You would agree with me that there are times when greediness would make us get stuck in the middle of deciding whether to risk going into it or trying to play it safe to avoid stories that touch.
It was in the year 2020 around that August when a friend I met on a blogging platform introduced me to another investment platform called INSME. Perhaps some of us here would have heard of such a name. She said I will invest a little amount. There are different tasks we would be given daily depending on the amount we invested with. I jumped onto this because according to her, it was still an early project and one thing I understand about Ponzi scheme is that you get to enjoy it when it's still early before it crashes.
I was doing this and withdrawing. I had to invite more people just for my earnings to be higher. Some advised me to be careful but I told them this platform wasn't crashing (as if I was the owner). I vouched for the platform but it didn't make some register. I was only after the referral bonus but still, I earned a lot, but I was still desiring more and that would be possible if I increase my investment.
It was during December time and I was still at home for the season. I was enjoying the reward as I kept withdrawing. I calculated the amount I have withdrawn and it was ×10 higher than what I invested with.
I began to plan on how to increase my investment since I already spent the ones I was withdrawing at home. I called my younger sister to borrow me some amount because at that time, I was planning on using my school fees but my elder sister gave me a time she would send it to me. I couldn't wait for it then as I was just too eager to start earning more than what I was earning before.
I had to talk to my younger sister to borrow me the money so that when my big sis sent it, I will return it immediately. I was along the line risking it as my greediness never allowed me to think through but to earn more.
My younger sister begged me to return at that stipulated time that I gave her because she was trying to use the money for her business as she would be getting her goods overseas. I assured her she would be getting it. She told me to be careful since I told her about the platform.
Within a few minutes, my good sister transferred the money and that was when my heart started racing with no one chasing me and I started thinking “what if the site crashed immediately I send the money to the platform?” “What if the site goes down?” “How will I pay my sister and even if I used my school fees to pay her, how will I pay back?” The thoughts kept coming in and I couldn't sleep all through the night. I was so scared realizing how huge the money I was using was. Where will I get money to settle my school fees kept coming to my head.
The next morning, I made up my mind to be patient until I get to school. I sent the money back to my sister and told her not to worry again.
When I got to school in early January, last year, my sister sent me my school fees and before then, I have been noticing the WhatsApp group chat of the platform was reducing with the admins not saying anything or replying to people's complaints and chatting.
On the fifth day of arriving back at school and I went with my friend to see a lecturer, I was active on the WhatsApp group as I was following up with what was happening. Immediately, I saw the admins removing people and some even evicting the group. That was when I knew something had gone wrong. A guy came into the group crying that the site had stopped loading and he just sent one million naira (over $1400+) into the site. He said he went to borrow from a Microfinance company because he trusted the site so much.
The owner of INSME absconded with a lot of people's money and while reading the chat of different people complaining and crying, I was laughing hard. Do you know why?
I played it safe by not using my school fees for it because it would have been another story entirely. Perhaps I wouldn't have graduated and would be having an extra year because of that. How do I want to explain at home that I used my school fees to invest in a Ponzi scheme and it made me have an extra year? They won't even listen.
Thanks for your time.
