A one time scam experience.

I have once been a victim of a scam, and it was one of the most painful experiences of my life. I was still in secondary school at the time, young and naive, and was just eager to make quick money. Back then, I was always on Instagram, scrolling through different posts, and one day , i came across this Instagram page that claimed to have a business idea where you could invest a small amount of money, and in return, you’d get double the amount. It seemed like a no-brainer, especially for a teenager like me who didn’t know much about how these things worked.

The page looked incredibly legit, and there were just alot of "proof" that other people had done it and were paid. They had screenshots of bank transfers, and names of people who had supposedly gotten money from them. It all seemed so real, and I convinced myself that it was too good to just let go. After all, who doesn’t want to double their money?

I didn’t know it at the time, but I was digging a hole for myself. I slid into their DMs and told them I was interested in investing a small amount of money. They responded almost immediately, and before I knew it, they sent me their account details, asking me to make the transfer. Without even thinking twice, I quickly transferred the money. It wasn’t much, just a small part of my savings, but to me, it was a lot at the time.

Once the money was gone, everything changed. Their replies became slow, and in the process of me trying to communicate properly with them, they just stopped responding. I started to feel uneasy, but it wasn’t until I realized they had blocked me that the reality hit me—I had been scammed. The feeling was like a punch on the face. I felt so stupid for falling for it. I tried to reach out to them in every way I could think of, but it was too late. They were gone, and so was my money.

It was a really terrible experience, and it taught me a tough lesson about trusting things that seem too good to be true, especially on the internet. It was a hard pill to swallow because I had used my savings—money I had saved for spending later.

Since then, I’ve become much more cautious when dealing with anything related to money online. One of the most important things I do now is avoid clicking on unnecessary links. These days, scammers have all kinds of tricks up their sleeves. Some links, once clicked, can compromise your account or even drain your online wallets instantly. I’ve learned to be suspicious of anything that seems off or unfamiliar.

Another practice I’ve adopted is avoiding replying to unknown numbers, especially on platforms like WhatsApp. There are just too many ways fraudsters can trick you, and sometimes all it takes is replying to a message for them to get more information than you’d want them to have. I've seen a lot of people fall victim to scams where they think they’re talking to a bank representative or customer service agent, but in reality, they’re being set up for fraud. So now, if I don’t recognize the number, I simply don’t respond.

One of the best tools I’ve started using to protect myself is an app called "Truecaller". It has been a lifesaver over the years. The app shows the real names of people who call you, so even if it’s an unknown number, I can usually tell if it’s a scammer or not. I’ve heard horror stories of people being called by someone pretending to be a bank official, only for them to lose all the money in their account. In fact, a few of my friends have been scammed this way. Truecaller has helped me avoid situations like that by identifying who’s calling before I even think about answering.

That experience actually opened my eyes as I’ve become much more skeptical and careful in how I navigate the online world, especially when money is involved. Scammers are everywhere, and they’re getting smarter with their tactics, but thankfully, I’ve learned how to protect myself better. It was indeed a costly lesson, but it has made me wiser and more aware of the dangers that surface online.

image is from Meta Ai

Thanks for reading.

Posted Using InLeo Alpha