I guess this isn't technically a scam. But it feels like it.
So I rented a car a few months ago (Dollar Rent A Car). The city I was in has a bunch of express toll roads that are easy to get on accidentally. I was good at avoiding them but slipped up a couple of times.

No big deal, I thought. I'm sure that I'll just have to pay the tolls and some type of admin fee.

I just opened my mail. Shiiiittttttt!!! They want me to pay the tolls (3 tolls, total $1.90) plus an admin fee. The admin fee? $15. PER TOLL. Total= $45!!

http://i.makeagif.com/media/8-28-2015/WlsZqq.gif

I'm lucky I only got caught in three. I don't know how they get away with this.

Anyways, have you ever been scammed? Or felt scammed (as is the case here)?

disregarded them bc we just wanted to get to where we needed to go.

Remember like 5 days after we got back home and called the car rental agency and they were like yeah, we're gonna get tickets we'll forward them to you, but you can try to call the agency and explain what happened. I did and they just made us pay the toll no extra fees or tickets.

I don't know why the rental agencies don't give you a heads up about the tolls in the first place. Well i know why yours didn't lol

shit happened so fast...

i lied and told my sister it must of fell out my pocket.

VA got us on a toll road in hampton roads. kept looking for the toll booths. no 15 dollar admin fee tho

>shit happened so fast...
>
>i lied and told my sister it must of fell out my pocket.

>shit happened so fast...
>
>i lied and told my sister it must of fell out my pocket.
>

for really smart kids(plug, plug, plug) and the rest of the school was 7th and 8th graders...i was a tall skinny kid (like 6ft 140) that stuck out and would always be someone that olders picked on.

In any event, some short 8th grader comes up to me in the beginning of the school year and was introduced himself and was like yo, i know everybody in this school, anybody mess with you let me know.

So for a month i'm chilling, i'd see him in the hall he'd say whats up and chat with me..then about mid october dude asks if i have a dollar, i give it to him....next week, same deal....about a month later same deal....all in all i prolly gave homie like $15 and never utilized his services. Homie was like the mob.

Me and my boys finally ran into some neighborhood problems in 8th grade but by then, dude was probably hustling freshmans at Mafioso High

he rented a Yukon to take his family to Dallas for a family reunion. I've driven to Dallas and Houston from the Lou, so I know the route. It's mad tolls. He SWEARS he paid at every one of them, but a week after getting back, he got a bill in the mail for $40. I drove from the Lou to Virginia last month and there was mega tolls in Pennsylvania...and a couple in Maryland, too. I made sure I ain't bullshit around. As far as I can recall, though, all them joints had a live human in the booth.

no tolls, no where to pay if you are from out of town.

straight theft

Speakers were really a box of bricks or something?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_van_speaker_scam

ou walk out of Home Depot with a new faucet for that bathroom project you’ve been putting off, and as you head to your car, two guys in a windowless van roll up. At this point, your instincts should tell you that nothing good could come of the situation, but then the friendly guy behind the wheel tells you he’s got the deal of the century for you. Suddenly, you can’t help but take a closer look at what might be a potential steal to be had.
We feel for you if you’ve fallen for the scam, but the fact is, you no longer have any excuse with today’s technology being what it is. You have a lengthy Wikipedia entry on the subject and dozens of caught-in-the-act videos on YouTube at your disposal, not to mention a general cavalcade of consumers on forums, blogs, and watchdog sites, all ready to warn you about what’s become known as the white van speaker scam. Yet, as you read this, someone, somewhere, is falling victim to the hoax.
Related: If you’re waiting for Windows 10, watch out for this email scam
The white van speaker scam is a global phenomenon. According to Scam Shield, the scam is currently active in 24 cities, four countries, and three continents. It subsists because of the avarice of those who conceived of it, the cunning of those who sell it, and, most of all, the ignorance of those it ensnares. Fortunately, a little information can go a long way in helping you see the scam for what it truly is.
How it Works
The white van speaker scam is simple in its execution. Salesman are hired to peddle inferior, faux-name-brand speakers from a van or SUV, or just about any vehicle with a cargo area. The speaker equipment is cheap, shoddy, and generally un-sellable via traditional channels. To work around that fact, the scammer employs a fictitious backstory. They’ll tell you that they requested too many units and haven’t been able to unload them all, that they’re on their way back to the warehouse and there will be hell to pay if they show up with any inventory left. They’ll present you brochures, Web addresses, business cards, and box tops, all of which will seem to point to the fact that this is your lucky day and you’ll be getting an incredibly expensive speaker at a once-in-a-lifetime discount. The salesperson will likely be aggressive, charismatic, and accommodating. For instance, do have to run to the ATM to grab some extra cash? No problem, they’ll wait. Even if even you’re a bit skeptical, you might justify the purchase by saying to yourself, “it’s such a cheap price, how bad could these speakers be?”
Seriously, they are that bad
Think Michael Jackson circa 1987. Ever heard of Bang Audio, Paradyme, or Klausen Audio? Of course you haven’t — and it’s not because they’re exclusive, expensive brands. Many of these obscure outfits exist just for the sake of these kinds of scams, often obtaining licenses and distribution rights in effort to create a veneer of legitimacy. Even their names are designed to make you think you’ve heard of them before, as they names often evoke already established brands such as Bang & Olufsen.
However, you don’t have to be an audiophile to hear the difference. There’s no complex engineering, testing, or research behind these products as they’re merely hunks of plastic with the cheapest drivers the manufacturers can muster. Typically, they won’t even sport a crossover network, meaning speakers that really have no business producing bass or treble are tasked with producing the deepest lows and airy highs. Just imagine Mariah Carey as a baritone, or Bryn Terfel as a soprano, and you’ll start to understand.
Watch it in action
If you’re worried about being scammed, or you don’t know if you’ve been scammed, the Internet is the best resource you have available. Simply Google the company name, or a description of the situation, and tack on the word “scam” at the end before searching. If something is of dubious morality, legality, or value, the Internet will most certainly be abuzz with buyer beware sentiment.
YouTube is the best resource of all for this type of scam, one that allows you to see precisely how the shtick unfolds in real-world circumstances. Below is such an example.

So, is this illegal?
Unscrupulous? Immoral? Illegitimate? Yes. Illegal? Unfortunately, no. The companies involved will be sure to cover their hinds by paying their taxes and acquiring licenses and distribution rights, so it’s rare that you’ll be able to nail them on those fronts. Furthermore, the swindlers selling their speakers are almost always independent contractors. Since they’re not employed by the company, the company isn’t liable for any kind of false advertising the salespeople may engage in. You could choose to bring legal action against a particular salesperson, but once they pull out of the parking lot, it’s going to be very difficult to track them down. Even if you do find them, any case you bring is basically going to be your word against theirs, and if you do recover damages, the requisite time, energy, and court costs will probably exceed the value of what you recoup.
Who is behind this?
There were multiple reports from 2009 that ousted Michael Joseph Amoroso as the mastermind behind the morally bankrupt operation. An entry on Ripoff Report — made by a swindled scamee — claims to have ferreted out the master scammer with the help of a private detective. The same individual even posted the location of Amoroso’s house on another forum.
It’s unclear whether Amoroso continues to be involved with the scheme, but the venom behind the Ripoff Report entry and elsewhere on the Internet effectively demonstrates both the prevalence of the scam and the anger of those affected. However, beyond Amoroso, there is a veritable laundry list of companies that are complicit in this scam. Below is a list of implicated brands and companies, compiled from various sources around the Web.


Read more: http://www.digitaltrends.com/home-theater/dont-be-a-sucker-the-white-van-speaker-scam-explained/#ixzz4IBz52HdN
Follow us: @digitaltrends on Twitter | digitaltrendsftw on Facebook

Same exact script every time.

>Same exact script every time.

my dumb ass fell for it hook line n sinker..THEN I looked it up and read about it after the fact


I been waiting for a mutherfucker to try it again all these years

I'm no expert, but I was into car/home audio enough at the time to know a lot of brands. Everything sounded good except for a few things:

1. didn't recognize the brand name
2. dudes said their boss would be livid if the brought the speakers back. what boss would be livid about inventory coming back (as opposed to going missing)
3. why was dude selling $1,200 speakers for $150 in the age of ebay?


I passed, then once I saw the same scam months later in a different state I was glad I did.

>I'm no expert, but I was into car/home audio enough at the
>time to know a lot of brands. Everything sounded good except
>for a few things:
>
>1. didn't recognize the brand name
>2. dudes said their boss would be livid if the brought the
>speakers back. what boss would be livid about inventory coming
>back (as opposed to going missing)
>3. why was dude selling $1,200 speakers for $150 in the age of
>ebay?
>
>
>I passed, then once I saw the same scam months later in a
>different state I was glad I did.

"Oh man, are you interested in an media center setup? I tried to install one a few minutes ago, but the owners weren't home."

I think everything is a sting, so I was like NOPE, but he got some Mexicans with it a few seconds after I declined.

The first and last car I ever owned was the car I learned how to drive with.

It was a hand me down from pops.

In the years I owned it I managed to put some dents in it. The first dent was in the front left panel.

One day I was waiting at a red light and a gypsy...an actually gypsy with his whole family in the car looks over (he was at my right) and he says in a thick accent while moving his pointed finger back and forth between my dented panel and my face -

"Friend! I fix for you?! Your panel! Your Panel! I fix for you?!

I said "...uh, how much?"

He says "80 dollar. 80 dollar. Pull over?"

The light turns green, I pull off on a side street right by the intersection. Dude gets out, we shake hands. He shakes his head while looking at the dent and then he goes to his car and pulls out a fucking dent puller. It wasnt just any dent puller but a hammer dent puller. It works by making a hole (a HOLE) in the steel. Once the hole is made the puller operator pulls the sheet metal into place.

This is a fine way to pull a dent but the thing is that you have to make plans to fix that area immediately or else run the risk of having the exposed holes rusting.

He was going for it and with each hole (he was on the third one at that point) I kept thinking to myself "Oh shit. Oh shit. OH SHIT."

I said "Yo my man. Stop. Stop. STOP. YO MAN STOP. I dont want that"

He said "No? Look I have kid. You pay me"

Now, the thing that got me was that there was no discussion about how the work would be done. Before I could say yes or no he went to work with the puller.

We have a back and forth and I'm heated because I was 20 at the time and 80 bucks was a fuck ton of money.

Eventually we agreed to get to our cars and drive to a nearby gas station so I could grab some cash from the ATM. When I finally grabbed enough money to pay the man I could see out the corner of of my eye his grandmother in the passenger seat gesturing for me to come close.

I reluctantly handed him the money and crouched to hear the old lady better. Shes talking and gesturing with her hands and it hits me, shes saying

"I read palm. I read palm for you? You want palm read? I read palm for you?"


I was like......ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?

I got in my car and noped the fuck out of there.

They got me for 80 bucks off 10 minutes of work and I drove away with my car looking even more fucked up than before.


for reference...these are puller holes: https://spitfiremk3.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/image_141.jpg

that story could have ended a whole lot worse.

How much did it cost to fit the damage that dude did to your car afterwards?

1. this was Los Angeles so the panel did eventually rust but I didnt have to deal with snow and road salt

2. when i got the car from pops it already had 160k on the clock so I was really just driving it to the ground

but

2a. i got it to 220k miles and sold it to go to college and whats funny is that the person who bought it totaled it in a month. Even funnier is that I ran into the car 7 years later in a totally different city HUNDREDS Of miles from where it first lived. guess it was revived. Old Toyotas/Hondas keep going man.

Let's call this dude Ralph. Apparently, Ralph knew a guy that was selling a little .380 for $200 (illegally, obviously). Ralph wasn't interested himself, but he happened to know another guy that was looking for something. Ralph called the other guy up, told him that he had something for $300, and the deal was made. So, Ralph goes to buy the gun from the first guy for $200, and everything apparently went well. Ralph immediately goes to the other guy's house to sell him the burner for $300. Simple, right?

Well, it turns out that the "gun" Ralph bought from the first guy was really a small cordless drill with a socket in it wrapped in duct tape. Ralph says when he went to buy it, they met in a dark park, and it was wrapped in a t-shirt. The guy showed him the butt of the drill, and that was enough for Ralph. He said the other dude laughed at him.

This was all told to me after it was done, so I didn't even have a chance to tell him that it was a bad idea, for a multitude of reasons.

because you know he doesn't have a pistol.

it's potentially the safest jux on earth. learned it in Chicago, worked better in L.A.

Anti-gentrification, cheap alcohol & trying to look pretty in our twilight posting years (c) Big Reg


Get 25% off www.karmaloop.com w/ rep code JR9103 |
Nike, G-Star, Herschel, Adidas (Men's & Women's clothing)

when i was a cashier at a home improvement store. he bought something and gave me a 50, i gave him change back, he told me he thought he only given me a $20... then started with the "well give me change for this, now this" fast-talk spiel, and even though part of me knew what was happening. i was too confused to keep up. By the time i figured out exactly what he did he was long gone, and i knew I'd be short, and played dumb..

so yeah, it wasn't even my money, it resulted in getting me written up and transferred to building materials where i mostly rode a forklift all day and was much happier (i hated being a cashier), but still FUCK that old man for getting the best of me lol

we worked at a print shop and dude asked for change, started fast talking and next thing you know he was like FUUUCK that got just got me for $100.

Manager wasnt even that mad, she thought it was funny cause he was a slick talker and met his match.

took it too a jeweler.."Its no gold" lol...hell who cares. we knew we were taking a chance

Back when I was applying to fuckin 10-15 jobs a day, one finally responded back. In hindsight, the whole thing was fucked up, but I couldn't see it going in. I did the "interview" over fuckin Yahoo Messenger, and "they" were like, cool, you're hired. We just need to send you your laptop to get started.

Thennnn, the next day they were like "Actually, we're gonna send you the money to get what you need". They sent a check for like $2100 that I cashed, then I had to do some weird shit at Western Union to send a portion of it back. So, on fucking pay day, I check my account, and the $2100 is gone, and my pay check, and the shit from Western Union. Account completely emptied. On pay day, when my car note is due.

I called the company that was supposed to be hiring me and they were like, "We've NEVER had a work from home position." Local police were like "Welp, nothing we can do, since it happened online." I submitted it as a cyber crime to the FBI, and I've literally never heard anything else about it.

his wife got gaffled in a style similar to this just a couple of years ago. She LOVES purses...and buys and sells them a lot on Ebay...at least used to. She was selling an expensive jawn. Buyer hit her up like...I'm from out of town, but a friend of mine will be coming there in the next day or two. She said she'd send her a check overnight and she could cash it and give her friend the purse. Got the check, deposited it, used money off said check to go out to eat, buy clothes and some other shit. Met her "friend" to give her the purse. About three days later...check was returned...BoA put a dent in their account for the whole thing. They were straight drained of the original check amount PLUS what they spent out of it. Dude was at work crying real tears like "man, she always puts us in bad spots". He went to our boss and he gave him a SUPER advance loan to get his checking account right. Ebay was like....Sorry, fam...you shouldn't have spent a dime until the check cleared.

Lol, I didn't cry, but I probably would've been justified. So many points of fuckery in these situations. I'm out of money, I don't have a job like I thought I did, And so many fuckin places were like "Sucks for you, buddy."

She lost $300 and was frankly lucky that she wasn't murdered.

Long story, so I won't bore you with it, but it made me SO ANGRY when I heard about it that I didn't give anyone any handouts for at least a year (the innocent always get punished, right?) because anyone asked for change made me think of my mother getting scammed out of $300 that she couldn't afford. :-(


~ ~ ~
All meetings end in separation
All acquisition ends in dispersion
All life ends in death
- The Buddha

|\_/|
='_'=

Every hundred years, all new people

it was the first week of school, and was fucking with it, and this cholo walks up to me like, says something about me having a knife.

"I say nah it's just a comb, see?"

"Oh that's cool holmes, lemme see it?"

"Ok" :)

He pops it open "Oh shit, holmes that's crazy. He I'm gonna go show my homeboy, I'll be right back ok?"

"Oh ok :)

.. :)

...

"Oh :(

.

.
.
.

OG crips were like "ay cuh' lemme ride yo' bike lil' homie"

i got the bike back but only after my family hunted them fools down after a few weeks

I'm gonna get in trouble at my desk. LOL

Since 1976

When Pug finally gets a dirt bike, and kid at the bball court asks to ride it.
Kid: "its not enough room to wheelite here, Imma go around the corner, I be right back...."

The slow progression on Pugs face over the next few minutes as he slowly has the accept the fact that the kid aint never coming back with his bike. Brutal.

Anti-gentrification, cheap alcohol & trying to look pretty in our twilight posting years (c) Big Reg


Just trying to share the world - www.JySbr.net

despite the fact that I already had a B.S. Engineering from the best HBCU engineering program on earth....

Signed up to one of them rinky dink For Profit "computer science" schools.... Dude smooth talked me into signing up for the whole get down, A+, A++, MSsomethingoranother, I can't even remember what all that dumb shit was...but ultimately dude gased me up like I was gonna come out the program like a GOD and be marketable as Steve Jobs..... smh...

Before the fckin A+ class even finished a full semester, roll up to the school one evening to go to class only to find THERE WON'T NO MORE CLASS!

Folk...
The school had literally vacated the premises over night yo! All the lil project pc's were gone, files gone, furniture gone, people GONE. Felt like that episode of Seinfeld when George had discovered that exclusive club in a meat factory that only allowed beautiful models entry and then he tried to take Jerry to see it and it was nothing there but a construction site... except...my situation wasn't as funny as that... (but there was this FINE latina that used to come to class very scantily clad and it was great motivation)....

I was still on the hook with Key Education Services for $20K.. yes $TWENTYFUCKINKAY!!

TO.THIS.DAY. i'm salty about that $20K fck up yo....They got me...Key Education Services (now known as Key Bank) got me....I got my self....

"Get ready....for your blessing....."

just picked the school up and left town.

>despite the fact that I already had a B.S. Engineering from
>the best HBCU engineering program on earth....
>
>Signed up to one of them rinky dink For Profit "computer
>science" schools.... Dude smooth talked me into signing up for
>the whole get down, A+, A++, MSsomethingoranother, I can't
>even remember what all that dumb shit was...but ultimately
>dude gased me up like I was gonna come out the program like a
>GOD and be marketable as Steve Jobs..... smh...
>
>Before the fckin A+ class even finished a full semester, roll
>up to the school one evening to go to class only to find THERE
>WON'T NO MORE CLASS!
>
>Folk...
>The school had literally vacated the premises over night yo!
>All the lil project pc's were gone, files gone, furniture
>gone, people GONE. Felt like that episode of Seinfeld when
>George had discovered that exclusive club in a meat factory
>that only allowed beautiful models entry and then he tried to
>take Jerry to see it and it was nothing there but a
>construction site... except...my situation wasn't as funny as
>that... (but there was this FINE latina that used to come to
>class very scantily clad and it was great motivation)....
>
>I was still on the hook with Key Education Services for $20K..
>yes $TWENTYFUCKINKAY!!
>
>TO.THIS.DAY. i'm salty about that $20K fck up yo....They got
>me...Key Education Services (now known as Key Bank) got
>me....I got my self....
>
>"Get ready....for your blessing....."

"Get ready....for your blessing....."

because i wasn't going to school.

except this was the 90 and it was some offbrand telecom school. when i went to meet with them, dude gave me some details and dropped a ton of paperwork on me encouraging me to sign up now because enrollment was limited. it was something like $40 grand which he said was nothing compared to what i'll be making. i wound up telling him i'd think about it and never went back

the truth is the real reason I didn't do it because i was working full time and partying so much i thought it would interfere too much with my social life

seems like there's gotta be a way to get outta that since they literally shut down.

Key Bank was set up at the time as the lending partner for student loans to these types of schools. When you registered, they released ALL of the funds to the school UP FCKIN FRONT. (This was before the financial crisis mind you...so banks were getting away with some grimy stuff in all aspects of lending, not just housing market) So they considered the services rendered or whatever once they released funds.

The school filled bankruptcy to protect itself from creditors or whatever....so the students were waaaaaaaaay down on the list of folks to get restitution (if any assets of value were even found). Key Bank sent some kinda form letter talking about they were victims too..and they were listed as creditors on the bankruptcy filing, yada yada yada.....YOU STILL OWE US DOE!! ...

Rather than fck my credit up, I just continued to pay on the damn thing till it was paid off. Didn't have the energy or time or knowledge to do anything else at the time.

>seems like there's gotta be a way to get outta that since
>they literally shut down.


"Get ready....for your blessing....."

.

Paid for the year in full (around $350 after fees) bc it saved like $200. Joint was real small, like no changing room small just a bathroom. Lockers were on the main floor. I only ever saw one person working there (the owner)

I went about 5 times and then my schedule changed and I stopped going. Went back about 4 months later and everything was gone. I was tight. Every now and then I'd drive by and see the empty spot through the glass and get tight all over again. Once after driving by, i had looked up the gym online and found the facebook page and apparently the owner just packed everything up one night and disappeared never to be seen or heard from again.

The part that really made me feel like crap was that i could have contacted my credit card company and they would have worked with me to refund part of the charges but i waited too long.

that can take on such a large move and execute it so quickly???

And they GOTTA know they are aiding some shady shit....like, damn moving folk...can y'all at least have some morals??

"Get ready....for your blessing....."

who moving all that equipment in the middle of the night?

http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/sports/year_in_sports/03.29.html

A group of us were in Spain and at one point, three of us decided to walk around town (Barcelona). Got to an area were a few dudes had a 3 card Monte game going on within a crowd of spectators. As expected, a random lady, whom I'm sure was their plant, won some money, which would convince others to try their hand at winning. I had said to the other two who were with me something along the lines of 'you would have to be a sucker to play this game. By now, folks should know that this is a hustle.'

One of the cats I was with stepped up to the table. I had figured he had heard me but was gonna try anyway. Due to knowing that dude is a fast talker, I figured that he knew what he was doing and was going to out hustle the hustlers. The hustlers started with the "friend" fast talking with ol' boy and managed to pull some of the extra euros he was holding out of his hand and sat them on the table.

Inevitably, dude lost the money (if memory serves me correctly it was the equivalent of around $200). Dude was livid. He started yelling about "policia" and I kid you not, the dudes quickly packed up and smooth blended in with the crowd for their escape; just like the movies. You couldn't even point those fools out for jack.

I told dude that I thought he knew that was a hustle and he yelled about how he didn't know and asked why didn't I tell him. I told him I thought he had heard me and wanted to try anyway. Dude was frothing at the mouth and was all ready to leave after that. That was the smoothest con I had ever seen.

Since 1976

I had big plans for that 20. This was back when nyc subway was like $1 or $1.50

my sister made me take rolls of pennies to the subway booth

Car was banged up and had one major dent that was getting rusty.

I pull into a home depot and dude scopes me out and says Ill fix that shit for $50.
I think I gotta pull into a shop somewhere so Im like "nah im good"
hes like I can do that shit right here I got all the supplies in the car



I had been thinking about it for awhile, so Im like 50, bucks, cool.


This mofo proceeds to pull out the mallet and hits the dent our a few times and spray paints it with a base coat that isnt the same color as my car....

im like wtf...hes like nah we dont have that color paint, you gotta do that yourself. The dents are better but far from fixed...