Now that I think about it, this is one of my "Blessing in disguise" story that I'm yet to tell in detail here on Hive. Hive wasn't my first Web3 encounter, I've had a few short lived moments with different crypto projects before I joined Hive. Even though they didn't end well, I still appreciate the fact that I learnt from those times.
How did I come to know about Web3? It was through a fraud case.
It's got a little weird when I thought about it, I mean, how do one get to learn of a greater opportunity through an unfortunate situation? Here is how the story goes...
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Before I got to know about Web3, I was a Facebook addict. I'm not sure if my addiction qualifies to be called one but if lending a phone go online just to check if I got a Facebook message or to share a picture is too much, then it was an addiction. I was always online on Facebook, too often that I got to grow my followers in a short while as I was also active with chats.
That continued until a week I had to be without a phone to go online, I couldn't find a phone to check my Facebook account until a week went by and I logged in with so much excitement only to find a message from a friend of mine. The words of the message I could still remember but not vividly.
I found a way for us to double our money? It's an investment platform where you invest an amount and get a double.
She was a friend of mine but one thing I missed back then was that, we had never had any money talk before, I mean, we were not that close to talk of making money together but I failed to see that sign. I began to ask questions about what the investment platform is like.
That was how this handler explained so much about Web3 for me, although the messages seemed very much like what she didn't type herself but I found it intriguing to know that there is digital money and I could invest in them to become super wealthy within a short time with them if I am lucky.
She talked about Bitcoin and coins that were coming up to be like it in the future. Even though some details were not so correct now that I know better, I can have that pass as a perfect introduction into the Web3 for me. She succeeded in convincing me to invest in the so called platform.
She said I could invest as little as 1k to get 2k but I invested 5k, why? It must have been my greed, or I trusted her way too much at that time or I just wanted to get a big cash out and not invest again. So yeah, I sent my only 5k to her with some confidence I regret having.
Within seconds, I was blocked by this my friend on Facebook. I couldn't believe my eyes, I immediately called her on phone to know why she played that stunt on me. Her line didn't go through and I called her brother... Yes, I had their numbers that I could have called to confirm if only I suspected anything but I didn't.
I got to her brother and he announced the news that his sister's account got hacked some days ago, I couldn't cry or even complain, I just felt dumb and surprised. I lost that huge money (as at then) just like that with no way to find the scammer. I learnt my mistake but one thing I feel grateful about that was what I learned from the scammer.
It's amazing the length these fraudsters could go in convincing their targets, she did really well in explaining Web3 to me that I got a small understanding to ask a guy I came across who was talking about the same thing I read from her. That was how I got to learn of Ethereum and even started my little investment.
It didn't end well and same for many others I got involved in because I needed to learn more, these all became a part of my story in my Web3 journey.
I didn't lose much from the scam compared to what I gained from it and for that, I am grateful rather than being regretful that it happened. Not many would get that lucky to learn something great through an unfortunate situation.
