Scammers everywhere, even in the banks.

I've gotten so busy these past few days I forget to write this post. I've given myself a knock on the head for being so forgetful so let move on to what I have to say.

Last week, @swissclive made a post about #scammers. He was scammed n the street of London and they collected last money on him. It was a sad story filled with several lessons. Now, let's come back to my own country, I'll tell you of how my friend lost his school fee to a scanner.

In the year 2012 my friend registered for a pre-degree program in the university. Completely new to the system and how things work he was left at the mercies of a "good Samaritan". He is a "good Samaritan" because he came as a friend and a bigger bro who will show my friend around in school. He even called his parents to tell them their boy is in good hands and often time showed himself to be responsible. He got a good place for him to stay and he also accommodated my friend before that.

It's not everything that is yet advanced in my country, some of us still pay our school fees to the bank. And that usually comes with a long queue. My friend had to face this challenge and stayed there all through the day hoping he would be able to pay his fees. But that didn't happen. The Bank got tired of the plenty people so they found an excuse. They asked everyone to come back the next day.

The school fee was #60,000. It may not seem like much money to some of you. But to him it was a fortune that he can't keep going around with.

I'm scared of boring you with my story but please keep on reading as I'm about to tell you how he got scammed. Well, that's if you know people can get scammed in such way.

He got to the bank very early the next day hoping to be among the first few people. But unfortunately for him, he was among the few late people. What happened the previous day was going to happen to him again. But out of the blues, a saviour arrived. I'm sure you still remembered the "good Samaritan" I told you helped him get a place to stay. Like he has always done, he showed concern that he hasn't been able to pay his school fees. He told him he'll be back and my friend watched him go into the bank. He came out and told my friend he's seen someone inside the bank and he will help my friend pay and he'll be out of the queue.

That sounded like a good plan to him. He gave him the money, as well as his details and the "good Samaritan". He went into the bank and some minutes later came out with a teller to show the evidence of payment. The teller had the original bank stamp on it. It was original and no one would have suspected a play.

He offered to do his course registration for him for free. He collected his details and also printed a school fees receipt for him from the school portal. It was the same with everyone and still, no one would have noticed a foul play.

The school management found out about this act later. It was too late and there was nothing to they can do. They released the name of people who are not qualified to write the exam. My friends name also appeared on the list. That seems like the end of the world to him. Such a fortune was lost. His time in school has been wasted and all hope seems lost.

The money was actually never recovered. It actually took the effort of some good people he knew already. So, he was allowed to pay another school fees and permitted to write his exam. And right now we're both in our last year in school.

Be careful when you go to banks in Nigeria. There are people who have manufactured the exact type of stamp they used in the bank. Don't fall victim to scammers. Don't ever give your money to anyone to pay for you no matter how desperate you are. Before you blame my friend, you have to see how the bank's in Nigeria can be. It can be annoying but it's better to be late and you still have your money saved with you.

And thanks to @swissclive for giving us the opportunity to share our story. It's now too late to be considered for the scammers contest. But I guess it's never too late to teach someone out there a valuable lesson.