It was just yesterday when everything was fine.
I couldn’t believe it. As someone who is always online and kept up-to-date with the latest news and trends, I became a scam victim.
Looking back, I felt so stupid. The scam could have easily been detected right from the start. I even gave the authorization pin twice. I could have detected that my “friend” was acting weird and stopped the transaction. Long story short, I authorized payment for game credits for a person who had created an Instagram account that looked so similar to the other person’s account, I know.
I could have also prevented this tragedy from happening if I was active on Instagram for the past few days. My friends’ Instagram stories were full of warnings about the fake account. Everyone knew about it, except me.
Now because of me, the police, the telecommunications company, the company, and my parents are involved.
I’m someone who doesn’t like involving others in anything, so you can imagine how I must have been feeling from yesterday night till today.
I’ve Never Taken Responsibility For Anything That Goes Wrong
For the first time in the 17 years of my life, I blamed nobody but myself. For every other matter, I would put the blame on others, and never myself. I could always come out with a million excuses on how it was other people’s fault. But not this time. It was my fault, and I admit it.
I’ve lost S$100 for authorizing payment for Cherry game credits. I was naive in thinking that my bank account or credit card details would need to be provided in order to make a purchase.
I never knew I could make a payment just by giving away my mobile number. But the dumbest thing I did was to give the 3 numbered pin to authorize the payment. What was I thinking? It was stated so clearly that I’m about to make a purchase for Cherry credits, for S$50. I hated myself.
Maybe to you, getting scammed for $100 is not a big deal and not a large sum of money comparing to those million dollars scams. But to a student, $100 means a lot. Especially now that I’m doing freelance writing as a side hustle, I can finally understand how hard it is to earn pennies. Working life is tough.
When you spend, the money is gone in seconds. But it can take hours, days or even months to earn the money you’ve spent in seconds.
Prior to becoming a freelance writer, I was a part-time waitress at a Japanese restaurant. I worked 34 hours a week, 10-hour shifts. For 8 out of those 10 hours, I was standing. And earning $8 per hour is not that great. I had to endure long standing hours, scoldings from the captain and manager, ostracised by colleagues, dealing with unreasonable diners, making mistakes like giving the incorrect change, and spilling hot soup over a kid. But somehow I managed to stay there for 3 months, till my holidays ended.
The Aftermath
I contacted Boku helpdesk through email, but I’m disappointed to receive a lecture from the customer service officer telling me that I shouldn’t have given the pin. They also advised me to file a police report, and that after filing a refund report, it’s not guaranteed that the refund would be approved. I agree. They have every right not to approve my refund request; there was nothing wrong with the transaction, technically speaking, I did make the purchase.
To be honest, I’m afraid of going to the police station and filing a police report because I’m afraid the police will laugh at me. I’m serious, and I’m scared they would laugh behind my back and make me a joke in the police force. The last time I filed a police report was 4 years ago when I left my iPhone in the public toilet and forgot about it. The police were trying so hard not to laugh back then. Anyways, that was the last time I ever saw my phone.
As I’m writing this, I’m on my way to the police station. But, I’m still afraid of what’s going to happen, and I’m embarrassed to tell the police about how I authorized the payment by giving away my pin. I have to say that even considering filing for a police report was not an easy decision for me. I didn’t dare to face my stupidity, but I know I have to do it to solve it.
Fast forward to 2 hours later, and I’m back home with the police report in my hands. Surprisingly, the officers were professional when handling my case, and they certainly didn’t laugh at me. Instead, they took the case seriously. All along, it was just me overthinking.
My Takeaway From This Incident
I could continue blaming myself and beating myself up for this incident, but I could also learn to accept what has happened, learn from the incident, and move on. I might have become a laughing stock among my other friends, or in the police station, but I could choose to ignore all those and pick myself up.
I don’t think any of them would understand how it feels to be a victim of a scam until they become one themselves. If you asked me if I think I would become a scam victim, I would have confidently answered no.
I think what I need to be educated on is not only scams but not to trust people easily. I have been hurt so often in my life, be it relationships or friendships, yet I still haven’t learned my lesson. I’m tired of being on the giving end for all these years. I want to be the one receiving, and give little in return to the giver. That’s what my friends have been doing. I would give my 100%, and I would get -50% in return, backstabbing and rumors.
After this incident, I hope I would be more wary of anybody, even if they’re my closest friends. I need to learn to protect myself and stop being the victim finally.
