In 2014 L’Oréal USA was involved in a scandal for claiming that their skincare boosts gene activity to rejuvenate the skin without any scientific evidence to back it up.
This can only labelled as marketing fraud – an illegal practice that makes false or misleading claims for financial gain. It includes talking big about the product’s attributes, concealing side effects or potential harm, and selling poor-quality items as up-to-par ones.
This company is just one example of how organizations are taking advantage of consumers. After all, people tend to believe that others are telling the truth more often than they actually are.
So when redditor Conradjenn started a discussion about American consumer scams, more than 6,000 people came forward with their own fraud stories. Scroll below to find the most mind-boggling ones that prove not all businesses are out to make a fair financial profit.
#1
“If we cut taxes for business and the wealthiest Americans the wealth will trickle down to the working class.” Didn’t work in the 1920s, didn’t work in the 1980s, didn’t work in the 2000s, and really didn’t work in the 2020s.
Image source: Cetophile, Pixabay / Pexels
#2
Post secondary education.
The fact that you can’t declare bankruptcy on student loans is f****d up.
The fact that schools require you to buy the latest editions of textbooks for each year is a scam.
The fact that school is so expensive and time consuming that you are basically locked into a decision for the rest of your life is f****d up.
The fact that so many high schools pressure kids to go to college even when they have no idea what they want to do is f****d up.
The fact that so many schools pressure kids into useless degrees is f****d up.
The fact that information is free, yet most jobs requiring a college degree to even be considered is f****d up.
Education needs to be reformed so badly.
Image source: goblin_goblin, Christina Morillo / Pexels
#3
American Hospital billing. The minute you ask for an itemized receipt and breakdown, they start removing charges left and right and the bill gets reduced by ~30%.
Image source: Girl_Princess, Laura James / Pexels
#4
Two decades of “low fat” diet foods that were all packed to the brim with sugar.
Image source: loki8481, segundo
#5
Health Insurance. You pay for it. Then when you use it, nothing is covered or it covers only a portion plus deductibles/copayments.
Image source: pujarteago1, Marek Studzinski / Unsplash
#6
Televangelists.
Image source: Low-Celery-7728, MART PRODUCTION / Pexels
#7
That diamonds are rare and you must have one.
Image source: Electronic-Pool-7458, Edgar Soto / Unsplash
#8
Sam Walton getting to build Walmarts in every small town by making a commercial with himself standing in front of a huge American flag and swearing that all of his stores would only sell products made in the USA. Then almost all of the countries mom and pop stores went out of business, Sam died, and now the shelves are stocked with nothing but products made in China. Biggest sellout of America that’s ever been.
Image source: GodaTheGreat, TaurusEmerald / Wikipedia
#9
Turbotax.
The IRS already has all your tax information, your work and investments are required to send it to them. Other countries just have their IRS equivalent send you information that you can correct or contest if you like.
But in the US massive tax filing software companies spend millions of dollars lobbying congress to prevent an easier tax filing system which effects every single American citizen over 18 every single year.
Image source: Worried_Place_917, Karolina Grabowska / Pexels
#10
Insulin at 3000% markup.
Image source: starcadia, Pavel Danilyuk / Pexels
#11
Black Friday deals.
Take it from a former retail worker – it’s the same deals year-round, folks.
Image source: PrimeVector19, Max Fischer / Pexels
#12
High fructose corn syrup. We subsidize it, it’s in everything, it’s not good for us and we pay for the healthcare fall out later on.
Image source: OkInitiative7327
#13
Body hair on women is gross. Literally just a campaign created to sell razors because the company (can’t remember which one) wasn’t selling well enough to men.
Image source: itspronouncdcalliope, bruce mars / Unsplash
#14
A two party political system.
Image source: djauralsects
#15
Basically everything you see when you enter the workplace as an American. Our employers can fire us for any and all reasons unless they are dumb enough to call us a racial slur while doing it. We have the most advanced healthcare in the world that is only accessible if you are well off enough to pay for it. Everything costs about 4x as much as it should because after all we have shareholders to pay and executives need their bonuses.
The worst part about it all is that we do it to ourselves because there are enough of us that are dumb enough to be taken in by the “American Dream” of starting up and hitting the big time lottery. The lottery is only for the very good looking and the sociopaths adept enough to grift everyone else. There is no big time lottery for the normal person and we need people to start realizing that.
Image source: Dapper_Platform_1222, Christina Morillo / Pexels
#16
“Breakfast is the most important meal of the day”
Created by cereal companies, it has no basis in fact and was used as a combination of marketing and religiousness – the founders were Seventh Day Adventists promoting cereals in sanitariums
Image source: Malvania, Binyamin Mellish / Pexels
#17
Medicines. Here in Europe for example is forbidden to advertise any type of medicine. I think you can guess the reason why.
Image source: evalunaofficial
#18
Trickle down economics and billionaire worshipping.
Image source: OJC1975, Andrea Piacquadio / Pexels
#19
The old food pyramid. Eat 6-11 servings of bread/rice/pasta per day. So that recommends eating some combination of
* wheat bread @ 420-770 calories
* white rice @ 960-1760 calories
* spaghetti @ 1200-2200 calories per day
Image source: LastChristian, Joe Ross
#20
Any and all products and services related to weight loss and dieting. The whole diet industry and culture. No one with a shred of moral fiber could advertise something with a proven 95% failure rate.
Image source: deeBfree
#21
Payday loan companies.
Image source: laynerj
#22
Food shortage is a lie. So much goes to waste.
Image source: darthTharsys, Ron Lach / Pexels
#23
Subscriptions. Instead of just a flat fee they pull more an more money out of you, but at least you can cancel when you want.
Image source: Yellow_Jacket_97
#24
“YOUR COMPUTER HAS A VIRUS!”
Click here to install another one.
Image source: thenewmadmax, Oladimeji Ajegbile / Pexels
#25
Planned obsolescence.
Image source: Gitxsan
#26
Timeshares are up there. Even worse are the guys who claim they can get you OUT of them. Those guys are often bigger rip off artists. John Oliver did a whole segment on it. Funny, but f****d up at the same time.
Image source: MetalTrek1, Ben Mack / Pexels
#27
Credit scores, health insurance/medical care, and houses being owned/sold/bought by billion dollar conglomerates.
Image source: Boogiebadaboom
#28
Social media will bring us together.
Image source: PapaDeE04, Tracy Le Blanc / Pexels
#29
Kenneth Copeland Ministries.
Image source: MostlyHostly
#30
Churches.
Image source: DuceBanner
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