A Defining Moment In My Life And How It Affected Me.

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A defining moment can be a moment of happiness, sadness, frustration, and other emotions. But in my own case I want to share that defining moment that change my life and how it affected me when I got scammed.

My story begins when I move to Lagos in 2021 with the intentions of looking for work and helping my family. My father loss his job and my mother took the responsibility of taking care of us. It wasn't easy for her so I was looking for a way I can help in some certain responsibilities atleast my own responsibility. After my secondary school examination I had the opportunity to secure a job in Lagos which I accepted immediately.

3 days later, I move to Lagos and started the job I secured. I was happy that even though the salary wasn't much that I will be sending money to my family. The environment was conducive, I met different kind of people both Yoruba, hausa and Fulani follow by my tribe Calabar.

THE MOMENT

On January 2022, something happened that changed my life, something I have been hearing but it was on my doorstep that day. I was scammed. Here is how it's started, a man who claimed to be my customer always come to buy drinks, and he had been buying drinks from me for about 5 month. Anytime he passed by he'll stop to say "hi" . Sometimes he called me to arrange his good before coming. One day, he told me that his boss which he referred as "mummy" want to buy rice, drinks and groundnut oil in large quantity for the celebration of "New Year." I was happy and he told me he will inform me when "mummy" is ready.

PICTURE OF ME DOING CALCULATIONS

After a week, he came back claiming his boss want the goods that morning, so I immediately packaged his good aside;

• 3 50kg bag of rice
• 2 cartons of groundnut oil
• 10 packs of minerals

He said I should follow him so as to know the place so that we can drop the goods but when we arrive at the estate he ask me to wait outside. After few minutes he came out and told me that mummy said we should drop the good in her shop.

To cut the story short, we took the rice first, 2 bags but when we get the place he claimed we supposed to drop it, the door was lock. So he insisted going to collect the key while I will be bringing other goods. We drop it under the care on one P.O.S woman. I boarded a motorcycle to make it faster only to bring the other good and the rice is no longer there. I asked the P.O.S woman but she said he took the rice to another place while pointing at one street. I rush immediately whether I can find him but unfortunately he was gone, no where to be found.

I returned the other goods to the shop. I was heartbroken. I didn't believe he could do such a thing and that was actually the first time of been scammed. I felt like ending my life. The 2 bags of rice worth eighty thousand (80,000) which is about 281.5 steem. I had to pay to replace the rice.

HOW IT AFFECTED ME

It took me 6 months to be able to made up the money, within the 6 month there was no salary for me. That's how I wasted 80,000 for nothing. I know how happy my family would have been if I send them that amount of money. But at the same time I learned a lesson from it. I learned about fake calls. He use my phone and change a number in my phone to "mummy. After he scammed me, I realised that he wasn't calling anybody.

It's also made me lose interest in trusting anyone especially customers, even people from my tribe because they have shown me their true color, they are not actually what you think they are. The scamming creates big impact in my life as am been extra careful and vigilant. This are one of the challenges in Lagos state, everyone have his or her own experience

I I'll like to invite @emishael60, @hayleydemi, @chomzy01, @nyohojoel7 to share their defining moment in their lives and how it affected them.

Cc:@goodybest