MetaFilter posts tagged with scam

Lost in the Forster

not_the_water — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 13:40:49 -0800

"Room With A Screw: My 45-day quest to convince a craigslist scammer to write me a poem-- and how she lost her mind and tried to become my friend"

It was wrapped in white paper, I am loosing my mind paniking because that was almost my whole pay how could I possibly recoop that you know|?

orthogonality — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 15:27:33 -0800

I found your money. It's uncanny: the next guy emailing to claim the money that Rob "found" always describes it precisely as Rob described the money to the previous emailer.

"That kid at your door with a magazine order form will tell you a story -- part sad, part hopeful."

orthogonality — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 05:12:22 -0800

Winding their way down from California, they lost a few agents. Two were arrested in Albuquerque after they allegedly forced their way into the home of an elderly couple and beat them to death, raping the wife first.... Then, in West Texas, a van flipped, killing one agent and injuring three others. That's seven agents out of commission. That's about a $2,800 loss per day. After they turn in their cash and receipts, two agents, a pudgy girl and a lanky guy, hit the parking lot for a smoke.... It's a blast, they say. You lie all day to sell subscriptions, and you unwind afterward with some smoke. You tell the customers that you live a few streets over, that you go to the local school and play on the soccer team, that you just sold subscriptions to their neighbor, and the idiots buy it because by now you've got it down to a science. And on to the next town. And the next.

Charity begins at home. And sometimes ends in jail.

Shepherd — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 09:02:14 -0800

The Banyan Tree Foundation promised to take donations from contributors to be redistributed to worthy Canadian recipients. The foundation also gave donors inflated charity receipts for tax declarations, and donors were encouraged to borrow money to contribute even more, and did... from a company now owned by Banyan Tree president Robert Thiessen. Now, the money has stopped flowing, and the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has called the organization a "sham" and is going after Banyan donors for past charity receipts totalling more than CAD$100 million. The charity is still listed as a charity, which is provoking anger in the House of Commons. Many donors are participating in a class-action lawsuit against the Foundation. This type of donating, known as tax shelter donations, has been the subject of previous precautions by tax authorities and charity law specialists, and has caused problems for donors in the past as well.

Apple cloner or scammer?

MythMaker — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 14:21:19 -0800

Recently, Psystar Corporation announced the Open Mac, now renamed "Open Computer," a $399.99 Mac clone. Besides violating Apple's EULA, and the license for the emulator that allows Leopard to run on commodity hardware, apparently the company itself seems a bit... shady. Metafilter's own Woz, on the other hand, says he might get one.

The Great World of Sound!

The Deej — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 09:13:42 -0800

Want to be a recording star? The Great World of Sound is looking for new talent!

"Do unto others what they'd like to do to you... But do it first!"

amyms — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 01:04:18 -0800

Soapy Smith was "the king of the frontier confidence men." Born Jefferson R. Smith, he gained the nickname "Soapy" after running a successful scam that the Denver newspapers dubbed "The Prize Package Soap Sell Swindle." He ran criminal enterprises in Colorado and Alaska until his death at the hands of vigilantes in 1898. Every year his descendants hold a wake in his honor. His story has inspired several books and movies. The Soapy Smith Preservation Trust maintains an extensive archive of his life and times.

30-Year Laptop Battery?

Kirth Gerson — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 06:46:02 -0800

Betavoltaic Batteries are supposed to last 30 years, run cool, and be inert and harmless when depleted. The batteries, which generate electricity from radioactive decay, have a 50-year development history, but breakthroughs at the U.S. Air Force Research Lab are said to make the batteries practical for use in consumer applications. So why doesn't the Air Force lab's website feature this discovery? Maybe because it's a hoax, or a scam.

This is why we dont build on spec anymore

crunchywelch — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 10:09:33 -0800

Columbia Law grad is scammed, along with 78 other professionals, into working for free for weeks. Craigslist, some detective work, and the unusual motivation behind the scam all contribute to this interesting story of internets-related shenanigans.

"Any help we can get with this will be greatly appreciated and, I believe, rewarded in heaven."

amberglow — Sat, 25 Aug 2007 15:45:06 -0800

Ted Haggard returns --with a cash for heaven offer to support him while he helps "broken people". Unfortunately, the procedure outlined is illegal, and the charity (Families With a Mission) is unregistered and run by a convicted sex offender. Meanwhile, Mike Jones, Haggard's favorite whore, pops up at a dirty bar trivia night (questions about Haggard and him, maybe nsfw, textwise)