35 Failed Scam Artists That Aren’t Fooling Anyone
By Farah J
The internet may be a daily-use requirement, and a very important one too, but it is not the safest. Most of us have been scammed at least once in our lifetime by online scammers. They like to call themselves “scam artists.” Scamming isn’t a very great form of art, though, fellas. There are people out there on the internet who will try to rob people of their money in any way they can. Their scamming attempts turn out to be successful only if they can deceive the innocent on the other side of the screen. However, the internet is a great place to call out those scammers for their pathetic attempts at conning people. These almost-victims, who scammers took as idiots, exposed these dirty, ridiculous “artists” and their “art” to the world; these are as hilarious as they come and may also save you from such scams!
UNO reverse card
Scam artists may think they got the upper hand in the game, but little do they know who they are dealing with on the other side of the screen. And sometimes, when the tables turn, it hits them right in the face! We bet they didn’t see it coming with this guy!
So, this scammer tried to rob this person by texting them to collect their “package” from a site. But, to their dismay, the person wasn’t a fool. They came right back at them by giving them the taste of their own medicine! The scammer must’ve quit after this.
What house?
It is such a shameful attempt at a scam for someone who calls themselves “scamming artists.” Like, where are you even going with this? This scammer texted someone to sell a house outside LA without knowing that they’ve never lived anywhere outside LA!
The almost-victim was used to seeing these sorts of scams now and then. At first, it was weird for them, but now it is just a source of amusement. And not only theirs, their comeback texts to the scammers probably make them laugh out loud too!
Scammer vs. Scammed
Calling out scammers by coming right back at them with creative responses is one thing, and trying to get the scammer off their backs by offending them is another thing. Here, the “victim” decided to do both at the same time.
They thought they had won when they sent some pretty vulgar texts to the scammer. But who knew that the scammer would match their vibe equally by replying to their offensive texts! Even though it gave us a good laugh, someone needs to step up their game.
Fun times in jail
It is genuinely a waste of humor when someone doesn’t play along with your jokes. Especially when you use them to call out a scammer, and they block you right after, and when you were just getting started! How lame.
This person hilariously responded to the scammer named “Jelly,” who was trying to cheat them by pretending that they knew the person. Wild guess that they didn’t know the person at all, or they would’ve seen this “all those times together in jail” joke coming!
Tony, our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man!
We would do anything for our favorite Spider-Man actor, Tony Maguire! Oh wait, or is it, Tobey Maguire? We’re as confused as this scammer is right now. What are the chances that this “director” is hiring another Maguire for the role of Spider-Man?
“Shame” is a small word for this scamming attempt. If we were asked to do their job, we wouldn’t suck as bad as they do. They couldn’t even get Tobey’s name right. If you are trying to scam people, which is a disgrace already, at least make your work look believable!
Elon Musk needs an Amazon gift card
First and foremost, why would a billionaire ask for money – specifically, a $1500 Amazon gift card – from you, out of all the rich freaks in the world? Secondly, how do you even finance a rocket ship with an Amazon gift card? We don’t know if it’s even possible.
But then again, what would we know about the scamming industry, right? Real smooth, “Elon Musk.” We wonder what goes on in their head when they think of such pathetic ways to fool someone. Like, slow down, little fella! Scammers are out of ideas, we’re guessing.
Patriotism at its best
Patriotism is a real deal to us when it comes down to our country. However, we don’t appreciate it when the scammers try to use our patriotic sense of self for their own enrichment. Plus, we doubt that our president would be very keen on taking iTunes gift cards from us.
Also, in our opinion, it was very cheap of the scammers to use the pandemic, as well as the mention of death, as their creative idea of scamming people. This is the most heartless and gut-wrenching move. These scammers don’t know when to stop!
Pretty face of a scammer
It’s all about the profile picture. A pretty face in the little circle, and you’ve got us tangled and blinded by your beauty that we won’t be able to see the ugly scamming face behind the profile. Even if that’s what they look like, beauty is only skin deep.
Well, someone that attractive can’t be a scammer, no doubt about it. It’s not like they are giving off any red flags; all they need is our bank account info. Yeah, nice try, dearest scammer! We’ll make sure that you are blocked and reported before some fool gets robbed.
Message from the dead
Honestly, this is the kind of thing we would do when we are dead – we wouldn’t want our funeral to be a burden on anyone. But we doubt that the late prince Philip would relate to our mental discords. Well, unless he did and texted this person from the grave to give funeral funds to the queen.
However, the fact that the scammer confirmed the queen’s presence in the chat is making us cry with laughter! Sure, this is not unconvincing at all. These scams are getting more hilarious and creative and less convincing than they should!
Role reversals
Well, well, well, look how the tables have turned here! We are always impressed when a “professional” gets scammed by someone who was initially taken as a fool. How did you like the taste of your own medicine now, huh?
This person hadn’t even started the scamming when the person on the other side of the screen shut them down by reversing their roles in one move! The scammer must’ve learned a lesson after this that people aren’t the fools that they make them out to be. No friends for you, mister!
In your face!
This person just ended a scammer in one single text! Boom! Right in their face! If this isn’t hilarious and impressive, we don’t know what is. This scammer shouldn’t have messed with this person – you mess with the bull, you get the horns.
When you have a bio like that, it doesn’t take an intellectual to see that you are one big lie in human form. Plus, the scammer should’ve seen it coming; with that bio, you’re practically inviting people to call you out like that! This comeback probably left them questioning their life choices.
Netflix “scam” glitch
We’re guessing that Netflix couldn’t pay their workers’ full salary, which is why they are bound to use faulty keyboards where most of the keys don’t work. Either that or the scammer isn’t trying very hard to hide the scamming attempt and only needs money.
The scammer could use some money to get themselves a new device as this current device of theirs looks busted as heck! This idea was pathetic, as you can’t even read most of the text. How is someone supposed to pay if you can’t even read what the scam is about?
Creativity 101
If we are being honest here, we would say that this is a disturbingly creative – or creatively disturbing – attempt at scamming people. The scammer must’ve been feeling bold when they came up with a whole plot and background story to go along with their “deal.”
You’ve got to admit that this scamming story is better than most movie plotlines today. They didn’t directly ask for bank account info or pretend to be some hi-fi celebrity asking for gift cards. Their creativity is on point, and you’d be lying if you didn’t believe them for a second there.
But why tho?
You would think that the person being scammed here is trying to be funny or maybe creative, or even annoying, by replying with the same text over and over again just to get the scammer off their back. But believe it or not, they are genuinely curious as to why they would do all that?
And honestly, we would like to know the answer to that question, “why though?” too! The funny part is where the scammer who tried relentlessly to con this person got annoyed to the core that they gave up entirely and left the chat. What an ingenious way to get back at scammers!
Empty threats
Scammers out there, you guys need to be specific when you decide to scam someone by using the infamous trick of “threatening” someone when we all know that those are empty as your skull is! For example, this scammer has pictures of this person doing “bad things.”
Please be specific next time about your definition of “bad things.” Because, if you consider this person eating a cheese-less pizza with ham on top or wearing a tee with their face on it as “bad things,” well, as this person put it, “knock yourself out, bud.”
Smooth criminal
Our question to all those weird scammers out there is, if you are deciding to impersonate a celebrity to scam people, what makes you choose long gone, dead ones over those who are alive enough to make a private account to DM you for money?
Michael Jackson; out of all people, this scammer chose MJ! Not to mention, they texted “Hee Hee” at the end. We are crying over this last text! We’d give plus one point for this epic move and giving us the laugh of the day. Please upgrade your creativity if you don’t want to be laughed at again.
Free shipping though
Well, that’s quite a markup with the price differences on Amazon and Etsy. We need to learn from this guy about his precious bohemian lamp and its features which shot its price above 1K. Like, what’s so special about his lamp, or is it the scamming that he is charging for?
The same lamp that’s available on Amazon is being sold at a remarkably price difference on Etsy. We mean, if you are trying to scam someone, wouldn’t you rather sell it at affordable prices? What’s your goal here anyway? Maybe free shipping is your only victim attraction here?
Penny for a car door handle?
We aren’t sure if the President of America himself signed this Nissan’s car door handle, but we do know that a penny for a car door handle is a very reasonable price. If the scammer wanted to sell the handle for a penny, they probably should’ve just done that.
Signing the handle with the name of George Washington only made it less convincing that this is “not a scam.” One cent for a car door handle, with free shipping, and signed by the first president… doesn’t that sound like a deal that’s too good to be true? Well, that’s because it’s not.
Honesty is the best policy
If you are committed to robbing innocent people online, at least be honest to yourself and others about it. If nothing else, you’d probably get admired for your honesty and sincerity in your “job,” no questions asked. That’s why we applaud this person:
This scammer didn’t even try to hide the fact that he was trying to cheat someone! The scammer probably was too tired of his job to lie to the person on the other side of the screen. They deserve extra credit, or maybe a few cents, too, for being honest here.
Broke Beyoncé
Scammers, your attempts at conning people through the names of some of the richest people in the world seem believably legit. Everything is so on point that anyone can fall for that. The Beyoncé move is our personal favorite; who wouldn’t love to lend the queen some money?
Can this attempt be any more wretched? No, we didn’t think so either. The scammer didn’t even bother thinking that if the queen herself was performing with Destiny’s Child, she wouldn’t need to ask this person for money when she could afford a fancy private jet for the gang!
A perfect date
Scamming may be an art, sure, but not everyone is meant to be an artist, especially when your brain isn’t your greatest strength. Art requires a working brain, and your low intellectual capabilities aren’t going to be very helpful in your career as a “scam artist.”
For instance, don’t be like this scammer who didn’t even realize that the date mentioned by the ‘victim’ didn’t exist at all and never would. Not even in the year 2099. We just hope he realized his absent-mindedness when he tried to find Feb. 30th on his calendar to schedule it.
Scamming tips
We would be embarrassed as heck if someone who doesn’t even know about our line of work started giving real tips about how to do our job. We are even embarrassed for this person who tried to scam someone by sending a URL with the word “scam” in it!
This person did the scammer a favor by giving them a heads up that the link they used was a dead giveaway. Pro-tip from not a pro: don’t make it look so obvious! Someone probably got fired from their job by making this scam URL.
Offline scams
We thought that the scammers’ favorite place to be was the internet, and fooling online people was their job. But apparently, they have leveled up their game and are now trying “to reach us” in any way possible. They didn’t even leave the beach out where we’re supposed to relax.
Sending scam messages on social media sites is one thing; sending emails or snail mail is another. However, scamming people through messages in bottles is a whole another dedication to conning people. This wasn’t what Taylor Swift’s “Message in a Bottle” was about, was it?
Who am I?
Bad scammers are the funniest of them all. Either our humor is busted, or scamming artists who are the worst at their “job” are the source of our loudest laughs. Like this guy who sent a scam email to someone who doesn’t even remember his name!
He probably is called Kuldeep Dileep in one universe and Charles Clark in the other. Or maybe one of them is the nickname for another? We don’t know. Or maybe he’s just awfully bad at his job that he didn’t even remember his own “name”!
Poor woman
Using the name of a famous person is one thing, and using pictures of random innocent people is another. Both of them are crimes, but the latter is worse. Why would you do something bad to a woman who doesn’t even know her pictures are being sent to random strangers?
What if she’s trying to meet someone on the internet or just wanting to have a good social life? But after some disturbing and suspicious meetups and conversations, she finds out why no one trusted her or wanted to spend time with her. Why would you ruin a person’s life like that?
Feeling included
Have you ever heard of the same scam message that everyone around has been getting for a while, but you haven’t gotten it yet? But when you finally get it, you feel blessed and included that somehow you’re a part of some mysterious gang of spies?
Well, this is exactly how this person who was being scammed felt. They were so enthralled and elated that they didn’t even try to hide it from the scammer, and reinforced them to continue to the next part that they already knew about! The scammer needs to change it up a bit.
No meatballs?
A cute little tip for the scammers out there: if you want your scam to be believable, all you need to do is use your brain. That’s all it takes, nothing more. This scammer had to prove that they were real by saying the “password,” yet they did exactly the opposite.
This one isn’t so much the scammer at fault but the programmer. At this “victim” noticed from the first message, they were not talking with someone real. They even got creative and used a test word. Well, at least we don’t need to worry about this “AI” taking over any time soon.
Win Walmart
To be honest, the offer would’ve been a little tempting for us to press that blue button for the free Walmart gift card if the offer itself didn’t read as “win a Walmart.” This clear scam made us lose our marbles more than it made us get attracted to the gift card.
Scammers need to up their game when tricking us innocents with offers like this. Owning a whole Walmart just by pressing some blue button seems pretty legit…only if we were some brainless fools! You all need to be more realistic and convincing at your job.
Houston or Nigeria?
This whole conversation would’ve been way less suspicious – not to mention less disastrous – if only this “Emma from Houston” would’ve done her research about the person they’re trying to trick, or even how the internet work, before engaging in conversation with them.
This scammer’s “target” caught on quick, and even used their wits to call out the would-be con artist. You’d think that people who work online to con people out of their money would know a bit more about how the internet and IP addresses work.
Think twice before you leap
The saying goes, “think before you leap,” right? Well, for scammers, we are bound to specially customize it according to their requirements: “think twice before you leap,” considering that they often are tasting their own medicine by their victims, at least the ones we’re seeing here.
This scammer attempted to scam someone, but the almost victim wasn’t taking any of it. So, a smart tip for the innocents out there: spam them with fake charges. Just like this guy, they probably made the scammer think twice before scamming in the future.
Totally believable
If someone needs to brush up on their skills, it’s this scammer. Wait, no, they don’t need simple brushing up; they need full-on tutoring and years and years of courses about how to scam people and make it as believable as possible. They aren’t even at an amateur level yet.
Because of the way they have created a fake Lady Gaga profile, even a newborn would be able to tell that this is not the star’s account. First, the profile picture shows a google bar! They didn’t even try to crop it out! And secondly, is Lady Gaga asking for $145 for her new music? Okay.
Playing the victim
If there was any, even the slightest chance of this scammer’s scam being pulled off successfully, well, suffice it to say that he flushed it down the drain himself after commenting on his scam giveaway. And, not even seconds after the initial post!
We can’t tell what he was trying to achieve here, but this person calling him out in front of the whole world should’ve taught him the lesson of his lifetime. He better quit this job after this embarrassing moment because there is no chance of him being a successful criminal in the future.
Facebook ads
Man, it is such a frustrating and infuriating thing when you try to report spam accounts on social media, but you end up being ditched by the site itself. Like, aren’t we — the innocents and the social media sites — supposed to be on the same side?
For example, this Facebook user tried to report the scammer’s account, so they could shut them down before anyone got robbed. But, to their surprise, Facebook didn’t do anything of the sort, and the scammer is probably roaming free on the internet conning people.
Spell your own name right
This is the most basic thing you have ever learned in your life: spelling your name right. Oh well, we are guessing scamming artists don’t need to learn that as they don’t use their names. But if you are pretending to be someone else, at least get their name right.
That’s the least you can do to make your scam seem more legit. No matter how pathetic your attempt at scamming is, spelling the name of the person you’re impersonating does make a difference. At least they got the actor’s name right; well done!
Under the rest
God knows how much rest we need right now. The UK government giving us a choice between paying for a gift card and going “under the rest” is very considerate; we’ll definitely choose the latter. We could use some shut-eye right about now.
We don’t know if we should be pitying this scammer for being a dolt and bad at his job, or laughing at his pathetic attempt at “threatening” the person to pay more than a thousand pounds or going “under the rest”! We’re rolling on the floor at this masterpiece of a scam!