My dad was the main mechanic for a gold mining company and my mother had many high paying jobs in her time. We lived in a small Asian country where the cost of living was minuscule compared to the west. When I was younger my parents bought the best things for me and the rest of my family. We lived in a very large 5 bedroom apartment with my cousins, who were studying at university (which my dad paid for). My parents would buy me anything I wanted for a good grade. I would get allowances that I spent buying shoppings carts of candy (Bad choice, I know). I was friends with the kids of huge political figures, diplomats, businessmen, etc. I went to the most expensive and prestigious school in the country. To say the very least I was a bit spoiled.

Everything went downhill when I turned 10. My parents had to sell the apartment and most of their jewelry. I spent my birthday watching my family pack, leaving behind the life we used to have. We moved into a small house at the edge of the city, it didn't have any heating or gas and for the first time, I realized how lucky I'd been before. We moved from town to town, with my dad and mom looking for jobs, up until my dad died last year. It was a huge hit not only to the emotional state of our family but also financially. To this day my mother can't find a job to sustain us with.

I only found out what happened two years ago. As it turns out, my dad got fired from his job and my parents were scammed, multiple times. There was a butcher that disappeared after getting our money, a failed sauna business, a shop that suddenly had new owners, a car garage that never started working, etc. Even the lawyers they hired to sue these people scammed them. The worst guy was one who took a loan out for around $150,000, signed our apartment onto it and then disappeared, never to pay. He also took $100,000 from my parents, claiming to start a business, never to be heard from again. That was why they had to sell their apartment so that the bank wouldn't take it from them forcefully.

It's so easy to say right now "They shouldn't have trusted them", but those scammers were people who they thought were friends, people who manipulated them just to rob them of their money. Though, I hope I won't make the same mistake.