The Scams

Every field has its fair share of good and bad information. Anyone, looking to make a buck, will say anything and make it sound like it’s good advice when experts knows it doesn’t hold any ground.
This post is to stress the importance to do your research as to minimize the risks of getting scammed. Get in contact with experts in those fields and ask questions.

Know what you are buying into.

Religion Scam
Spirituality is an important part of the human experience but it doesn’t necessarily need religion to develop to an acceptable level of inner peace.

Is there a God? Nobody knows but we can say that there are thousands of different religion out there so who’s right? It doesn’t matter. Religion is a philosophy that attempts to teach good values to live by. It’s to bring order, a system, or control to this chaotic world. It is not something we should be following blindly since the texts don’t always reflect the times we live in: think sexuality or the “animal sacrifices” requirements of some of those religions.

Some makes more sense than others, some are scams for the purpose of making money.

Interestingly, religion comes at a cost. We have made it a business.

Beware of the Religion scam.

Psychic Scam
Have you ever heard of a psychic that won the lottery? No? That’s because there are no such things as people with psychic abilities. Then why do some people believe they have psychic abilities and, more importantly, want other people to believe they do?

Doing a quick research online will give you the answer. I found a site with a number that i could call to talk directly to a psychic. It would cost me $19.99 for a 5 minute conversation with one. Peter Popoff, a “Faith Healer”, charged 1000$ to people that attend his “service”. The man has an estimated wealth of 25 million.

Do I need to elaborate more on this? Psychic is a scam for the purpose of making money and, similar to religion, the government seem to turn a blind eye to anything related to it (since it’s advertised as being for “Entertainment Purpose”).

If you’re curious, James Randi did a pretty amazing job in the last 30+ years debunking all those supposed special abilities and more.

Beware of the Psychic scam.

Self-Help Scam
Self-help is a relatively new field that some believe has been popularized by Napoleon Hill with his famous “Think and Grow Rich” book. These types of materials can help give a different perspective on things but many are empty in their content. They are often written by businessmen and include “steps” that one can follow to achieve their goals but how is it that no 2 books are the same? Why are there some with a 10 steps approach to goals while the other only has 5? Shouldn’t there be one set of rules that one could follow?

Those books are based on the author’s experience and, while the steps worked for them, it doesn’t mean that it’ll work for you or that they hold any ground.

If you are looking to make improvements in your life then you first need to understand who you are. That’s more easily achievable by studying philosophical or psychological works vs some unknown businessman that made a book about his experience.

Again, there’s a lot of money to be made in Self-Help field. And again, there’s not much of a check whether or not the information found holds any ground.

Beware of the Self-Help scam.

Magic Jewelry
Have you ever heard of the new bracelet/necklace/rocks that balances your “energy”? Gives you better posture? Or w/e else crazy claim they make…

There are no scientific evidence to backup any of those claims. What makes the rock at the store any more magical than the one you can find in your backyard? How can a stainless steel bracelet help with your posture?

It can’t - it’s as simple as that.

Beware of the Magic Jewelry scam.

Supplements Scam
Look, we all want to live long and healthy lives and many companies makes all sorts of claims about the benefits of their supplements. It’s to the point that we no longer feel safe from just eating food - we also need to add the supplements “just in case” we’re missing some vitamins.

There are no clear evidence that supplements help our bodies in any way. Most of the research that says they do are secretly sponsored by those supplement companies. The vitamin industry is obviously huge. More often than not consumers are paying top dollars for a label. If you are already eating moderately well, you do not need to supplement your diet.

Beware of the Supplement scam.

Fitness Devices Scam
I’ve been going to the gym consistently for the past 10 years and I’ve seen all sorts of contraptions that claimed to make someone fit. Let’s face the facts here, the diet is what is important when you want to be fit. If you buy these devices, and still have a poor diet, you will not see much results.

Being fit is about the diet more so than the type of devices that you use.

Beware of the Fitness Devices scam.

Fitness Plan Scam
Want abs? Then do these exercises and see them in a month!

Again, it doesn’t matter what you do at the gym as much as what you eat. If you follow the exercice plan and still eat burgers every day you will not see any results. Keep in mind that some of those fitness plan promoters are using steroids or other unhealthy alternatives to get to the body they are advertising.

You also want to do some research on something called “muscle memory” which is your body remembering the exercices that you do making them less effective. So it’s good to shake things up and adapt your fitness plan as you progresses.

Beware of the Fitness Plan scam.

Diet Scam
A follow up to the previous point, it is not uncommon to see miracle diets in magazines our books. Follow it and you will lose the fat! The problem with most of those diets is that they starve you. Your metabolism slows down when it doesn’t have a steady stream of good, healthy, food. When your metabolism slows, the fat is more difficult to get rid of. The diet may of worked for them but it may not be what you need.

Also note that food affects your mood. If eating that one type of vegetable, to follow that new fad diet, puts you in a negative mood - it may be that your body is telling you that it needs something else. It’s important to have a balance diet.

Beware of the Diet scam.

University/College Scam
It is not uncommon for an University to claim that 100% of their graduates have found work in their respective fields. After my graduation, I was interviewed to found out if I was, in fact, working in the field of computer science. I had told them that I was not since I was only working in a call center at the time and that it required no certifications to do so. They still put me down as a “success” because call centers had computers.
This is when I realized that Universities/Colleges were stretching out the truth in order to generate more sales via boggust statistics. The Universities/Colleges are conducting those “market research” themselves and have total control of the data. I also found, during my University/College days, that some of my courses were taught by people who had no clue what they were talking about.

Education IS important but we can’t just blindly trust an institution that has “University/College” in their names. I mean, have you heard of the Trump University before?

It also doesn’t make much sense to pay thousand of dollars for a course that can now be found online for a fraction of the price.

Beware of the University/College scam.

Extended Warranty Scam
Ah yes, the famous extended warranties. Every companies has them nowadays and you will be asked for it whenever you buy electronics. This is an attempt to get a few extra bucks out of you.
If your product doesn’t break within the first few days, it is very unlikely that it will before the extended warranty ends.

Beware of the Extend Warranty scam.

Conclusion
I hope by now that I was able to inform you of some of the scams going on in the world today. There are, obviously, many more. What scams have you came across?