confidencetricks

Photo: Thaspol Sangsee (Shutterstock)Humans are predictable:When we want to know something, we’re probably going to google it. Companies (including digital media sites like Lifehacker) know this, and often try to “game the algorithm” by…

A fake website is a scammer’s attempt to seem like a reputable business, when in reality, they don’t actually provide any goods or services: Their “business” is to trick you into thinking they do, and to get you to pay for it. There are…

Here at Lifehacker, we know scams. We know they’re elaborate and sophisticated. We know that scams cost victims their time, money, and private data, and can leave them feeling like complete and total suckers. When you hear about a scam…

So many of us are unhappy with our current employers that some clever person coined the term “rage applying” to describe the newfound zeal for searching for a new gig. The term has been trending on TikTok—but applying too quickly for an…

We are in peak gift-card-buying season as the holidays rapidly approach—which means that scammers are also in their peak season of trying to trick us into buying gift cards that those on our list won’t actually be able to use. We’ve…

It’s no secret scammers get more skilled and ingenious with time. Part of their strategy is knowing when is the best time to target certain people. As the holidays approach and people are expecting packages from Black Friday shopping or…

It’s no secret Instagram is plagued with fake accounts, bots, and impersonators. Just take a look at any comments section on any trending post and you’ll see it’s swarmed with thirst traps and crypto “moguls.” But there are far more…

We’ve all taken those brief surveys where you get a $10 gift card for a movie theater or a BOGO coupon for Chipotle. But what about a free $325 Yeti cooler for taking a Dick’s Sporting Goods survey? Sounds like a steal, right? That was the…

Imagine you get this random text from an unknown number out of the blue: “My dog needs to be seen by a vet right away. Can you help me?” Do you respond to let the person know they have the wrong number? Do you ignore it? What do you think…

So you’ve just discovered you were scammed out of $1,000. You are feeling emotional and upset, and understandably so. You post about it on Twitter, notifying your friends and family so they don’t become a target of the same scammer. Then,…