The Platinum Watch |
Posted: April 6, 2023 |
Recently, I was browsing the web and came across an article about a person who had fallen victim to a rental property scam. Since I was a victim of a major fraud when I was 16 years old, I doubt I would fall for something like that. It was an useful cheap lesson, my father told me after the fact, laughing and shaking his head. At the moment, I had no idea what he was talking about. I was at a friend's home one sunny spring day, unwinding after a hard day of work mow lawns for pay with him. After a hard day's effort, we each had $40 to show for it. Some of our other pals were going to join us later, and afterward we all planned to play softball in the side yard and then eat pizza together. The four of us had gotten together and were playing ball in the garden. The house where we all met was located in Houston, Texas, a mere block from Interstate 45 and a short drive from Hobby Airport. If you take I-45 south, you'll reach Galveston, and if you take it north, you'll reach Dallas and beyond. Any time the 4 of us all got together, crazy 16 year old male antics were typically not far behind. So, we warmed up with some stretching and tossing the baseballs around. We were acting like any group of 16-year-old guys would, with the leather popping and all. A white Caddy pulled up and parked on the street, safely out of the way of the gunfire, and needless to say, we were having a great time. A well-dressed individual emerged, straightened up, and began to approach us. We stopped what we were doing to recognise his presence because we were all tough guys, outnumbered him four to one, and had baseball bats on hand. He formally presented himself and clasped hands with all of us. Since he seemed like a decent enough person, we relaxed our defence a little. He requested some money for petrol and said he was on his way to DFW. As we were all silently agreeing that we had no intention of parting with any of our hard-earned cash, he carefully unzipped his coat and pulled out a beautifully crafted box. It was a watch box for a male, and the blue velvet covering looked like it came straight from a palace. To my knowledge, it was the most expensive watch boxes for men i had ever seen, and he meticulously opened it and displayed it for us. We were all in shock at the same time. The light was reflecting off the platinum bezel, the diamonds, and the platinum band, and I couldn't decide which one sparkled more. He said he doesn't want to part with it, but selling it will allow him to pay for petrol on his way to Dallas. He insisted on $300 for it and would accept nothing less. We took a collective breath and admitted, "That's not something we can think of." Then he inquired, "what can you come up with?" as a final inquiry. After that he was silent while he waited for us to make an offer. We had a private meeting and came up with a plan to raise $120 between the four of us. We went back to him and broke the news that we only had $120 to spare. The remainder of the story is familiar: he grimaces in agony, accuses us of taking advantage of him, etc. I'm not sure who was quicker: us handing over the cash or him swiping the cash and leaving with our new buy. We hoped to get as near as possible to the true value of the watch so that we could retire on a tropical island. Now that we were done with baseball and pizza, we headed to the goldsmith who attended the same church as the four of us. After a quick trip, we arrived at his jewellery store ready to show off our find and inquire about its value. He warned us that wearing it would quickly colour our wrists green and hoped we hadn't paid more than $20 for it. While we were out of our bodies and floating near the light fixtures, he informed us that you can purchase them on every corner in Mexico for $8 to $12. That was the point when we all remembered that we had to mow yards and earn our living. That night, I told my dad when I got home, and the rest is historyNot everything that claims to be a Cashiers Check or appears legitimate is actually one. Inquire into everything! A guy from Mexico bought a truck from me not too long ago. Even after he had rung the doorbell and paid in cash, I was still trying to work out how I had been taken advantage of. When it was all over, I had to chuckle about that exchange. The process of selling that vehicle brought back the Platinum Watch lesson I had learned a long time ago. If something seems too wonderful to be true, it probably is. There should be a Platinum Watch experience in everyone's history. Though it hurt my wallet to pay for it, the platinum watch instruction was well worth it. Whether you fell prey to a scam online or off, you should alert others by making a lot of commotion about it.
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