People Share 30 Scams That Most Of Us Believe Are Normal

When you think of scams, the first things that come to your mind are most likely one of those tourist scams that try to trick you out of your money using overpriced trinkets or services. And while they're pretty obvious to spot if you know what to look out for, some scams are much harder to detect. And here's why: we've gotten so used to them, we actually believe they are normal. However, despite them being normalized, they are still scams nonetheless - and today we're going to expose some of them. Recently, someone Reddit asked other users to share some scams that are so normalized that people no longer notice them anymore, and received thousands of eye-opening answers. From printer ink to college textbooks - check out the obvious scams that most of us are used to in the gallery below!

#1

Image source: GrandTadpole18 Most mega churches... I remember an interview with Kenneth Copeland talking about how he needed a private jet to spread religion

#2

Image source: Mcreemouse Minimum wages staying the same, while the price of virtually everything else rises

#3

Image source: TheBassMeister Planned obsolescence, where products are deliberatly designed to have a defect or worse performance shortly after the warranty has expired.

#4

Image source: Corner_beat ''The customer is always right" Biggest scam of all- the customer is usually an idiot and looking to get free stuff.

#5

Image source: Red-7134 Diamond rings for marriage.

#6

Image source: chiggenNuggs Funerals and everything to do with them. The funeral industry has insane pricing. Some of the funeral homes and vendors are even predatory, getting grieving families to pay upwards of tens of thousands of dollars, because “that’s what the deceased would have wanted”.

#7

Image source: MojoJojo1945 Unpaid internships. F*ck anyone who gives unpaid internships! People get exploited like sh*t in that and for what? Most times they don't even count. For what purpose? I get so irritated when someone posts "unpaid but you'll be given a certificate". Shut the f*ck up and do the work by yourself you lazy ass.

#8

Image source: JeromeBaritone The US tax system. “We know how much money you owe, but it’s up to you to figure it out and if it’s not right, we’re going to penalize you for not understanding the convoluted code.”

#9

Image source: DoYuNoDaWae6321 "If you tell me the truth, I won't get mad." -Mom

#10

Image source: -eDgAR- College textbook prices. It's crazy how ridiculous expensive they are putting even more of a financial burden on students

#11

Image source: WWI_History_Buff Mobile game ads that show gameplay of a Call of Duty or Skyrim style game but in reality are just a spin-off of Candy Crush

#12

Image source: gnot_your_friend Bottled water, like Dasani. Especially in places like an amusement park that mark ups the price a shocking amount. Also the average markup of bottled water is 4000%, which is outrageous, bc water is literally free most places

#13

Image source: Zanders1981 Printer ink.

#14

Image source:  RedSquirrelFtw The fact that so many products require you to create an account and register it just to use it. This is starting to become so widespread. Even CAMERAS are doing that [things] now. Pisses me off so much. I don't want to be tied to some stupid cloud BS I just want to use the damn thing. Phones themselves are terrible for this too. I should not need an apple or google account to have a phone I should be able to use it as a standalone device with just the cell service and that's it. All this sort of BS is only so they can spy on you.

#15

Image source: Lonewolf23319 Having to pay $100+ for glasses

#16

Image source: SOwED Apple's headphone jack removal. Supposedly was to make the phone thinner, but everyone puts a case on anyways. Samsung galaxy S10 was 7.8 mm thick with a headphone jack. Apple removed the jack with iPhone 7, which was 7.1 mm thick. That's great, but every iphone since has been thicker. And very convenient to remove that, wait till the annoyance died down, then release airpods. The whole thing was clearly a scam to artificially make bluetooth a borderline necessity right before releasing Apple bluetooth earbuds. And everyone ate it up.

#17

Image source: impossiblejams The school picture industry. $80 for an awkward picture of my baby? Nah, thanks

#18

Image source: Steelle88 The diamond industry, specifically as it relates to jewelry. Everything that the average person "knows" about it stems from propaganda and advertisements created by DeBeers. They aren't rare, they aren't worth what you pay for them, they don't appreciate in value and are a terrible investment. They aren't special.

#19

Image source: jaceandcath Scientology

#20

Image source: Solitary-Dolphin Social media. From their happy beginnings they are now mostly a funnel used to ram as many advertisements into your mind as inhumanly possible. “Sponsored Posts” every third or fourth item - I see you, IG/FB/Red/etc. And that’s not even mentioning the extensive filtering network that “curates” the information you get to see when you are looking for something. “Curated information” is just a nice expression for you being conditioned to form certain opinions / buy more stuff. Social media groom minds

#21

Image source:  Hadrian_x_Antinous Cat food. Look at the cat food at a random store, and see how the design brags about all the healthy vegetables they've crammed into your obligate carnivore's diet. Then check out the ingredients and see how corn, rice, etc. are often the first ingredients. Pet foods market toward humans by trying to appeal to human sensibilities, not genuine desire to provide your cat with the best diet.

#22

Gerrymandering. In most representative democracies, voters choose their elected officials. In the US, elected officials choose their voters. Image source: Harry-le-Roy

#23

Image source: distrucktocon Manufacturers refusing documentation to private repair enterprises and requiring you to get your products fixed by the dealer. Basically, the reason for the "Right-to-repair" movement

#24

Image source: Bryan15012 Starbucks. I pay $9.99 for 51 oz of Folgers Ground Coffee, roughly 380 8 oz cups. That comes out to about $0.02 per cup of coffee. At Starbucks, a Tall Dark Roast costs $1.85. I could have 92.5 cups of Folgers at home before I pay for 1 Starbucks. My tub of Folgers is worth $703.00 if I were to sell it at the same price as Starbucks. AND I’m using reusable cups every day.

#25

Image source: ag3ntweird Giving credit card details for a "free trial" and auto renewal fine print. Heck, stop it after my trial ends. If I really liked it, I'll pay for it.

#26

Health Insurance in the US. Costs a small fortune, never covers sh*t, and you still end up bankrupt if you're not rich and get sick or hurt. Image source: go_kartmozart

#27

Image source: liniNuckel Working 40 hours a week

#28

Application fees for colleges, apartments, etc. Image source: ohdominole

#29

Image source: xiphos805 Wish.com

#30

Image source: perspectives Members of Senate, Congress, and Presidential candidates, collecting money from corporations, big donors, and hiding it in campaign accounts, Pac's and Super Pac's, and then doling it out as they like. They no longer act as a government of the people and for the people.