded all of it to the LA foodbank and thanked the angry scammer for the generous donation.
Make The Scammer Work For It
It is hard to imagine a scammer working to earn your money but this Redditor did get them to do some work. The Redditor Lerxstfan told the Nigerian scammer that they owned a fruit company called Fruity Guys and that they would only send him money if he posed with an advertisement of the company. The poor guy took a photo of either himself or anyone in their country holding a little mango with a piece of paper written on, “I love Fruity Guys.” The scammer only got ashamed for this transaction and no payment went his way.
