A bit about me: I don’t like lying or cheating people. I take pride in being an honest, decent person, which is probably why I can’t wrap my head around scammers. I’d never dream of doing that to someone else, so maybe that’s why I don’t spot a bad deal from a mile away.

Case in point—I once spent £4,000 on a dropshipping course that turned out to be a total sham. The guy, Jake Pearce (@thejakepearce on Instagram), promised to teach me the ropes, but instead, he took my money and vanished.

It messed with me, honestly. For one, £4,000 is a lot for me—I don’t have cash like that just lying around. But more than that, I felt dumb for falling for it. How could I not see through it? Why did I hand over all that money without being more careful? I beat myself up over it.

For a while, it was all I could think about. I wanted my money back, sure, but more than that, I wanted him to face consequences for what he did—for making me feel like a fool. I craved some kind of justice, maybe even a taste of revenge.

I tried everything to fix it: called the bank, reported it to a fraud hotline—nothing worked.

I’d love to believe in karma, that bad people eventually get what’s coming to them, but I’m not so sure. It seems like the world just lets them get away with it sometimes.

Then I found out he’d scammed someone else too. Oddly, that made me feel a little better. It wasn’t just me being naive—maybe he’s just a slick con artist. Knowing I wasn’t alone took some of the sting out of it.

I’d actually like to connect with that other person. Misery loves company, right? We could swap stories and bond over getting played.

Scammers are bad for my mental health, and my mental health is very important to me. I will work hard not to be duped in the same way again. One thing’s for certain: I’ve learned my lesson. Next time, I won’t be such an easy mark.