My patience gradually waned despite staying resolute not to give in to closing the transaction, as that would be a significant loss from my end. Thankfully, the receiver was not rude; rather, he suggested we visit our banks to clarify what the issue could be. The transaction was done the previous night from my Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB). I may have dreamt of the transaction even in my sleep as the night was grossly restless. The following morning, the status of the transaction remained the same despite confirming from my mobile app and bank statement that the transaction was successful.
I got to my bank first before heading to work and joined the queue to see the complaint customer representative at GTB, and for those that know GTB, you will know they have a large customer base, and many dread having any issues to resolve at the bank. Of course, I have the choice of privacy to not disclose the description of my transaction. My account was reviewed by the gentleman I met at the customer desk, and he equally confirmed the transaction was successful. He thereafter printed some transaction status numbers, which were a little different from the conventional reference codes on transactions, and asked me to give the receiver to equally present at his receiving bank. I can't even remember which bank he was using, but thankfully it was not the likes of Opay or Palmpay that hardly have a physical space in different parts of the country.
The receiver presented the code at his own bank, and within an hour, he reached out to me that the money had reflected. Although he was a stranger and I could not ascertain if he actually went to the bank or not, I was glad my USDT was released to me safely, and the appeal tickets on Binance were thereafter closed. The receiver remained active on my WhatsApp for a while and enjoyed viewing my regular memes I uploaded. We didn't have a reason to be paired again for subsequent transactions, and I did not risk trading with him beyond the walls of the centralized exchanges.
But we can't always be lucky with trades and such was engaging with an online trader who I met via Instagram. He claimed to be into goat and ram sales, and since I had interest and passion to rear some rams for future commercial purposes, I chatted him up after my older brother initiated a conversation with him. His updates were regular and showed evidence of transporting the animals to those who bought from him. I wanted kid goats and opted for 4 of them at the cost of N25,000 each. I made a down payment of 50% due to the available limited funds. It was from that moment I began to worry about the genuineness of the trade. I asked for a payment receipt for the 50%, and he claimed he can only issue a receipt when the transaction was completed with the excuse of not wanting to write a receipt twice. He scribbled some writings on a piece of paper and asked me to hold it as evidence of payment, which I vehemently refused. After relating with my brother, we concluded on balancing the payment, and only then did we get our confirmation that we had just been scammed. We never saw any receipts, but rather, he asked us to send extra funds to a different account of a supposed driver.
Our phone conversations only got heated, but he was not going to release the funds back to me. I engaged the service of a lawyer to secure a standing order, but he alleged from his own end that the trade was incomplete and never a fraud. The lawyer further asked for extra funds, and when we weighed the options, we chose to let go of the trade with a lesson to see and feel whatever goods or materials were being purchased before making any payment.
Thank you for reading. I would love to have your comments and contributions.