The Day I Became a Millionaire

I never thought I would become a millionaire in my life, but that’s exactly what happened on a rainy morning in November. I was sitting in my office, bored and frustrated, when I received an email from an unknown sender. Curious, I opened it and saw a message that changed my life.

The message said that I had won a lottery of 100 million naira from a random draw. It said that I had to claim my prize within 24 hours or it would be forfeited. It also said that I had to pay a processing fee of 10,000 naira to receive my money.

I felt a surge of excitement and disbelief. How could this happen? Was this real or a scam? I looked at the email address and saw that it was from a reputable company, Naija Lotto. I googled the company and saw that it was legitimate and had positive reviews. I also checked the lottery results and saw that my email was indeed the winner.

I felt a surge of joy and gratitude. I had won the lottery. I was rich. I could do anything I wanted. I decided to pay the processing fee and claim my prize. I followed the instructions in the email and transferred 10,000 naira to the given account number. Then I waited for my confirmation.

I waited for an hour, then two, then three. Nothing happened. No email, no call, no message. I started to feel anxious and suspicious. Had I been duped? Had I fallen for a scam? I tried to contact the company, but their phone number was unreachable and their website was down. I felt a surge of anger and regret. I had lost 10,000 naira and my dreams.

That’s when I received another email from the same sender. It said that there was a problem with the transfer and that I had to pay another 10,000 naira to complete the transaction. It said that this was the final step and that I would receive my money within minutes.

I felt a surge of doubt and confusion. Was this true or a lie? Should I pay or not? I looked at the email and saw that it had a different account number and a different name. It also had several spelling and grammatical errors. It looked like a fake email.

I realized that I had been scammed. Someone had used the name of Naija Lotto to trick me into giving them money. They had taken advantage of my greed and gullibility. They had made me a fool.

I felt a surge of shame and sadness. I had lost 10,000 naira and my dignity. I had not won the lottery. I was not rich. I was still poor and miserable.

I deleted the email and closed my laptop. I buried my face in my hands and cried.

The end…