#this is a scam and they will steal your money

[everythingismadeofchaos]

I think it's important to remember that these ideas are central ideas to a lot of Republican voters, but they aren't part of central Republican strategy. There are sort of basic categories of facets of the Republican ideology. These ideas are used to exploit the "common people". The cynical Republican leadership does not care or share in any of this stuff; it is completely irrelevant to them and they would ditch it entirely if it would serve their core mission better, which is just stealing money from the American economy.

It's like abortion. The southern Baptists were actually fine with abortion (this is a bit of an oversimplification, but it's close enough for this conversation) until the right adopted their long-term strategy, which is in use today, called the two Santa Claus strategy. This strategy has nothing to do with good governance, morality, the long-term good of the United States and its citizens, competence, professionalism, honesty, anything like that. The purpose of the Republican party is first and foremost to maintain the power of the Republican party so that they can steal wealth.

That's the whole point. They don't have ideology on this level. They don't have any basic philosophy. I mean individual people do, and a lot of people have had this idea kind of vaguely foisted on them by Republican media and talking heads because it serves the primary purpose, and general Republicans all kind of share ideas like small government and fiscal responsibility and personal freedom; but these are all just secondary ideas used to manipulate the public so that the theft can occur.

The Republican party is a scam. That's all it has been for the last 45 or so years. It's not a real political party anymore. This isn't even a secret; like I don't have secret knowledge about it or anything. You can figure all this out just by looking at their positions on various issues, how they've changed, what they prioritize and what they reject. Issues that have right and wrong answers are instead employed in service of the primary goal of theft. Reason won't work, negotiation won't work. We might as well be arguing with a carjacker with a gun. It's not about your arguments, it's about the gun.

[zeedist]

BANG, BANG.ᐟ — ALHAITHAM

summary: carnival date. sfw !! fem!reader x alhaitham, academic setting, carnival setting, short + sweet. word count: 1k proofread: nope.

Yearly, on the outskirts of Sumeru, bright circus carps and twinkling lights are mounted for the Carnival. The scent of something nutty and sweet hung in the air as you strolled through the cheerful bustle of the fair, an arm hooked on your boyfriend's. Alhaitham wasn't a fan of the chaos, the loud noises and people bumping making his nose scrunch. You expected that, what you did not expect however was how he scanned every game and booth as if they were lab specimens.

"All of these are scams," he muttered, needing to lower his head for his voice to reach your ears, "See those rings? They are too small for the bottles, but they give the ilusion that it might fit to trick people into playing."

You found his serious approach humorous, shaking your head. "I'm sure at least one person can win once a night, if not, how has someone not kicked them out yet?"

He raised an eyebrow and you already knew what was about to come — his natural talent was to counter every of your statements, "It's carnival business, as long as they profit, they don't care making a kid or a dozen cry. They make money off the excitement."

"Alright, alright, there is nothing you don't know," you teased with a light nudge, smiling at him in that pretty way that made his heart flutter. "We already are suffering enough with Calculus, do we really need to do a breakdown of the economics of this carnival?"

Alhaitham only chuckled at your comment, his silent way of caving into your words followed by a gentle kiss in your forehead.

Before you said something back, your gaze caught a small trinklet at one of the booths. You aren't sure why it did, but the cute rounded dinosaour shaped charm snatched your attention. Alhaitham noticed that sparkle in your eyes — the one you had when getting your favorite snack, or a perfect score.

Giving you a soft peck on the back of your hand, Alhaitham let go and stepped forward, his wallet already in hand. Crisp bills slipped from his fingers and landed in the owner's outstretched palm, all before he even bothered to ask what the game was about. Shooting, apparently.

The older man behind the counter barely looked up, his expression bored as he waved a hand toward the targets a few meters away. "150 points for the charm," he muttered. The rules were simple: the targets further away were worth 30 points each, while the closer ones only gave 5 points. Fifteen arrows, a ridiculously high price, and a suspiciously old-looking crossbow to top it all off.

"Wait, wait," you blinked, staring at him in surprise. "Didn't you just say all of these games are scams? You’re wasting money—"

Alhaitham shot you a quick smirk as he examined the worn crossbow. "I have enough mora," he replied, his tone soft with you as he drew back the string with a frown. Something about the weapon felt... off. He lifted the notch and took aim, squinting one eye.

Click.

The arrow missed entirely.

Alhaitham didn’t even flinch. He simply loaded another arrow, his tone unbothered. "See? A scam. The crossbow is shifted to aim lower than it should."

"So it’s impossible?" you asked, raising an eyebrow.

"My dear," Alhaitham glanced at you, "I will steal the charm if needed. But we are not leaving here without it."

Click.

The second arrow grazed the smaller target at the back, but didn’t pop it. Alhaitham loaded a third arrow, his expression focused as he adjusted the crossbow. He held it in a position that looked completely wrong — even you could assume that much.

"Perhaps we could try another game—"

Click.

This time, the arrow hit its mark, sinking into the target with a satisfying pop.

Alhaitham turned to you, giving you that smirk — the one that made you want to roll your eyes and laugh all at once. It was the look he wore when he'd cracked a tough problem or uncovered a loophole. The one that practically screamed, did you just see how brilliant I am?

Click.

Click.

Click.

Shot after shot, each arrow found its mark, all hitting the smaller targets at the back. One by one, they popped with crisp sounds. Ten targets, ten perfect shots, 300 points.

Alhaitham handed back the manipulated crossbow to the owner without a second thought. "The charm, please. Two of them."

With an unhappy sigh, the owner didn't dispute the outcome but still reluctantly handing over the charming trinkets. They were small and undeniably cute — tiny dinosaurs with delicate, colorful decorations. One was a gentle green, the other a calming blue.

Alhaitham took the two, his fingers brushing the smooth surface. Usually, when facing decisions, he asked you which you preferred — even when you would tell him to pick. But this time, he skipped that consideration and handed you the green one, his eyes drifting away from yours. His hand covered yours as he murmured, just loud enough for you to hear.

“Please take this one... You said green reminds you of me, doesn’t it?”

A soft blush flushed his cheeks. For a moment, he hesitated, finally gathering the courage to meet your gaze, his eyes soft as he confessed, "I hope it will make you think of me more."

He gulped, his voice quieter now, as though the words were difficult to get out. "As much as I think of you, all day and all night."

The charm in your hand, small and smooth, seeping coldness into your skin.

A piece of him, in a way, now for you to carry.

[moogfox]

Tiktok sick pet scam

Hey y'all i recently found out about this scam on tiktok and its making me so angry - this person is using photos of an injured cat claiming they need money for vet bills but.. the photos are on over 100 accts with slight variations to the name, the name/age of the cat changes randomly (she's 3, no now she's 5! she's lily.. no.. she's named mama now), the day of the injury changes (she was attacked july 1st... july 22nd... august 4... whatever is most recent) and they are using 3 or more different venmo's and then deleting them as they go. its stealing from good hearted ppl who want to help a sick cat. PLEASE tell people about this and don't let your family or friends be scammed.

[mamaswildchild]

do me a favor and do not give money to strangers in your ask box. ever

[feluka]

Her name is @kyra45 not "Kyra96" (???) and she does NOT say "these are always scams".

She singles out the ones that are scams and puts in excellent work to point out how and why they are scams (beyond the easily debunkable "there are no proxies for sending money) and she reblogs vetted fundraisers.

If you're going to put words in someone's mouth because you have no credibility of your own so you have to steal someone else's, at least get the name right.

If you see this REPORT IMMEDIATELY

see that paypal? Paypall DOES NOT WORK IN GAZA. There are no proxies for sending momey the way you theoretically could a gofundme. THESE ARE A SCAM, even Kyra96 says these are always scams

@gaza-scam-alerts

[melyzard]

Wow.

Honey is an app/browser extension that promises to help you save money by finding the best discount codes available on the internet. Apparently, it secretly does the opposite of that, and it's been promoted to billions of youtube watchers for years at this point, by popular influencers like MrBeast and Linus Tech. Oof. Fascinating and enraging. Some real predatory shit going on in here.

[faggotcitosis]

i am a huge believer in direct action, i dont like when people scoff at it and only recommend organizations for multiple reasons, direct action is generally the best way to help your community & people in need. especially in brutal situations, your change will impact directly the hope & future of someone in need, especially when you're western and your currency goes way further in the global south.

that being said: do not feel pressured into sharing random bot messages. it does not matter what tumblr users say about morality or activism - spreading scams around because "what if it's real? id rather a scammer get money than a real person in need not get help" gets in the way of real people getting real help. high level bot scams are professional scam operations that are actual real life human trafficking & slavery operations. it's not some random person in texas trying to scam a couple hundred for a new computer - it's actual organized crime that has real life victims. most of the money they con comes from europe & the usa.

ask yourself: where did the pets crowdfund posts go? donations for ukraine? all the porn bots & sugar daddy scams? please think critically before aiding international crime rings because you got emotionally manipulated by people online saying you are the devil for like, using your brain and seeing the pattern of behavior on this website, which is very fertile ground for conning and has been for years due to the progressive/liberal/leftist nature of its user base.

[herefortheships]

Just a PSA: I am not sharing any messages asking for donations. All such messages are deleted immediately. This is to protect everyone from potential scammers. I know some people are legitimately asking for help, but since I cannot be sure, I will NOT be sharing any fundraisers or pleads for donations on my blog. No exceptions.

[judas-isariot]

I am sorry if your PFP icon is an AI-Image. No matter what you say or who you are you are getting block.

[dumbthink]

the final verdict on decomytree: it’s an excuse to advertise an ai app, and to ask for money. developers are scummy, but as long as you don’t download any of the shit associated with it or give them money, you’re likely fine 👍 signed, your local computer scientist

edited to reflect that both versions of the decomytree app (android and apple) seem to come from their respective app stores now.

[brain-deadx0]

Ok but making fake money is boring.

Scamming/stealing money from assholes is much more fun as we've seen.

It’s a bit unrealistic how Toph never made any counterfeit coins once she learned to metalbend

[slutcore-starships]

just stuck my head back into dnd beyond because i was bored and . jesus fucking christ why are yall still playing that game

[mx-paint]

some of y'all live in an imaginary bubble where people and corporations don't shamelessly steal credit and make it impossible for the actual creator(s) to get anything for it lmao.

[kurgy]

no joke you are just a vile fucking person

Your blog is a threat to a scam ring, and they are now actively trying to slander you to reduce your influence in exposing them.

[combinecremator]

i swear to god i regret reblogging that estrolabs post because absolutely no one is focusing on the actual issue, which is that it's a phishing site very clearly run by malicious people and giving them any information on yourself could fuck you over big time

their ashwaganda "estrogen replacement" would be useless at best and extremely dangerous at worst, if it actually existed. however the products on that site almost certainly do not fucking exist and never have, and they have zero intention of actually producing them. the listings for the "supplements" aren't on the site anymore.

when scams like this pop up suddenly, they're not legitimate to even the slightest degree. there was never a real product, they were trying to get your money or your card and contact information either to doxx you, harass you, or literally steal from you. it's a PHISHING scheme, not a "making a shitty product to Literally Kill People" scheme. one of these things is far cheaper and far easier for a layperson to do.

while the information on the function of ashwaganda was definitely useful generally, it was/is not the most present danger of this estrolabs/queerquirk situation and people need to be aware of the actual threat these kinds of sites and situations pose.

as i was writing this estrolabs has been taken down, but queerquirk is still up and still advertising it's fake products and has a contact us page. do not give them your contact information, even to send hate. it is not worth getting phished to epicly own the dumbass behind this scheme. report the site and move on.

[thisisntmyrightera]

Together - CHO HYUN-JU x Fem Reader

Summary: Reader is scammed and abandoned by her boyfriend, leaving her alone in South Korea to her fate, so in desperate search of a solution to return to her home country she decides to join the squid games to get money, within the game she meets a couple of people who become her friends and could possibly be something more.

Warning: In this episode none!

In futures episodes: Violence, Strong language, female main character is considered heterosexual but she have feelings for a female (Cho Hyun-ju) and it is reciprocated, abuse for male characters.

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You were stupid, very stupid and naive, that was what you repeated to yourself every day since your ex-boyfriend scammed you and abandoned you in a country where you didn't know anyone, you couldn't even understand the language well and now you were locked up in a place full of strangers in a green uniform and with a headache you could barely bear.

Why were you doing such stupid things? You should have said no when that man approached you and offered you money, it was all for the damn money, otherwise how would you find another way to get home?

Barely a day had passed, you understood little of the first game where you saw one person after another die around you, what you had gotten yourself into, this wasn't a game, it was a massacre, as you sat cross-legged on the cold bed that had been assigned to you you could feel your hands shaking and you felt warm tears rolling down your cheeks.

Hey - a kind voice rumbled slowly but enough to wake you from your trance to look up and see a boy with long, slicked-back hair holding a small metal tray - I noticed you didn't come over for your food, I brought you some

His equally shaky hand moved a little closer to you, leaving the tray on the bed, staring at you, afraid you'd react

It's okay if you don't want to eat it, it's just that if we're going to keep playing you need strength for tomorrow - his kind but shy smile and his clear disinterest in leaving made you wipe your tears with the sleeves of your sweater, nodding taking a deep breath - Thanks - you told him, trying not to sound upset, because you really weren't and if you were it was only with yourself

My name is Dae-Ho, yours is… 144 - he looked at you curiously taking a bite of his food

Y/N… my name is Y/N - you sighed, hugging your legs uncomfortably and nervous

Hey, leave her alone - a loud and somewhat curious voice sounded behind Dae-Ho making the two look towards the sound - don't you see that you're making her uncomfortable? go away

I… I didn't want to make you uncomfortable, it's just that… - Dae-Ho looked at you embarrassed, walking away just a few steps

You don't have to give explanations, go away - the girl, a little taller than Dae-Ho, looked at him firmly, almost annoyed, following the man with her gaze as he walked away quickly and embarrassed, joining a group of men on the other shelf of beds

you can eat in peace - the girl looked at you kindly while you only responded with a slight nod and she walked away returning to her place two beds down on the shelf next to you

It was difficult for you not to go unnoticed and it was obvious that everyone wanted to get away from you, you weren't like them, you didn't share their nationality, their traditions, or their topics of conversation, you didn't even understand many of them what they were talking about, they all looked at you like a weirdo, like why a foreigner could come and want to steal their prize, it was unfair.

That's how you spent the first night, alone, trembling from the cold and fear, looking into the darkness while you cried silently and the gunshots echoed in your ears, it was a nightmare and that's how you were until sleep overcame you

The second day wasn't any better, you could barely carry yourself, you were tired, hungry and much more scared than yesterday, surrounded by hundreds of people in a courtyard with drawings of children and rainbows on the floor.

''Now, it's time to form teams of 5, you have 10 minutes'' the voice of the speaker sounded repeatedly before an alarm sounded and you saw how everyone ran looking for members for their team, but everyone seemed to avoid you like a plague.

They ran and pushed you but no one looked at you to join and if they looked at you it was to laugh and murmur

There she was again, standing in front of you with a sad look that barely met your eyes she looked at the floor and walked by your side.

Hey… - you murmured barely, only to her with fear and shame - if you still don't have a team… I can join you if you don't mind - she looked at you over her shoulder giving a sigh of relief nodding offering you her hand so she could walk by your side and not get lost in the crowd

Between your fingers you could notice the difference in size between your small and fragile hand and hers, it was big with a different strength and somewhat rough but still made you feel protected and confident

So you both walked almost in circles finding the fragile old woman and her son and then the little girl with bangs forming a team of 5

Again the games were confusing for you, you could identify some that resembled what you had once played in your country but fear consumed you making your hands tremble again

Calm down - her voice again fragile but somewhat thick made you look at her holding the air - everything will be fine, don't push yourself too much okay? Do you think you can take charge of throwing the rocks? It's just a matter of taking a rock, throwing it and making the second one fall, that's all you have to do - her voice was like a murmur trying not to interrupt the game of the first two teams that were participating

Should I just throw it? - you looked at her nervously, looking at her dark eyes behind her bangs

You just have to throw it, it's easy - she smiled at you giving you hope making you smile barely as you looked at the floor again nervously trying not to think about everything that was tormenting your head, in the background you could hear the screams and cheers that the other players made while the teams participated until a round of gunshots made you jump scared covering your ears and closing your eyes tightly - calm down, calm down nothing is happening - her arms surrounded you quickly, adjusting you against her chest, you could feel the strands of her hair on your face and a slight aroma of herbs coming from it - it's over, don't open your eyes until I tell you okay?

Your head barely nodded as you took a deep breath, the aroma of her hair made you remember the gardens where you walked when you first arrived in South Korea and her arms for some reason made you feel protected, nothing could happen to you

A couple of minutes (that seemed like an eternity) passed slowly, people were talking, some were crying and in the background you could hear the sound of the sirens of the forklifts that had come to pick up the bodies, one second after another it was a damn nightmare.

''Next team, you can take your position'' the voice from the speaker again

It's our turn - the old woman sighed getting up while you opened your eyes and stood up slowly with fear

The guards tied your ankles and after a shot the game for you began.

You walked counting the steps, being constant and fast in your tasks, first Ddjaki, the little girl with the bangs did well, then the flying rock, your trembling hands held it strong and letting out a deep sigh you threw it against the rock in the distance failing in the attempt

Girl concentrate, what's wrong with you! - the old woman shouted making your friend look at her annoyed and after her firm indication and walking as a team to pick it up the 5 of them returned to their position - don't fail, please girl!

We trust you… calm down, take a breath and throw it, you'll do well - Your new best friend looked at you smiling lightly giving you courage.

A sigh again, a fixed look at the rock and after throwing it it fell with a blow.

Everyone screamed, applauded and so on again until reaching the final task ''Team 2, you have completed your tasks'' you had never been so happy to hear that spooky voice on the speaker and once the guards untied your ankles they all ran screaming and laughing to the fence that separated you from the rest of the players, you could finally return to the dormitory and finally had survived another day.

Everyone was happy, so much so that all of you were jumping and screaming with excitement, your friend, the tall girl ran to you without wasting a second surrounding you with her strong arms making you spin in the air while both of you laughed

We did it, I told you, we did it right - she laughed jumping with you still in her arms making you scream when you felt the air on your face and your legs hanging in the air

Now, stop it, you're going to make her dizzy - the old woman laughed patting her back as a sign that it was enough until you heard gunshots in the distance again making the team erase their smile and remember the horrible place where they were

Come on let's sit down - her hand slowly and carefully took yours walking towards the bed shelves climbing up and sitting on the steps - are you okay?

Yes… I'm pretty well, thanks for helping me - you smiled rubbing your hands on your legs nervously

By the way, my name is Cho Hyun-Ju… are you? - she looked at you curiously

Y/N… my name is Y/N - you smiled shyly at her

You have a very pretty name - she smiled back shyly with her cheeks slightly tinted - thanks for letting me join you in the game you were the only person who approached me

You don't have to thank me, I think we are both rejected for certain reasons and that makes us unique in the crowd right? it's better to be united and be stronger than alone - your cheeks felt hot, the sign that they were red like cherries

You're right..

Part 2 ✨

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Thanks for reading, this is the first episode I've written about Squid Game and it was short since I have little time to update but I didn't want to go to sleep without writing the beginning of the story, I have ideas but I'd like to hear yours and write them down, just to reinforce the theme of this story the reader and Cho Hyun-ju will possibly have a romance so if these themes aren't to you please don't read it, I know you'll find something that suits your tastes. 🫶🏻

Again, Thanks for reading, I'll be back soon!

BTW: Happy New Year everyone 🥂✨