A Nigerian man has taken to social media to share a shocking experience of how he almost lost ₦135,000 to a WhatsApp scam, detailing how a timely decision saved him from falling victim.
According to the man, his neighbor had seemingly sent him a message via WhatsApp, requesting an urgent transfer of ₦135,000. The message stated that his neighbor was unable to access his own account and needed the money to be sent to another account as soon as possible.
Initially, the man saw no reason to doubt the request. Being busy at the time, he simply handed his phone to his wife to process the transfer on his behalf. However, a sudden instinct made him pause and decide to verify the request before proceeding with the transaction.
He quickly took back his phone and attempted to call his neighbor through WhatsApp, but the call went unanswered. Finding it strange, he then tried calling his neighbor through a regular phone call, but once again, there was no response.
Just a few moments later, his neighbor finally returned his call, sounding extremely distressed. It was at that moment that he learned that his neighbor’s WhatsApp account had been hacked and that scammers were using it to defraud people by requesting money from his contacts.
Unfortunately, it was already too late for another neighbor, who had unknowingly transferred the full ₦135,000 to the scammer’s account before realizing the deception.
Reflecting on the incident, the man shared his thoughts on the situation, emphasizing the importance of financial caution. He expressed relief that his hesitation saved him from losing money and humorously remarked that being broke at that moment might have been a blessing in disguise.
He wrote:
“Sometimes, it’s good to be broke.”
“On Saturday, I received a message from my neighbor asking me to send ₦135,000 to an account because he couldn’t access his own. I agreed and quickly handed my phone to my wife to make the transfer, as I was busy at that moment.”
“But just as I gave her the phone, I took it back to call my neighbor and confirm. Honestly, I don’t even know why I decided to confirm. I called him on WhatsApp and through a normal call, but he didn’t pick up. So, I thought, ‘If it’s really urgent, he’ll call back.'”
“Minutes later, he called me in a panic, shouting, ‘They’ve hacked my WhatsApp! Hope you haven’t sent any money? People have been calling me—our other neighbor already sent ₦135,000 to them!'”
“Omooo, I froze! Imagine if I had walked straight into debt just like that. The scammer kept reaching out to everyone, including me, until my neighbor finally retrieved his WhatsApp after 24 hours. Now, the big question is—what happens to our neighbor’s ₦135,000?”
The story has since gone viral on social media, sparking discussions among netizens about the increasing cases of cyber fraud and the importance of verifying financial requests before making transactions.
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