bubbletea0070

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Two years ago today, mentally surrounded by rubbles from a disaster. Now two years later, have rebuilt from the aftermath.

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Dear Reader,

Today is officially the one year mark since the fraud. I have been able to recover emotionally and mentally. Though I couldn’t have done it without God keeping me at CityReach and going to the Freedom reach group. Of course it took me a few months before I even let myself to heal. But it was being at the reach group that forced me to uncover all the negativity that I been trying to hide. During that time, I have only managed to tell one friend. But after several meetings, I slowly began to share what I experienced. Since then I have told another friend but still have not told any family members. Right now I feel like I may never tell them. However, I am grateful that God has been with me throughout this entire chapter in my life. He continues to give me comfort and healing. Without Him, I would not be able to write this one-year reflection today.

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Dear Reader,

2022, it’s finally over. This is the year that I will not miss at all for many reasons. Although, there is one reason in particular. Even though it took up two months of the year, the consequences of it is lasting beyond it. I will have to continue to deal with the consequences and aftermath for at least three more years. However, this year is the year where I move on from it and rebuild socially, emotionally, and mentally. I have survived it and feel blessed that I didn’t lose as much as some other victims. I am a survivor and definitely will not forget the lesson learned from this.

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Dear Reader,

I’ve been checking my initial scammer’s WhatsApp contact for a few months now. Today, I noticed that he not only changed his name but also his gender. He’s now a woman going by the name “Liliana Lii”. The profile picture that is being used is a female model. I did an image reverse search and found multiple social media accounts with the same picture but associated with various names. However, the actual person in the picture also came up in the search. Though I’m not sure if this change of identity also means a different scam. But one thing for sure, definitely a scammer.

[bubbletea0070]

Dear Reader,

It’s been awhile since I heard from “Mark”. He probably guessed that he won’t be able to get me to do anything. I’m guessing when I kept dodging his question of whether I had a boyfriend. So I wasn’t able to get the fraudulent website/app from him. I thought he would have since we texted for almost a month...at least I wasted his time. 

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Dear Reader,

It’s been almost two weeks since “Mark” contacted me. So far it’s been exactly like how it was with “Allen”. Though the relationship status is different, the same topics still come up. Topics like mental and emotional health, drinking, having luxurious things, and of course crypto investment. My goal is to keep making him think that I’m unaware that he’s a scammer. That also means I need to keep in check that I don’t get too emotionally invested. Though I’m hoping he texts the fraudulent crypto site soon so then I can stop texting him.

[bubbletea0070]

Another crypto romance scammer

[bubbletea0070]

Dear Reader,

I have no idea what is happening but for some reason…two Chinese scammers texted me at the same time. One of them is texting me in Chinese and the other is texting me in English. Both of them started the conversation with the same tactic. “Are you…?” I have a feeling that they’re from the same scam that “Allen” is in. The scripts are just too similar and predictable. Part of me also wonders why they think I will fall for the same scam again. Besides it hasn’t even been that long since the scam with “Allen” ended. All of this just doesn’t make sense.

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Silence.

As an introvert, I never had any problems with it. But during these last few weeks, I don’t like it. I rather avoid it whenever possible. There has to be background noise/music. If absolute silence is necessary, I need to occupy myself with something. I cannot be left in silence with my own thoughts and emotions. Whenever that happens, it worries me. I’m afraid that I’ll be overwhelmed with all the emotions that I’ve been ignoring and avoiding. I’m not ready to deal with those emotions.

[bubbletea0070]

Everybody, at some point in their life, has fallen down and not felt like getting back up, but you have to, no matter how difficult it is

Charlie Hunnam

[bubbletea0070]

Dear Reader

It’s been a week since I found out that I was scammed for two months. During the past week, I’ve been gathering as much evidence as I can and filing numerous reports. In the aftermath of the scam, I pictured myself surrounded by an endless amount of rubble. The mess feels overwhelming. I had to close my bank accounts, cancel debit cards, deactivate social media accounts, lock Coinbase, and change passwords on numerous accounts. Even though its been a week, I haven’t allowed myself to process the last two months emotionally and mentally. Part of me is hesitant because I feel like I’ll lose control of my emotions and be able to come to terms with them. Instead I feel like I’ve been watching the days go by and unmotivated. I’ve also realized that a lot of the things that I used to enjoy do not bring the same happiness. Sometimes the hobbies feel like a chore instead. Last night I tried to resume watching the Chinese drama that my scammer recommended. I managed to watch a 2-3 episodes until I couldn’t continue watching it anymore. Initially, I didn’t want to keep watching the drama because it was recommended by the scammer and disassociate the drama from him. However, I wanted some kind of control back. So I decided to pick it back up. At this point, I don’t know if I’ll be able to watch the remaining episodes. For now, I’m trying to start the healing and recovery process. Hopefully I will recover emotionally and mentally one day.

This next part is specifically for the scammer:

Dear “Allen/阿良”

I don’t hate you but I don’t like you either. I don’t know what made you chose a job that involves scamming people for their money. Perhaps it was your only option or you were manipulated into it. Or maybe you chose it because it’s easy money and does not require any educational background. No matter what your reason was, I sincerely hope that you’ll change to a career that is honest. Even though the last two months turned into a nightmare and lie, I don’t regret it. The experience taught me an important lesson that I will always remember. 

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Dear Reader,

Last week I was horrified to learn that I was scammed by “Allen”/”方良”. “Allen” claims that he came to the USA in 2019 from Hong Kong and that he is a general manager at a tire company. We initially meet on Hinge but shortly after a few texts, he suggested to move the conversation to WhatsApp. We continued to text each other everyday but he was only doing that to build trust. After a few days of texting, he casually introduced cryptocurrency as a hobby of his. He sent a screenshot of how much he just earned from Ethereum trading. His reason was to not only share his hobby but also to give the impression of “working towards our financial future together”. He said he wanted to help me earn enough money to buy a house of my own in the future. Since I was unfamiliar with cryptocurrency, he said that he will “teach” me through the process. He had me deposit money from my bank account into Coinbase then transfer the Ethereum into the fraud trading website: h5.decurretpro. After trading a few times under his guidance, my balance increased every time. During the next few weeks, he got me to take out three personal loans with high interests while we continued to “trade”. There were a few times when I got hesitant and reluctant to continue. However, he always managed to reassure me through manipulation and gaslighting. When my “balance” reached about 250k, he wanted me to add more to invest. At this point, I couldn’t take any more loans or money out from my bank account. So he suggested to ask my family and friends for the money. I told him that I can’t and won’t. He wouldn’t drop it until I told him that none of them can lend me a huge sum of money. So he reworked his “plan” to increase my balance in order for me to earn more faster and then be able to payoff the loans. By this point my “balance” reached 300k. He told me to contact the website’s “customer service” to withdraw the entire “balance”. I had to send the “customer service” my driver’s license so they can “verify” my identity. But then “customer service” told me that I have to pay a 25% prepaid tax in order to finish the withdrawal process. Their reason for it was to avoid any “laundering” and “tax evasion”. Of course, I don’t have that kind of money so “Allen” suggested to ask my friends for money. Again, I didn’t want to. So I decided to try asking my sister for the money. Thankfully, I did. My sister was the one who told me it’s a scam. She showed me a post where another victim shared her story. This led me to look further into it. I found the Global Anti-Scam Organization’s website and learned that the scam is called “Pig Butchering Scam”. Additionally, I also found various other victims’ stories on YouTube. My situation would have been even worse if I did not ask my sister for help. Since finding out that I have been scammed, I have filed a report for every government agencies I could think of. I have also gotten professional help to work towards paying off the loans. This scam caused me to go into a debt of 115K. The road to recovery for me is going to be a long one. With professional help, family, and friends, I will be okay and heal from the mental and emotional scars.

Please be aware, this is a corporate scam. The scammers use scripts that are based on human psychology and specific to various types of personalities. They use emotional and mental tactics to build your trust.

[bubbletea0070]

#nightlights (at 新竹公園 Hsinchu Park) https://www.instagram.com/p/B68RLlHH6BPIgjebNdfCrba9fHWUHpohhiLWHc0/?igshid=1dwwloe4w00d7