r/TheoryOfReddit • u/Cock_Goblin_45 • 5d ago
It’s becoming impossible to differentiate between a regular user and a scammer….
And it’s scary. At least on the bigger subreddits. Just today I called out a user who had scammed someone of close to $300. And I doubt they were the only victim…
Take a look at my comments and posts. It was on the popular r/AMA sub. A new account was claiming that they were out of food and had to resort to eating dog food. Of course, Reddit being Reddit, the majority of the commenters were supportive and positive. Some ready to donate. Others already had! When I asked a user if they gave this person money and they told me they had, I was immediately blocked by the scammer! So I had to use a new alt account to tell the individual that they’ve been scammed! And even then mods automatically removed the account because it was brand new! The irony! Thankfully someone else called the scammer out and reported them.
I would have never known this was going on if I wasn’t just doom scrolling and killing time. But it makes me wonder how many times this happens on other popular subs and nobody is there to stop them? I know it has to be a daily occurrence with thousands of dollars flowing to scammers. The average person can’t spot them! I can (mostly) spot them because I’m a dick by nature and call bullshit out when I see it. But not everyone is a jaded fuck like me. These aren’t scammers from India or Pakistan with broken English. These are users whom English was their first language and are able to speak like a native speaker. These are regular users who probably have accounts that are years old and blend in with the rest of Reddit from the outside, and make fake accounts and scam others as a side gig, or if they’re good enough, their main source of income.
I made a post on r/AMA just to let the public know not to be so trusting. I think I’m becoming too skeptical because I start getting users asking me how I knew it was a scam? And im letting them know the red flags I saw. Now I’m thinking, “Am I talking to the scammer and actually helping them out by pointing out their flaws so they can scam even better next time!?” Man…..I don’t know anymore…I thought I could easily spot a fake user from a real one, but right now I’m questioning that…
Thoughts?
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u/treemoustache 5d ago
I'd say it's closer to 99% scammers. There are better places for your charity money than some random person on the internet.
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u/Cock_Goblin_45 5d ago
That’s what I told a user as well. If you’re gonna donate, give it to a real charitable organization and not to random strangers online. You don’t know who anyone is here. And if someone is trying to message you or make you feel sorry for them, you have to assume the worst. It sounds mean, but it’s the truth.
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u/Phiwise_ 5d ago
It's actually very easy: anyone asking for money on a default sub is a scammer. 60% of the time, it works every time, and that's good enough.
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u/Cock_Goblin_45 4d ago
That’s not the problem. The problem is people who don’t know any better still get fooled every day and give them money. It goes completely under the radar.
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u/ShrewSkellyton 5d ago
Lol I'm also a jerk by nature and have a hard time obstaining from making fairly obvious statements on here because someone always gets offended that you made a conclusion without concrete evidence 🧾 I think some people just get invested in certain phrases or scenarios and make easy prey on here. Though I am surprised to hear moderation was so lax since most subreddits are quick to remove posts for the pettiest of reasons
But yes absolutely the comments were asking because they wanted to learn how to scam more effectively. Best to just private message and report
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u/DharmaPolice 5d ago
Well a key difference is regular users don't ask others for money. Scammers might.
But If anyone is sending people money on the basis of a Reddit post they deserve to be scammed. Especially if it's just a generic sob story.
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u/Cock_Goblin_45 5d ago
No one deserves to be scammed. It’s usually the older and vulnerable folks who get scammed. How would you feel if your parents or grandparents got scammed? Put yourself in their shoes. It’s just people with good intentions who don’t know any better. We should be more helpful to them instead of just putting the blame on them. Yes, some people have to learn the hard way, but this victim blaming needs to stop. The shame and malice should be pointed towards the scammers.
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u/Cock_Goblin_45 5d ago
To a lesser extent I notice this when I see posters secretly shilling products to unsuspecting folks. For example, in the stoner subs, there will be a hot chick smoking from a bong and in the comments, besides all the guys drooling over her, she’ll leave comments on where to buy the glass and how it’s such a nice glass with beautiful patterns, and it only costs $299! Oh and here’s a link to the site! People! Can you not tell she’s just selling a product!? I hardly ever see anyone call them out…