Wham Bam, I almost scammed you mam
Wham bam, almost scammed you mam!
Recently, someone tried to scam me, and honestly, I’m still a little impressed with my ability to smell the BS from the get-go. It all started with a WhatsApp message—someone claimed they saw my ad on Facebook about selling one of my cameras. Sounds legit, right? But right away, something just *felt* off, like when you’re eating something and can’t quite decide if it’s expired or just… weird.
Now, they hadn’t done anything you could call suspicious at first. No asking for bank details or offering to sell me a timeshare. In fact, they seemed perfectly polite—super keen, even. Wanted to buy *both* my cameras and pay via instant EFT, then pick them up the same day. Pretty nice deal right? But despite how perfect it all sounded, my gut was pacing around like, “Nope. Not today. This smells fishy.”
Still, I kept the conversation alive. After all, people do buy things online all the time, right? And hey, if they’re offering instant payment, who am I to say no? But that gnawing feeling didn’t go away. So, to test the waters, I suggested we meet at the police station—because, you know, nothing says “I’m serious about this transaction” like a friendly drop-off in front of a bunch of law enforcement officers. I told them they could pay cash or do an EFT, and once the money showed up in my account, they’d get their cameras. Easy, right?
Well, apparently not. As soon as I dropped “police station” into the chat, the conversation flatlined faster than a teenagers phone battery on a road trip. No polite excuses, no “Actually, never mind”—they just disappeared.
And there it was—my gut had been right all along. In today’s world, scams have gone next-level. No longer just the shady emails from a “Nigerian prince” or the “urgent” call from the tax office threatening jail time if you don’t pay up immediately. These scammers are smooth, trying to blend in like regular buyers on legit platforms. But trust me, they’ve still got tells—if your gut starts throwing up red flags, you’d better listen.
Always trust your instincts. Whether you call it a gut feeling, intuition, or the universe giving you a cosmic heads-up, that first uneasy flicker is there for a reason. We’re smarter than we give ourselves credit for when we actually stop and listen. Your gut? It’s been in the game a lot longer than these scammers have, so when it speaks up, don’t ignore it!
Written by: Laresa Perlman