Snake Oil & Career Scamming
I recently awoke from a dream about a scammer trying to dig her grubby hands into me. In this dream, a young, sweet, well-dressed woman knocked on my door and asked for money for a ride. “Do you need me to call you an Uber?” I remember asking. “No, I just need money for the ride,” she replied. I recall going back and forth with her, but she was relentless and wouldn’t leave. As most dreams go, I don’t remember how it ended, but I woke up in a foul mood.
I analyze this dream as my subconscious cruelly reminding me of my greatest arch nemesis - scammers.
Unfortunately, I’m well-versed in the art of the scam. Some might say I have a Master’s degree in this area, as I have been subjected to several frauds. I even started a blog series dedicated to the times I’ve been bamboozled, called “the times I’ve been dumb & was scammed.” There was the Skin Glo episode, the photoshoot incident (this one I’ll share in a future newsletter), the JustFab lawsuit, and one I haven’t shared yet which involved a Philly-area individual. I’ve lost money, as well as my pride. BUT, I have become wiser.
Twitter reminded me that today is the anniversary of The Cut’s Caroline Calloway exposé, the article that rocked the online girlies. For those not familiar, Ms. Calloway is the internet’s scammer, the self-proclaimed scammer that “you love” according to her Instagram bio. Discussing her and her many cons is one of my favorite hobbies, so if you want to engage in the conversation, you know where to find me.
An example of one of my favorite type of texts to receive
I won’t go into the full details of her swindling history, but just know that there is a rabbit hole of Reddit threads, snark websites and articles from well-respected media outlets you can fall into about them. TLDR: she didn’t write her novel-length Instagram captions which initially garnered her fame, never held up her end of the bargain of a book deal (aka never wrote the book), wildly false advertised a workshop she was hosting, among other things. Her reputation as a scammer became so synonymous with her name that she began to profit off of it. So much so, that she launched a face serum called Snake Oil. Does this move make you hate her or admire her? Share your thoughts and let your voice be heard!
Photo of the Snake Oil product from Caroline’s Instagram
The internet loves a scam - from YouTubers like Gabbie Hanna toting “free” Kenza Cosmetics make-up brushes, to Tana Mongeau’s ill-fated convention titled TanaCon, to Elizabeth Holmes and her billion-dollar blood testing company, whose trial has just begun. Like a car crash, we can’t look away. And while the level of seriousness in the examples above varies greatly, they’ve all had very real in-life consequences.
Scamming has had the strange and perverse ability to elevate a person’s career or be used as a marketing ploy, à la Caroline Calloway. Think of the people - whether they be business people, influencers, or normal every-day folks - whose names you now know because their scamming was brought to light and dissected from head to toe.
As someone who has been scammed, I perhaps have a sick interest with watching people getting exposed for their scams. I contribute to their notoriety and level of newfound infamy. And still, I can’t bring myself to look away.
The scammers will continue to scam, people will continue to be swindled, and we’ll continue to be engrossed by it.
Despite my own best judgment, I will be watching this Sunday’s VMAs. Stay tuned for a newsletter on that next week. Have a grand weekend cuties 💖
Don’t forget to also check out my Philly blog.