When “I’m Careful” Was Not Enough
Honestly, I still cannot believe this happened to me. I am usually very careful. I double check names, numbers, and details before sending money. I am the type of person who pauses and verifies. But this time, I was busy. Distracted. Multitasking. And that was all it took.
An online friend messaged me asking if I had a GCash balance. Let’s call her Friend A. I said yes. She told me she urgently needed to borrow money and promised to return it the next day.
At that time, I was working, so my replies were delayed. But she kept following up, asking if I had already sent the money.
What made it convincing was this: after some time, she started asking about work related topics. Exactly how we normally talk. The flow of conversation felt natural and familiar. There were no obvious red flags. In fact, just two hours before that, we were having a completely normal conversation.
So I sent the money.
She asked for a screenshot. I sent it. Because I was doing multiple things at once, I did not immediately notice that the GCash name and number were unfamiliar. Normally, she uses her daughter’s number. But I did not catch that detail in the moment.
After sending, she said thank you.
Then she asked if I still had remaining balance. She mentioned that the other people she messaged were not responding. She even said she would add an additional amount when she returned the money.
That line stopped me.
We do not talk like that. We have never added extra money when borrowing from each other. That was the first moment my stomach dropped.
I tried calling her. The video call showed her face, but there was no sound. I called again. No answer. She messaged saying her signal was weak.
Then I noticed something strange.
During the video call, it felt like she was not talking to me. It looked like she was speaking to someone else. And suddenly, I realized something else. The video I was seeing was the same video from earlier.
That was the moment I knew.
This was a scam.
I contacted another friend, Friend B, and asked her to message and call Friend A. No response. Friend B even contacted one of Friend A’s family members. They also could not reach her.
Then something even more suspicious happened. Friend A messaged Friend B saying someone had already sent the money she needed. Take note, Friend A and Friend B never talked about borrowing money.
Finally, Friend B was able to contact Friend A through WhatsApp. That is when everything became clear.
Her Facebook account had been compromised.
She told us she kept getting logged out repeatedly. Every time she logged in, she was automatically logged out again. Most importantly, she was not borrowing money from me.
The conversation I had with the scammer left no trace on her end. No messages. No screenshots. No call history.
She also checked her email and saw login attempts from two different locations in the Philippines.
The work related follow up messages I received earlier were actually from her. She was struggling with being logged in and out at that time. The scammer simply inserted themselves in between.
Looking back, the lesson is painful but clear.
Never send money immediately, even if it is someone you know.
Always verify through another channel. Call their real number. Use WhatsApp. Contact a family member.
Double check the GCash name and number every single time.
Be cautious when someone says it is extremely urgent and offers to add extra when they return it.
And most importantly, do not multitask when sending money. Distraction is a scammer’s advantage.
No matter how careful you think you are, scammers are getting smarter. If this can happen to someone who is usually cautious, it can happen to anyone, especially when busy and distracted.
Please double check everything before sending money.
Stay safe.
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