I’m Counting On Your Naivety And Your Sympathy To Make Me Money…Trust Me
Scamming your way into oblivion…the Medium way
I’ll say it: I’m a sap for a sob story. I’ll hand over money, possessions, and anything I have to give someone a break or make their life easier when facing a tragedy, an illness, or a run of bad luck. It’s in my nature; some people sense this and will go the extra mile to befriend me or try to take advantage of my kindness and my compassion. I never saw this one coming…
I follow a person on Medium who is facing the daunting task of dealing with severe Lymphedema. It has ruined her life, kept her from doing the things she would love to do and has traumatized her severely. She has a young daughter who she seems to love and would clearly do anything for her child. She is undergoing treatment for the disease and has been crowdfunding for over a year now, to help pay for the surgeries and medical needs she has as a result of the recovery and complications that come with the disease.
I have followed her journey for a few years and contributed a few times to her GoFundMe page, as well. So far; so good. I’d often send encouraging messages or respond to her stories and never get a thank you or an acknowledgement; then last week I got one.
She asked me to contact her on WhatsApp and left me her phone number. I am not that familiar with WhatsApp, but thought if she needed me for moral support or help, I’d gladly be there for her. I copied and saved her phone number, waited a few days, and then got on WhatsApp and contacted her. At first, everything was fine. I introduced myself, inquired about her and she responded quickly.
I should mention at this point that I noticed she had removed her request from my response thread, which I thought was strange, but then I remembered her phone number was on it and thought it was the right thing for her to do for privacy sake. We exchanged pleasantries and then she asked if I “had any financial side hustles?” I mentioned that I didn’t but am always looking for one.
