21 Sob Stories that Were Actually Fake

Image via Giphy

Have you ever heard a story so absurd that you don’t even think twice and believe it? There are some pretty convincing con-artists in the world, like Leo in Catch Me If You Can status. Kudos to those people that make up extravagant sob stories that are so insanely convincing that people actually fall for them.

I can’t lie through a poker game if my life depended on it. It’s hard for me to even try and tell a white lie because immediately, a tiny smirk will come across my face and I’ll be found out right away. People that can “cry wolf” repeatedly really have a knack for the con-artist game but when they’re eventually found out, that’s a whole different story.

People who rely on audacious sob stories to get what they want from other people seriously need to take it down a couple notches. There are people out there just trying to live their best lives while you’re out here scamming people. Not cool, Joanne.

These 21 crazy sob stories turned out to be fake:


1.

I used to have this customer come in with coupons that were like 2 months expired and try to use them. This was Borders, we had a new coupon every other day. Anyway she would give this sob story about how her son has cancer and she has spent the last several months in the hospital with him, they would always give in and let her use her expired coupon. One day I’m ringing her up and I ask for her last name to look up her rewards card. It’s a name I recognize. I was friends with her son and he did have cancer… Six years ago. So I said, “Oh my god, Jeff’s cancer is back?!” fully knowing that he was perfectly healthy. She got so flustered and started laughing and backtracking, insisting he was healthy. Never saw her in the store again.

2.

Several years ago, my cat of nearly fourteen years passed away and I was beside myself (I’m a cat person). I went to work the next weekend still feeling very raw about the whole thing when my co-worker asked how my week had been. While trying hard not to actually cry, I managed to choke out that I was having a pretty tough few days because my cat had died. She was suddenly visibly shocked and after a few moments of stunned silence said, “oh my god, I’m so sorry. I don’t know what I’d do if my dad died.” The chance to correct her passed and I realised how awkward/embarrassing it would be to do so at a later date so I just carried on letting her think my dad was dead.

3.

A woman came up to me at the airport after I landed, while I was waiting for my bus. She told me the airport had lost her luggage and she had no money and needed to get a bus to her child’s birthday and any money would help. She was really crying and I felt bad for her. I was going for my wallet to give her $20 when an airport employee stopped me and said she is here all the time looking for money.

4.

My uncle married a woman he had been seeing for a few weeks because she said she had a brain tumor and would be dead in 6 months and my uncle is a gullible tw*t. This was 10 years ago and she’s still alive.

Written by Irvi Torremoro

Irvi Torremoro is an Austinite by way of Las Vegas. She's worked in various outlets in food & beverage and is now focused on writing, eating all the things, talking about Beyonce, and petting all the puppies. She runs flavorandbounty.com, a lifestyle blog about people in the service industry.