I just want to vent this out of my chest since I just want to raise awareness about scams in general and a way to remind myself to stop being so gullible.
To introduce myself, I’m 20 and I have been careful about money ever since I was young due to my family circumstances. It wasn’t until recently where my BMT mates introduced to me about investing. Of course, I didn’t get right into it but it took about a month where I was curious about investing, especially cryptocurrency.
To start with my journey in crypto, I invested about $100 at the start and did see some gains rather quickly. Feeling the FOMO, I invested a whooping $15.6k (90% of my savings) right off the bat. Somehow, I gained so much money within 2 weeks, it was a close to a $3k gain and I was surprised with the rate I’m earning. I was super clouded with the money I’m gaining and I got myself into a pump & dump project, Ponzi Scheme, bunch of questionable things. In the end, I have lost a total of $3k off my initial investment.
I had sleepless nights for days, unable to focus during training, walking mindlessly to the point I almost fell down to a drain. I can’t stop shaking my hands even now. All because of me cannot stop thinking about the $3k I had lost. I know I have to blame myself for the mistake, but I couldn’t because my mind kept blaming the crypto system. It took me a whole week to consolidate myself and really understand the dangers of crypto and investments as a whole.
Last time I always laughed at people who got scammed, thinking it wouldn’t happen to me. Karma exists, and its my turn to receive it. Thanks for reading this story of mine, and I hope this doesn’t deter anyone from investing, but rather be more cautious doing so. I paid $3k to learn it the hard way, and it still hurts me mentally although feeling better slowly.
Thank you for sharing your frustrations and concerns with us here, I hear you, and it sounds like you’ve been through quite an emotional rollercoaster, and it takes courage to share your experience so openly. Losing money, especially a significant amount, can be very distressing and can affect us deeply, both mentally and emotionally. Your feelings of regret and frustration are completely valid, and I want to acknowledge them and process those emotions together with you.
I can understand that you feel shaken by this experience, especially since it came from a place of curiosity and a desire to explore something new. It’s commendable that you’re reflecting on this experience and recognizing the need to be more cautious in the future Learning from our mistakes is an important part of personal growth, even though it can be a painful process We all experience this in our lives.
As you continue to heal and regain your sense of balance, try to be gentle and compassionate with yourself. It’s okay to feel upset and disappointed, but it’s also important to forgive yourself and focus on the lessons learned. Perhaps this experience can serve as a reminder to trust your instincts, do thorough research before making financial decisions, and seek guidance from trusted sources
Thank you for sharing your story with us. Your honesty and vulnerability can serve as a valuable lesson for others, reminding them to approach investments with caution and awareness. And remember, your worth is not defined by this setback! You’re resilient, and with time, you’ll find your footing again.
Please keep us updated on how you’re feeling ok? We will be here to be your listening ears, anytime. Take care and hear from you soon.
Hey @justwannatalk thank you for being honest here and just wanna say that you did what you thought was best at the time so don’t be too hard on yourself !
Scams usually play on our emotions which cloud our rational thinking at times for example it was also during army for me when I fell for a WhatsApp text scam where the scammer posed as my friend asking for a code which at that time my rational mind was telling me it was weird but I thought alright I mean it was my friend so I sent the code and went for training without thinking much, although money wasnt involved, my account was hacked and I almost got other peoples account hacked too I was so stressed and anxious as well. Thinking at how stupid I was to fall for such a simple scam
That being said I can only imagine how much worse you must have felt when money was involved , I’m glad to hear that you have picked yourself up from this and helping other be more cautious as well
Thanks for sharing @justwannatalk, it’s a good learning lesson and I think it’s better that it happens when you’re younger because you have lesser to lose. $3k is not a small amount but neither is it a big amount because I think you can earn that back in a couple of months with your NS allowance (or when you start working).
I have my own scam story to share too. When I was in primary school, I was heavily invested in this game called Runescape. I was googling for ways to earn more coins and I came across this website that promised unlimited gold but they’ll need my username and password to deposit the gold into my account. Stupid 11-year old me believed that and put in my username and password. Within minutes, my account was wiped out.
Considering the amount of time I invested in that game, I think it was an expensive lesson haha but now that I think back of it, it does help me become more aware of scams. I hope this lesson helps you learn too! We’ll all do better after each lesson.
Learning from our mistakes is an important part of personal growth, even though it can be a painful process 
I was so stressed and anxious as well. Thinking at how stupid I was to fall for such a simple scam 
