419 is the number used when referring to the infamous Nigerian scammers, these fraudsters has been a menace to the country both home and abroad thereby shredding the country's image globally with many Nigerians placed under the microscope abroad. The get rich quick syndrome among the large unemployed population has played a big part in this menace. With the governments indifferent approach towards creating jobs not helping the situation, with many youths turning to fraud to make a living. Below is my experience with a group of scammers some years back.
I was returning from a journey where I went to register for my final high school exams, I had a little change left with me but choose to trek home in order to save the stipend. I was approached by a man with confusing accent, he claimed to be lost and asked me for the direction to a place I've never heard of before. I politely told him that I didn't know where he was looking for and proceeded to embark on my trek home. A bike man intercepted me inquiring what the problem was which I related to him, he suggested we help the man because he looked like a stranded foreigner. By then the man had walked up to us pleading for help, he narrated a story on how he was looking for a woman he supplied electronics to but couldn't find her address. He claimed that he came from a neighboring country with a container load of electronics like phones and laptops which he would gift us some if we could help him locate his debtor and the selling of the goods.
I was blown away by the thought of owning a Blackberry Phone which was the trending phone then and a laptop. We proceeded to the place that he kept the merchandise which happened to be an empty ware house, when I asked about the goods he said it was in safe place which he would disclose later. I used the money on me to pay for our fare since the foreigner claimed that he only dollars on him and couldn't spend it. We were joined by two more men at the warehouse with one of them claiming to be a powerful herbalist, he proceeded to make us take an oath of secrecy of whom any person who breaks it would die an instant death. He went on to quiz the foreigner on how he came about the large stash of merchandize, he went on to narrate how he was a house boy to recently deceased a rich politician who was into occultism. After the demise of the politician the house hold staff members grabbed whatever they could lay their hands on and disappeared to different counties. He claimed that among his stash was a box full blank papers that turns to real cash when washed with a particular chemical, a sample was washed in my presence and it turned into a real cash. They suggested we contribute money to get the chemical which would be used to wash the remaining the stash.
I was instructed to go home a grab any cash that I could get access to discretely so as to maintain secrecy, I went back home in high spirits with the thoughts of how I was going to deliver my family from poverty, and of course they had collected my phone that I had on me. My mom was already worried when I got because it was late already, I told her to gather the biggest bags that we had in the house because I would be returning home with a truck load of cash the following day, I also asked her to get ready to pack out because I would be buying a house for her the next day. She was curious and demanded that I spill more but I refused because I was under an illusionary oat. All pleas to make me open up fell on deaf ears so she had no option than to report me to my dad who gave me a brain formatting slap that immediately sent my brain into factory settings. He told me that I had been scammed, an attempt to argue with him got me another thunderous slap that sent me crashing to the floor. I was seeing stars of several colors. The second round of slaps had an immediate effect as I regained my senses and admitted to been scammed.
I was placed under watch for the next couple of days to be sure that I didn't take anything away from the house to the scammers. That was how I managed to escape them though I lost my phone in the process.