Many scammers and con artists quickly seize the opportunity to deceive you deviously. Be cautious and be aware. Here is my experience of the ingenious way a scammer attempted to cheat me.
By sharing my story through Newswav, I want to help and protect others and build a more well-informed society being vigilant against scammers.
Like anyone else, I also have dreams. Two months ago, one early morning, I stepped out into my house garden and had the mindset of being a millionaire writing books and the 8th book that got published. When caught in the whirlwind of success and fame, I quickly let my dreams go into my head egoistically, getting high, treading on potentially rocky lofty and tricky terrains.
I was only fooling my mind through my mental monologue. As self-talk or monologue (soliloquy), I had to find myself. "Get real, Krishna!" I pinched myself. As I was walking in the garden, I saw the morning butterfly flapping its wings in the breeze as my feet trampled on the first fresh dewdrops of the grass. A sobering realisation dwelled in me. Celebrating grandiose ideas can be as elusive as the morning dew.
One surprising mobile call on the road to riches made my mind float and get high on an ego trip. My mobile phone rang, and I ran back into the house. The call made promises of millions for book orders. "I am Dr Aziz. Are you the author of this Anwar book, Prison to Palace?"
"Yes. I am Krishnamoorthy. Can I help you?" I said, hoping for more book orders like the other calls I had received. Sure enough, it was book orders in the thousands. I struggled to keep my breath. "Yes, stay calm," I told my mind meditatively spaced out.
It was like a dream come true call. Isn't it every writer and author's dream to see readers picking up their books like hotcakes and the stacks of stock gradually diminish in size?
Aziz's call created the dream that I could buy and be a millionaire. A week after bookstores and distributors displayed the book and its publicity went viral on social media, I got many calls. The feeling was surreal.
Dr Aziz said: "My boss has been an Anwar supporter for many years and has asked me to order about 10,000 copies for libraries in schools, colleges and universities in the country. He is the head of a leading cooperative. I will get back to you tomorrow, maybe with more orders."
The following day Dr Aziz called again. "I've got good news for you. We want to increase the order to 20,000 because my boss feels your book best describes Anwar's suffering in Prison and rise to PM. Therefore, Anwar should be publicised throughout Southeast Asia. We want to send it to more libraries in the ASEAN region. I will call you tomorrow regarding the pricing and the deal."
I was all fired up. Dreaming, my friends will say, "Wow. Krishna, you have arrived, brother. I dreamt that my 8th book would hit the jackpot and make me rich. I kept the call from Dr Aziz a secret. I only shared it with a lawyer friend.
When he called me the third time, he said: "Now, here is the deal. I want your full name and bank account number for the cheque. We will give RM300,000 initially, and the cheque will be ready by this evening. You can collect the cheque from our Kelana Jaya, Petaling Jaya office. But we need you to put RM30,000 into our bank account before we bank in your cheque."
"Okay." I said, "Let me talk to my lawyer first."
"Yes. You can give me your lawyer's number, and I can speak to him about the agreement you have to sign," said Dr Aziz.
When my lawyer called him three times, Dr Aziz did not answer. My hope and dream of being a millionaire and buying my Mercedes came to nought. (RM 000,000) I mean zero—no more a hero. My dreams of being a rich man ended. Dr Aziz also stopped answering my calls. It was like the sparks of the election fireworks that came so quickly and dissipated within seconds. I almost lost RM30,000 in the Aziz SCAM.
Freelance Writer M.Krishnamoorthy (www.imkrishna.net) is a media coach, associate professor and undercover journalist. M. Krishnamoorthy is a media coach, associate professor, and journalist who worked and freelanced with Bernama, NST, The Star, and Malaysiakini. He also freelances as a fixer/coordinator for CNN, BBC, German and Australian Television networks and the New York Times. As an undercover journalist, he has highlighted society's concerns going undercover as a beggar, security guard, blind man, disabled salesman and Member of Parliament.
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