Idea: Use the word “scam” or imply skepticism, triggering curiosity and fear of loss.
A hook that puts the word "scam" on the thing being discussed in the opening line, as a confessed loss, a suspicion that got reversed, or an open question, and then spends the video settling it. The word arrives before any context, either spoken as the first sentence or written as the first text card.
The word does two jobs in the same second. It says out loud the objection the viewer was already forming, which puts the creator in the sceptic's chair rather than the seller's, and that is the quickest way past the resistance that appears whenever a video looks like it might be pitching. Whoever says "scam" first owns the frame for the rest of the video.
It also puts money at risk, and loss pulls harder than gain. Someone who would scroll past a video about a thing that works will stop for a video about a thing that took people's money, because the second one feels like information they need rather than information they might enjoy. That is why this hook survives in categories where nobody wants another review.
One thing the examples on this page make clear: not one of the three lines actually calls the thing a scam. Each one attaches the word and then immediately opens a reversal or a question, "but it changed my life", "here's what actually happened", asking whether the people saying it are right. The word is being used to hold the viewer while the verdict is still open, which is what keeps this a hook rather than a takedown, and it leaves the creator free to land on either answer without having lied.
Three registers, all built on the same word:
"I thought [thing] was a scam, but [what actually happened]."
"Is [thing] a scam? Here's what actually happened."
"I got scammed by [thing or amount], so [what I do now instead]."
It runs two to three seconds and it is the first thing in the video, with no greeting and no setup in front of it, because any preamble spends the surprise the word is carrying. It works spoken to camera or as the opening text card, often both at once, and the thing under suspicion should be on screen while the word lands so the viewer knows immediately what is being accused. Keep the delivery flat. A dramatic reading competes with the word instead of supporting it.