A time I felt that I was scammed

When initially reflecting back on a time I was scammed, I couldn’t think of anything. Recently, while shopping in the Stockyards with my friend, I was reminded of the first time I bought myself a pair of cowboy boots.

Back in high school, I was invited to a Dierks Bentley concert and wanted a new pair of boots to complete my outfit. Boots can be expensive, and I was in a rush since the concert was only a week away. I found the perfect pair being advertised at a huge discount for only $30! I was ecstatic, but I should’ve known it was too good to be true. What I didn’t realize was that to get the sale price, I was automatically signed up for a monthly subscription that cost $50 per month. The terms were buried in small text, and I ended up being charged for over a year before I noticed. By the time I figured it out, I had spent hundreds of dollars on something I never intended to buy.

Looking back, it made me realize how easily people can be manipulated online, even when they think they’re being careful. The website’s design made it look like a normal sale, but the lack of transparency turned it into something that cost me a lot more than I expected. This made me think about what we learned while researching catfishing and phishing, and that is that scams don't always (and usually don't) look like scams. Sometimes they appear as legitimate deals or familiar websites, which makes them even more dangerous. Unfortunately, I was not able to get the money back, but I learned a valuable lesson when it comes to "too good to be true" deals online.