There are many ways heartless people steal our hard earned money. Don't let these evil people succeed in scamming you. Let me share some stories so you can avoid such situations.
It is easy to say that we can avoid being scammed until we experience it. Don't become a victim of scammers just because you pity the person. Whether the scammer is a stranger or someone you know, it is better to be safe than sorry.
I have experienced several incidents over the years but thank God it's almost always minimal.
My sibling was subject to one of them last year and it was not a laughing matter. Some people have also tried to do the same "trick" on me but I already knew the modus operandi. (However I still became a victim last month but that's a different thing altogether.)
Let me just correct the notion that money is evil. Nope, money is not the evil one.
Most people think it is coins and paper bills that make evil situations happen in this world. Most of us think money is bad when in fact it is just a piece of paper or metal or digital thing. What is evil about a bunch of paper, fabric, metal or whatever material it is made of?
The only reason it causes a lot of problems is because we humans put great value on those things. Even in this digital age of cryptocurrency we still experience the effects of human greed and discontent. I am no stranger to both but let this serve as a reminder so we don't get deceived by people who want to take our money.
There are many people out there who want to steal other people's money from those who are either stupid or too kind and easy to fool. I'm sorry if it may sound harsh but that is definitely how the selfish and bad people see those who fall for their scams.
Out of all the scams I have encountered, they mostly have ONE thing in common:
They will make you PITY them.
I repeat, scammers/sinners can scam you because you will BELIEVE and actually PITY them!
(Pag naawa ka sa kanila wala ka na, maii-scam ka na sa ayaw at sa gusto mo. Exactly what BBM is doing now. Lol but that's a topic for another day.)
Don't believe me? Well it only means di ka pa naii-scam or akala mo lang di ka pa nauto ng scammer (you haven't been scammed yet or you think you haven't been duped by a scammer yet). 😂
Scenario 1: PayPal Scam
With this one, the scammer is posing as someone who needs help. What happened to my sibling was someone reached out via social media message and asked for help. He claimed they saw the post about PayPal that my sibling wrote years ago bla bla bla. Of course because the guy seemed like he really needed help with buying something overseas via PayPal, he got the sympathy of my sibling.
Warning: Do not fall for such financial traps!
Unless you know the person you are talking to, never help a stranger to buy something using your own money or your PayPal account unless you get the money in your bank account first!
Never use your own money to buy anything online for other people! The risk of using your PayPal account is greater especially if you supposedly buy something for someone and then don't get the "item delivered".
That's how PayPal scams go. They will either make you buy something or supposedly they will send you the money. No no no. Do not fall for it.
What happened to my sibling is what I would call the "PayPal item non-delivery scam." They make the victim become the "seller" of an item and the buyer (scammer) is the person who contacted the victim. So the scammer will send a PayPal payment to the victim. And then the victim will send the actual money to the scammer's partner as the supposed payment for the item.
To make it easier to understand let me put it this way...
Let's say Mr. B is the scammer and Mr. L is the victim and Mr. C is the partner in crime or the so-called seller of items Mr. B wants to buy.
Mr. B contacts Mr. L and asks for help saying he can't buy because his money is in his PayPal bla bla bla. To cut the long story short, Mr. B sends money to Mr. L via PayPal.
Mr. L thinking he has the money (even if it is just in his PayPal account) will then send cash locally to Mr. C's bank account. (!!!) Let's say the items Mr. B is buying are two laptops with a total cost of $1,600.
Once Mr. C receives the money in his bank account, Mr. L thinks he has helped someone and feels good about it. This is where the problem begins soon for Mr. L.
After several hours, Mr. B files a dispute with PayPal claiming he never received the item. Mr. L discovers this hours later and becomes aware that he has been scammed!!! Oh no!!! PayPal gave the money back to Mr. B because of the dispute!
In cases like this PayPal will most likely side with the buyer (Mr. B) because Mr. L will have no proof that he sent any items to Mr. B! Mr. L have lost $1,600 because of this kind of scam!!!
Now of course when I learned this happened to my sibling I advised to contact the bank immediately and inform PayPal about the scam that happened. Ugh unfortunately some people are just willing victims to such things that happen to them. Even if they have the right to complain and report things they will choose not to do it. Good lord. 🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️ This is why bad people succeed in doing crimes!!! 🤦♀️ If you don't do something you will forever become a victim!
Actually I heard part of their conversation while the scam was happening and I wanted to ask who the person was but I didn't. Well I didn't want to be told off in case the person is a friend or whatever. My sibling might think I'm getting involved in something I shouldn't even care about so I just ignored the conversation even if I wanted to intervene for some reason. Well I should have done it even if I would get told off. Would have prevented the scam but ah such is life.
Scenario 2: Street Scam
Beware also of people in the street asking for "fare money". This is what happened to me a few times a decade or so ago. Some street person will approach you and will make an elaborate story how they don't have money to go home or somewhere they need to be. Either they will look poor or they will be dressed casually like a decent person. Also they might say they are not a bad person, bla bla bla.
Well beware of anyone who says they are not a bad person. In the first place why will you say you aren't bad when you aren't? It is just a play on words so you will believe their fake story and fall for their victim tale.
When you start pitying them you will give them the biggest amount of money you have. Haha. You think you will not fall for something like it but when it happens to you and they trigger your pity you will give them money whether you like it or not. 😂 (Eto yung totoong budol!)
This is why I always avoid strangers on the street who attempt to talk to me. Unless they ask the time or direction of course I will give it otherwise I will ignore them.
Scenario 3: Loan Scam
Ah this one for sure is what a lot of people are already familiar with. I have experienced this as well and have ended friendships because of it.
This is what happens when your friend, work colleague or even relative will ask you to lend them some money. They will say they don't have enough cash to buy this or that or pay something important or whatever. Of course you who believe and pity them and their situation will lend them the amount they need.
Why will you lend them money? Because you will think if you were in their situation and you will also do the same thing, anyone who can lend you money will be heaven-sent indeed.
They will of course promise to pay you back the amount, sometimes even with interest. You both talk about it, bla bla bla. Sometimes you will even have some paper signed by this person and they will even give you their ID or whatever.
And so you lend your friend, colleague, or relative some money. Unfortunately when the time comes for them to pay they will become monsters instead of the lowly and kind person who asked for your help and mercy. Wow. 😂
Oh this is how a lot of people become resentful. It makes us angry whenever we are duped into thinking they will pay us. Even if they promised the moon and the stars but we don't have anything to hold against them then it will just be pointless to ask to get the money back.
The lesson here is: Never ever lend money without asking for an equivalent collateral. Even if they give you their ATM card, they can just go online to access the account and transfer the money (unless you both agreed you will change the password).
I definitely learned a lot of lessons over the years. Some because I experienced them, others because I know other people who have experienced such.
It is not wrong to be kind and have compassion to others but we must be wise with our money too. Some people are just too lazy to work decently so they just become sinners instead. Ah the road to heaven is not an easy path to take indeed.
Anyway which of these scams have you encountered already? Of course there are others scams out there too. Feel free to share your experiences/thoughts in the comments.
XOXO,
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Lead image from Pixabay. Other images are from Unsplash except the quote.
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I experienced most of what you stated here except for the PayPal thing. Since I am a compassionate person, I would easily give to those who ask. I want to avoid being scammed so I decided to bring a little amount every time.