I recently had an experience in which I scammed myself by not checking on my account transactions and blindly signing up for something. Does this happen to you too?
It was September of 2025 and one of the first weeks of my freshman year. I was walking down East Campus Mall towards my residence hall when I noticed a group of students standing at a table with Crumbl cookies and a QR code, beckoning passing students to come to the table for a free cookie. Of course, I was enticed, so I approached the table to see what the catch was.
I was told “Scan the QR code for a free DoorDash Dash Pass for a couple of months and you also get a cookie” one of the students said.
It was truly too good to be true, and I did not ask further questions and mindlessly scanned the QR code, signed up for the Dash Pass and went about my day. As the months went by, I did not use DoorDash, and I eventually forgot about the “free” Dash Pass. This was until I checked my bank account and realized I had been charged $5 for five months because of the forgotten Dash Pass. I had lost twenty dollars.
I know this is something that is embarrassing to admit—seeing that that is what happens after a free trial—but I believe it is important to spread awareness about a personal example of something so common. Asking questions and looking into what you are doing before you sign up for something and definitely not forgetting about free trials you have signed up for is important. I had a friend run into the exact same issue with the Dash Pass deal and was also paying for Dash Pass for several months.
I’ve noticed an almost extreme amount of trust that my peers and I put into signing up for random things. It is appalling, yet not totally surprising considering most of us grew up around constantly evolving technology. I notice it is a common perception that older adults are more easily scammed—while that can be true, it is also true that younger adults are also extremely susceptible to scams as well.
I am not saying that what I signed up for was a scam—it wasn’t—I was noting the fact that I had scammed myself by forgetting about a free trial, which is a common mistake. There are apps for subscriptions you forget about. I was also peeved that the people advertising the free Dash Pass did not say that I would stay subscribed to the Dash Pass without being notified that I was paying every month, which is why it is also important to read up on what exactly you are signing up for, which is what I also failed to do.
Circling back to the Dash Pass incident—which inspired this entire article—I wanted to come out and talk about it because I see these students advertising it on campus at least once a month. I see students flocking over to their table. What they are doing isn’t wrong, but students are likely getting, eventually, charged for Dash Pass without even knowing it because they are not asking questions, checking their accounts or reading the entirety of certain “deals” or memberships—and losing your money is never fun.
Overall, I just wanted to write a piece on my experience and how it is a reflection of something that the young adult generation struggles with, which is being readily aware when spending money, clicking on links and signing up for things. This can also be seen on social media where people will come across Direct Message scams on apps such as Instagram or Facebook. They obliviously click the message and are scammed because they have no prior knowledge or education on how they could be scammed. I even had a friend show me a message asking me if she was about to get scammed.
While my experience wasn’t necessarily a scam, unknowingly signing up for things and getting your money taken out of your account without you knowing is not a great experience. So do be very aware of what you are signing up for.