I Got Cheated
Shaofang Chen
BEFORE YOU READ:
1. “I fell for it” is figurative language. It means you got tricked. You believed a lie that someone told you.
2. Did you ever get tricked or cheated or scammed? Did you ever “fall for” a scam? If so, tell the story.
I Fell for It!
When I lived in China, I received many scam calls. Usually, I knew it was a scammer, and I hung up the phone. But once, I fell for it. I was scammed!
This is what happened: Someone called me.
He told me that the item I bought online had quality problems. He said he could return my money to me. The item was only 60 yuan. This is about $8.00. He said he needed my bank account, and I gave it to him. He said he needed me to transfer 440 yuan to him, about $61.00, and then he would transfer 500 yuan back to me.
I believed him because he described what I bought in great detail. That is why I thought he was from customer service.
I transferred the money to him, and then he blocked me. I couldn’t contact him. Of course, the 500 yuan never came into my account. I knew I was scammed.
Not Much You Can Do
I wanted to call the police, but it was useless to call the police for being scammed for such a small amount. I was afraid my family would find out. My family supported me at this time. I was in college, and they put money in my account so I could go to school. I thought they would blame me.
Everyone Has a Story of Being Scammed
I told my best friends. They also had stories of being scammed, but in different ways. After this experience, I became very cautious. Now, I never answer calls from strangers or trust others easily.
AFTER YOU READ:
1. What advice would you give your friends to avoid falling for a scam? When someone calls you, how can you know whether it is a scam or not?
2. Try role-playing scam phone calls.
Shaofang Chen is an ESOL student at Chemeketa Community College in Salem, Oregon. She was born in China, and she came to the U.S. in 2022. She has been studying at Chemeketa for two years. She started at Level A1 and now she is at Level C2, the highest level.