What else do people fall for?

by sleepy 20 Replies latest jw friends

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  sleepy

  What other scams ,schemes and crazy stuff do people fall for apart from becoming jehovahs witnesses?Do you know of things to watch out for that some others may not be well informed enought about to know the problems involved?

  Homoeopathy is one.Companies making millions out of the suffering of desperate people and selling them suger and water.

  The only effect homoeopathy can have is a placebo one that may cause you to be more relaxed and less stressed due to the belief you are being cured, which will aid recovery,but that would just happen if you were lied to by your doctor.

  I do not have time to go fully into it but homoeopathic remedies contain no healing substances what so ever they are just shaken water put into tablets.You have been warned.

  Edited by - sleepy on 4 December 2002 15:43:47
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  Witch Child

  I was very skeptical of homeopathy, but I was desperate. I tried one ailment and it worked... or seemed to. I tried it again and again, dramatic improvement. I still use it from time to time when other methods fail me. Occasionally I have had no improvement with homeopathy, to be honest, but I am untrained and am trying to sort things out with a book. When I had a practitioner to consult it worked very well.

  However, I respect your healthy skeptisism. I am sure it serves you well.
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  BeelzeDub

  Get rich quick scams. This scam plays on the greed of people who do not like to work. Even the JWs are constantly warned about going into buisness with brothers and getting ripped off. After all, once we get rich we can quit our jobs and pioneer full time.

  BD
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  expatbrit

  I'm about to help some dude get $18.5 million out of Angola......

  Expatbrit
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  SixofNine

  Hah! I've convinced Mr. Paul Objiewya to cut you, mr. smarty pants expat, out of the deal, and let me help him to get the presidential moneys out of Angola.
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  Silverleaf

  Pyramid schemes are the worst. I've had a number of friends get involved and try their sales pitch on me. One couple we know fell for it twice - about 10 years ago they invited us over to learn about a great business opportunity - they were getting in on the ground floor and they wanted us to have the same opportunity to retire by age 35 and live the good life. I remember the husband asking my DH what his goals were for ten years down the road and my DH said it would be nice to have a new car, a couple of kids and own a home. Well 10 years later that's what we have [okay the "new" car is 7 years old but it runs]. That couple I'm sad to say are still struggling, yet they got in on the ground floor of that 'great opportunity' and when the business contacts dried up they tried the internet version and tried to get us in on that too. I told them, when you guys pay off your bills and are putting the down payment on a new house, give us a call, we'll join then. Still waiting.

  Silverleaf
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  expatbrit

  Six:

  Ha! right back at you. I have the privilege, nay, the honour of dealing with Mr. Oliveira Chuli Savimbi (known to his treasured associates like what I am as Dav), and will be striking a blow for freedom by rescuing the funds of UNITA. Minus a modest percentage for my trouble of course.

  So

  Expatbrit (X type or S Class? class)
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  Swan

  My family fell for lots of them.

  Nova's General Store, a mail-order grocery pyramid scheme that my mom and aunt fell for.

  Cleopatra's Secret, Culture Farms -- Milk mold farming. My parents lucked out with this one. I talked them out of reinvesting the $8000 they got after investing $4000. The pyramid collapsed a week later and our friends that my folks suckered in lost $$$ on the deal.

  Amway -- My brother.

  Combined Insurance -- My brother. This was a very cult-like business with intensive indoctrination classes and high control door-to-door sales. They dropped you off in a neighborhood. They picked you up. You couldn't use your own car. Long hours. Little pay.

  Sports Cards Trading -- Both of my brothers and my father invested heavily in this.

  Savings Bond pyramid scheme. My Mom and grandfather fell for this one. You buy a savings bond in the name of the person at the top of the chain letter and mail it to them. When it matures they have boocou bucks! You have nothing but a sense of patriotic pride in bolstering the economy. "It isn't a pyramid scheme because you aren't sending money through the mail!" Yeah, Mom, right! Her denial to justify her participation is unreal. Kind of like the denial you need to be a JW.

  BTW, I called them pyramid schemes, but my Mom always emphasized it was multi-level marketing or bubble sales. Same thing as pyramid, just called something different. Denial again.

  My cousin got involved in one of the most lucrative schemes. My family claimed it was legal, which may be true, but was it ethical? You decide. I made my mind up long ago that I wanted no part of it. He made a deal with a local charity that he would donated x hundred dollars a year for use of their name. Then he opened a second hand store under their name. Caring people would donate all the merchandise, he sold it, paid the operating expenses, and gave the charity their x hundred dollars per year. The rest of it was his. I think there were tax loopholes too because this was for a charity. It all fell apart when my stupid uncle (my cousin gave his dad a cushy job there) kept trying to witness to some of the employees and they brought a religious discrimination/harassment suit against my cousin. I keep expecting this same scheme to show up as a storyline on the Sopranos someday.

  Tammy
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  heathen

  Watch out for the free porn ads .lol
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  freedom96

  I would like to point out that there is a big difference between pyramid scheme, and a legitimate business. If a person is to look into any kind of business, it should be done with a lot of research. Sadly, many people spend the same amount of time choosing their profession as they do their summer vacation.

  People are quick to point out a pyramid "scheme", but really, when we all think about it, most jobs are just that. I happen to own 3 different businesses, and I can assure you, they all have that appearance. No matter how hard my employees try, they will never get a higher position than me. I am on top, and they are below me. Can't get too much more pyramid shape than that. But that is business. For every owner, there may be several managers. For every manager, there may be several office staff, then there may be warehouse. That is just the way it works.

  Personally, I have no problem with people trying to do something more with their lives. It may not be for me, but I will not dampen the enthusiasm of a friend. If they want to go off and do something over and above the usual, more power to them. Who am I to steal their dreams and desires?