A Little Scam.

I almost fell for an online scam once.  Once.  I was looking for someone to take over the lease to an apartment that I had in Salt Lake City when Ben and I got married.  It was a long, sad story involving a roommate that didn't take it well that I was leaving and getting married.  However, the drama came when I finally found someone interested in taking over my part of the lease.  I was thrilled.  The only problem, there was something about money, she was going to send me cashier checks for $5000, and she needed $3500 of the money, but the rest could be used for something.  I can't remember the details, but you get it.  Well, I fell for it.  (Really?  What an idiot!)  I went to the bank with money orders and cashed them and took the money to the Western Union to send it to her.  For some reason though, I went back to the counter, and the teller told me that the bank manager wanted to talk to me.  He asked me why I needed so much money.  I explained the story, and he told me to wait for the cashier checks to clear, that there was a scam out there with fraudulent money orders.  My. Heart. Stopped.  It all made so much sense.  The incoherent e-mails, the misspelled words, the gut feeling that something wasn't right.  All came together in that one moment.  I couldn't believe how close I came to losing $3500.  Ben and I were both going to school, and we could barely afford life, let alone to lose that much money.  It was the best/worst feeling the world.  I am so grateful for that bank manager.  I felt completely naive, stupid, ridiculous, relieved, LUCKY.
Now I know better. 
Today I got a similar e-mail about someone who is down on their luck and needed money because they had money tied up in some banks. They were stuck somewhere...blah, blah, blah.  The same story. They were trying to appeal to my religious beliefs, and signed the e-mail Your Friend in Chris.   (Maybe, Christ?)    Same grammatical errors, forced wording, and gut feeling that something wasn't right.  This time, however, I deleted it and went on my way.
It a lesson I had to learn the hard way.  Actually I am pretty sure I have to learn a lot (if not all) of life lessons the hard way.  Why?  Because I am just that stubborn.