It was a normal working day at home until my phone rang.
Well, it didn’t ring because my phone had always been on silent mode.
But somehow, in that particular moment, my eyes caught the screen flashing an unknown number.
I don’t usually answer an unknown number.
But that day I did.
I regret that.
Because an hour later, I lost about USD 1,200.
Mind Tricks
I should have known it was a scam the minute I picked up the phone.
It was an automated voice at the end of the call saying that I had an unpaid summons. My mind brought me to the three parking summons I had not paid. It could be that, I rationalised.
And so the call connected me to a real person from a legal department. It sounded legit.
They read out my offence and said that under my name, I owed a certain bank a hefty amount of money.
I denied it because I’m not that rich.
I should’ve ended the call there and then.
Any reasonable person would’ve known it was a scam.
But by then I was already caught in their game.
And as they say, curiosity killed the cat.
Pointing An Imaginary Gun
All I wanted was to clear my name from whatever scandal they accused me of.
And so they connected me to the “police”.
I don’t like recounting this part because it’s sad and disappointing.
It’s sad because of how the “police” threatened me so harshly without an ounce of compassion.
It’s disappointing because I cried my eyes out trying to persuade the fake police officer to clear my name.
They threatened me and they threatened my family.
You’d probably think I was being over-dramatic and silly.
