Scams aren’t always illegal. The most insidious scams are perfectly legal and happen right under our noses.
We’ve all somehow decided that these scammy companies, behaviors, and services are fine, and we all pay the price. Discover the worst legal scams we all accept!
College Bookstores
Bookstores force broke college students to pay exorbitant prices for textbooks they will rarely use, then pay pennies to repurchase the book at the end of the term. The industry is a massive part of the scam, publishing new books with slight changes every year and forcing students to buy a new one rather than a reduced price used copy.
Convenience Fees
Don’t you love it when they charge you a fee to pay your bill electronically? Paying online is cheaper and easier for everyone, so why do we have to pay more to do it? It’s a scamp to funnel more of your money into someone else’s pocket.
Ticketmaster
Speaking of fees to pay, Ticketmaster is one of the worst players in the game. The once-necessary ticket service became a gatekeeper of entertainment, charging outrageous service fees on top of already costly concert tickets.
Ticketmaster is a nefarious scam because many of us don’t have any other option for purchasing tickets. We have to pay half the ticket price in fees to see a show because Ticketmaster is the only place to buy tickets.
Wedding Costs
How did we normalize spending thousands of dollars on weddings? On average, weddings cost over $20,000. That’s a lot of money for a one-day event.
The wedding industry plays a leading role in normalizing this cost, with photographers, bakers, caterers, and more charging a premium when people use their services for weddings.
Diamonds
The diamond industry became a behemoth due to fantastic advertising. The De Beers company made diamonds seem important, rare, and relevant, and the image hasn’t changed.
Diamonds are pretty, and they’re essential in industrial use, but they aren’t as rare as the industry makes them out to be. There’s also a host of issues surrounding diamond mining that people don’t always consider. They aren’t worth the high price tags.
Political Promises
Why do we even believe politicians at this point? They rarely follow through.
Most politicians do in fact vote with their campaign platform, so perhaps the scam is gridlock and an ineffective government rather than politicians not delivering on promises.
Paying to Watch Ads
When we pay for cable, we literally pay to watch ads.
Cable prices are exploding, and for every 22 minutes of show, we get bombarded with eight minutes of invasive advertising. Why are we even paying?
Even streaming services are getting in on the scam. Some are dropping their ad free options, while others stop guaranteeing that ad free means no ads.
Extended Warranties
Would you like a $15 extended warranty for that $20 toaster? Salespeople try to push extended warranties with nearly everything we buy; for the most part, they’re useless.
Printer Ink
Printer ink is almost more expensive than the printer itself! And why do I need to refill my colored cartage to print a black & white document?
If you need to print at home, opt for a laser printer which can reduce your ink costs.
False Promises
People love to scam each other with false promises, and the worst part is many of us fall for it repeatedly. They do something wrong, promise to change, do nothing to improve, and repeat the toxic behavior over and over again.
Stop believing their words. Believe their actions.
Mortgage Requirements
Why doesn’t proof of consistent rent payment help customers with their mortgage application? Showing that you can pay for housing, especially when the cost is typically higher than a mortgage, should be top proof that you can afford a house, but it’s usually ignored.
Some landlords are now reporting rent payments to credit reports, which can help, but it’s ridiculous that it doesn’t count in the first place.
Alcohol Acceptance
Not that alcohol acceptance is a scam, but the fact that it’s legal and more acceptable than other, safer recreational options is a head-scratcher.
Of course, it makes sense when you see all the pharmaceutical companies on the list of organizations that lobby against other options.
Cult of Personality
Politicians scam citizens into voting for them by pretending to be something they’re not. They make the masses swoon with glorious speeches telling them everything they want to hear, and it works most of the time.
Why we elect leaders based on our feelings rather than hard data and rationality is beyond me.
Hard Work Pays Off
Hard work is a scam designed to get suckers to give up the best of their lives to a company that doesn’t care about them.
The harsh truth is hard work only pays if you’re already two steps ahead.
HR Serves the People
HR has only one interest: protecting the company. Far too many people advise folks to go to HR when they have a problem with their job, but HR doesn’t care. HR will fire you in a heartbeat to save the company’s image.
Get Rich Quick
We all long for an easy path to wealth. Get-rich-quick schemes appeal to our inner laziness, offering us a world of opportunity for very little work.
Companies Can’t Afford Higher Wages
Companies will constantly report record profits, yet claim they can’t afford to offer workers pay raises. We all know they can afford it. They’d rather fill their shareholder’s pockets.
Tipping
Tipping culture in America has gotten out of control. We can’t order anything anymore without an iPad asking us to give 30% more to the cashier who rang up our order.
And the goalposts are constantly changing on what constitutes a “good” tip. A few years ago, 15% was sufficient, and 20% was reserved for servers who went above and beyond. Now, 15% is considered a bad tip, as companies push for 25% as a standard.
Health Insurance
Health insurance has to be one of the biggest scams plaguing America. We pay thousands of dollars in premiums yet still can’t afford basic care. Those suffering a catastrophic health event are out of luck.
Miracle Cures
There is no easy way to lose weight or fix a chronic health condition. Anyone claiming to have a miracle cure is likely scamming you with something the FDA doesn’t even regulate.
Paying To Do Your Taxes
Tax prep companies scammed the American people by lobbying to prevent the IRS from rolling out free tax prep software. Folks who don’t make a lot and have easy filing can still do it for free, though.
We have to pay taxes to live in society. However, why do we have to pay money to a private company to pay our taxes?
The answer is that Intuit, which makes the tax software TurboTax, lobbied the government to prevent the IRS from doing what other countries do: telling citizens exactly how much tax they owe. Americans just accept this “private industry” scam as normal, and we all pay for it.
Marketing
The whole of the marketing industry exists for one reason: to separate you from your hard-earned money. They use every psychological trick in the book to do so, and no one even cares.
You Can Be Whatever You Want
We scam children by telling them they can be whatever they want in life. That’s only true if you’re rich. Most of us will have to work jobs we hate just to survive.
Following Society’s Rules
Find out how the life script keeps us trapped and miserable.