I was out on the web the other day and person posted about getting scammed in a rental property deal. I think I am too skeptical to get stung like that, you see I got scammed good when I was about 16. My Dad told me after it was a done deal, that it was a valuable cheap lesson, he laughed and walked away shaking his head. I didn't understand what he was talking about at the time.
One crisp spring day, I was at a friends house relaxing after a full day of hard work earning money mowing lawns with him. We had worked hard all day and each had in our pockets from the days labor. Later, we were going to get together with a couple more of our friends and we were all going to throw the baseball in the side yard and then go get some pizza. The 4 of us had all gathered and were there in the yard throwing the ball around. Now to set the scene, the house we were gathered at, was less than a block off of I-45 in Houston, not far from Hobby Airport. If you voyage south on I-45 you end up in Galveston, and if you head north, you end up in Dallas and then points beyond.
Any time the 4 of us all got together, crazy 16 year old male antics were normally not far behind. Well, after getting all stretched out and warmed up, we started throwing the baseballs around. The leather was popping and we were doing what 16 year old boys do when they secure in a group. Needless to say, we were having a good time, when we saw a white Cadillac pull up and park on the street, just face of the line of fire. Out popped a well dressed man, he straightened himself and started to walk our way.
We were all street smart guys and we out numbered him 4 to one and had baseball bats near by, so we stopped what we were doing and acknowledged his presence. He introduced himself and shook each of our hands. At that point, we lowered our guard a bit since he seemed to be a nice enough guy. He said he was on his way to Dallas and he is in need of some gas money. We were all mental to ourselves that we weren't curious in giving him any of our hard earned money...that's when he gently removed the finely crafted box from inside his coat pocket. It was a man's watch box, covered in what appeared to be very high-priced blue velvet. He thought about opened it up and showed us the most high-priced Platinum Watch, I think I had ever seen.
All 4 of us were simultaneously in awe. The sun was causing the small diamonds around the face to glisten and I am not sure which shined the most, the platinum bezel, the diamonds, or the platinum band. He said he doesn't want to let it go, but he must sell it for gas money, so he can get up the road to Dallas. He said all he wants for it is 0 and won't take a penny less. We all stepped back and said sorry, we can't come up with that! He then asked the windup question, "what can you come up with?" He then shut up and waited for us to come back with an offer.
We retreated into administrative session and figured out in the middle of the 4 of us, we could come up with 0. We came back and told him that all we were able to come up with is 0. You know the rest of the story, he winces in pain and says you guys are taking benefit of me, blah blah blah. I am not sure who was quicker, him taking the money and exiting stage right, or us giving him the money and snatching up our new purchase.
We all had visions of selling the watch for close to what it is absolutely worth and retiring to a remote island in the Caribbean somewhere. Well, so much for baseball and pizza, we were off to the jeweler that went to the same church we all 4 went to.
After a short drive, we walked into his Jewelry shop and proudly presented our treasure and asked him what it is worth. He started by saying he hopes we didn't pay more that for it and that if we wear it, it will soon turn our wrist green. We were all in the midst of an out of body palpate floating up near the light fixtures when he told us you can buy them in Mexico at just about every market and street angle for in the middle of and . At that moment, we all snapped back into the reality of yard mowing and working hard for our money.
I went home that evening and told my Dad and you know the rest of that story...
Just because it says Cashiers Check, or looks good and official, it doesn't necessarily mean it is real! query everything! I recently sold a truck to a gentleman from Mexico. He rang the door bell and was paying cash money and even after I had the cash in hand, I was trying to shape out how I was getting screwed. I laughed about that transaction after it was all over. While selling that truck, memories of the Platinum Watch lesson flooded back into my brain.
The best advice is to never trust anything that sounds too good to be true. I hope everyone has a Platinum Watch lesson in their past. Paying for the platinum watch lesson was painful to say the least, but it was the best money I ever spent! If you are the victim of a scam online or not, narrative it and make some noise on and offline to warn others!
Lessons like my Platinum Watch lesson help make us who we are and make the process of self reinvention easier for us.
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