It started innocently enough...

But how it ended is an entirely different story.

I was a college freshman. I had recently returned from winter break and decided it was time to sell my books from first semester. The only book I really had to sell was my Calculus for Business book. I decided to try selling my book on Facebook Marketplace. It was a decision that I would soon regret. I listed the book and within days, I was contacted by two individuals named Smith Kaka and Simon Fellows. They contacted me and said that they would send me the money for the book. I received a check in the mail within a matter of days and I was shocked at what I received. They had sent me $3891.00! It was an $80 book! Naively, I thought it was a clerical error. As soon as I received the check, they contacted me to send them back the money. They e-mailed me several times a day and kept calling me to return the money as soon as possible. I felt bombarded by their constant nagging. They told me to keep $100 for my troubles. By then, they forgot about the math book. I decided that I was going to send the money back through Western Union. I gave the teller the check and he told me to sit down and wait. Within moments, a police officer approached me. My heart stopped in that moment. I had absolutely no idea what was happening. The officer firmly informed me that the check I tried to deduct money from was fraudulent. The truth became frighteningly apparent. 
I WAS BEING SCAMMED.


The officer continued to inform me that what I was about to do was considered a felony. There was absolutely no sympathy in his voice. All I could think of was that I was trying to sell a book, not commit a crime. I had never been in that trouble and broke down. He took down my information and warned me for a felony. He said if this happens again, I'm going to jail.

I walked out of Western Union in complete disbelief. Me. A good student. I was just warned for a felony. Though I was the victim of a scam, but I was one who was considered the criminal. 

I felt betrayed by the legal system and was disgusted with myself. I was blinded by the sheer amount of money in my possession and all common sense went out the window. I was ashamed to have let myself fall for such a scam. The signs were there: a constant hounding by the criminals for the money, the multiple names and addresses, the constant changing of the e-mails and shipping addresses, the inability for me to understand the accent the criminals had, and the fact that the amount that was sent was about 14 times the amount I asked for. 

I was driven by sheer fury. I wanted to catch these guys and prosecute them to the fullest extent. I started researching scams and what I found was incredible. The entire time I was contacted by phone, the number was restricted or unavailable, but they slipped up once. The number I discovered was from Nigeria, which is near Benin, a country that was listed as the latest shipping address they gave me. I had fallen for a Nigerian scam, a scam that involves Nigerian/international criminals who contact unsuspecting people and send them large amounts of money. The victims are blinded by greed and cash in the money and wire the money to the account they are provided. The process occurs very quickly as the victims are ceaselessly hounded because by the time the bank cashes in the check and informs the victim that the check had bounced, the victim has already wired money from their own account to the criminal. Not only does the criminal rob the victim financially, they are also robbed of their dignity. The success of the scam is fueled by the fact that the criminals reside internationally. Also, the victims are unwilling to speak up because they are too embarrassed to speak up because they feel stupid that they let it happen in the first place.

 I contacted the campus police, city police, and the Internet Crime Complaint Center. My attempts to prosecute the criminals were fruitless. I felt victimized, but I could not do anything. I couldn't help but feel utterly helpless. My best option was to try to put everything that happened to me in the past. Months later, I realized I couldn't. A friend of mine talked to me about him selling his iHome on Facebook Marketplace and that he was sent a check for several thousand dollars. It was an $80 speaker system. The memory of my scam came rushing back. I told him to stop everything and that he was being scammed. I told him to get his package back and cancel his credit card. His original expression of joy quickly turned into shock and disappointment. The next day, he told me that he luckily got his iHome back and thanked me for saving him from being scammed. I felt proud that I had stopped the Nigerian scammer, but I felt unsettled that the scam could happen so close to home in such a short time.

I decided I had to do something about it. I went to the University Legal Service and spoke with the director of the Legal Service in hopes to create a session to inform students about the scams to prevent them from having them to undergo such a tragedy. Only time will tell if I can establish the session. Scammers run rampant on college campuses and cheat unsuspecting students of their money, their possessions, and their self-respect. Through the establishment of the session, I can be the voice that has gone unheard for too long. I can save others from the never-ending nightmare that happened to me.