Fake-Grandpa Scam
The doorbell rings, and a man who claims to be your grandpa is standing there. He says that you invited him to dinner. He’s holding a box of candy. He looks and smells like your grandpa, but something seems “off.” Grab the candy and yell, “Nice try, Gramps!,” and slam the door. If he keeps ringing the doorbell, call the police. Later, you remember that you did invite him to dinner, but, still, it was probably a scam.

“Bridge Out” Scam
You’re driving along and suddenly there’s a barricade and a “Bridge Out” sign. That’s funny; it wasn’t there before. It looks real—of course it does. Somehow the scammers make money by getting you to turn around and go back. Drive around the barricade.

Listening Scam
An old friend calls you up and says he wants to meet you for a few beers. You’re leery, but you go. It’s a mistake. He’s getting a divorce, and spends two hours telling you how he doesn’t know what he’s going to do. Is there any way you can get those two hours back? You can try, but you’re probably out of luck.

Tennis-Ball Scam
You take your dog to the park and get out a tennis ball. Your dog jumps up and down, urging you to throw the ball. Against your better instincts, you throw the ball—and immediately realize you’ve been scammed. Even if the dog brings the ball back, it’s just a setup to scam you again and again. Dogs often prey on old people and single people, because they know they’re lonely. Instead of getting a dog, get a teen-ager, as the teen-ager will not get excited by the ball and doesn’t care if you throw it or not.

“Help Wanted” Scam
You walk by a sign that says “Help Wanted.” You’re in a good mood, so you walk in and offer to help. But it’s a trick! They want to hire you for a job. The next thing you know you’re mopping the floor and watching the clock for quitting time.

Pretty-Woman Scam
You meet a woman online. A lot of her words are misspelled, but you let it go. She e-mails a photo of herself, and she looks young and pretty. She offers to meet you at the park for a game of tennis. She asks you to bring a pack of tennis balls. When you show up, it’s not a pretty young woman but your dog! He grabs the tennis balls and runs off.

Free-Ticket Scam
A friend offers to give you a box-seat ticket to a Yankees game. Somehow he “can’t go.” What’s the catch—how much does it cost? He says there’s no catch, it’s free. Then he ups the allure by saying it’s some sort of championship game. You go to the game, but it’s not a very good game, and the Yankees lose. Some friend!

Bank Scam
A guy you knew in high school calls and says he’s going to rob a bank and wants you to drive the getaway car. You don’t really know him that well, but you say O.K. The robbery is a success and you get away. When you ask him for your share, he says, “Here’s your share,” and pulls out a gun. You say, “That’s not my share, that’s a gun.” After a few minutes of him pointing the gun at you, you realize you’ve been scammed.

Jury-Duty Scam
The scammers send you a notice that you skipped jury duty and owe a big fine. But you check the dates, and it turns out you were in the courtroom that day, because you were on trial.

Fake-Kidnapping Scam
You get kidnapped and call your grandfather. You tell him the kidnappers won’t let you go unless he puts a thousand dollars in a box and leaves it at a certain street corner. He agrees and does it. The next morning, you realize that you were just really drunk and got tangled up in some ropes and thought you were kidnapped. You and Grandpa go to the street corner, but the box with the money is gone. Hey, maybe it was a scam! ♦