When Money Comes Knocking

I always prided myself on being cautious—the kind of person too shrewd to ever fall for a scam. I knew all about scams.

I was wrong.

It started with a message, seemingly forwarded from a trusted friend. It promised a generous RM2000 reward from Petronas, the Malaysian oil company. Because it came from someone I knew to be just as careful as I am, my guard slipped. I clicked. I followed the instructions. I even shared contacts from my phone, convinced it was all legitimate.

Was it greed? I’d like to think not. But then again, who would believe that?

The spell was broken by a single, blunt message from my daughter:
“It’s a scam. Be careful.”

Just like that, the illusion shattered. It was a hard lesson, but a necessary one: scams are getting smarter, and sometimes, trust itself is the trap.

When money comes knocking out of nowhere, it’s rarely bearing gifts.