I bought an iPhone 12 for £1 and now I’m broke

I must confess I’m not actually broke but I did suffer the consequences of my actions. My poverty mentality almost ‘killed’ me. I’ve been through it my whole life ‘Save money for the rainy days, take advantage of discounts and if there’s anything that costs less money… BUY IT!’ NO MATTER WHAT! This is a consequence of growing up poor and always being afraid of losing money. You want to get everything you can so in case you end up with nothing, you have a backup plan.

This time I went to the extremes. I was peacefully navigating on the internet when all of a sudden a pop up message invaded my screen. It says ‘congratulations, as a dear customer of ‘my phone network that I will not mention in this story’ you have been selected to win an iPhone 12 for £1’. I was skeptical and didn’t really believe what they were saying, however, the hope invaded my brain and the selfish desire of owning an iPhone 12, won over my wisdom.

I hoped it wasn’t a scam and clicked on the link. While doing that, so many memories came to my mind. This wasn’t the first time a random message selecting me as a winner came up on my screen. It happened plenty of times in my lifetime. It happened when they released the iphone 6 rose gold 64gb in 2014 and when they released the iPhone X in 2017.

Back in the days, I couldn’t try winning for two reasons. First, I didn’t have a credit card and second, I kinda knew it was a scam, so why would I bother? However, the fact that I couldn’t even try, left a sense of bitterness in me. This buried emotions triggered my senses. I want to see if I’m a winner. I want to win.

Deep inside, I also wanted an iPhone 12 despite me already having the iPhone 11, recently bought and perfectly working. Reason why I feel kinda dumb for having to suffer the consequences of my actions. Shall I continue?

I insert my bank details, such as expiry date, account number, sort code and the magic three number digit. I press confirm and then I press pay. It was just one sterling pound, right?

In the matter of three seconds, my bank account was blocked and I received a message from my bank informing me that my money was in danger and that I had to immediately call the bank to solve the issue. Slowly I started to receive a few text messages claiming that I had purchased some online games, grocery shopped at NISA LOCAL and bought some random stuff at JACK’s.

Was my mind tricking me or I never purchased anything new that day? The only thing I bought was the £1 iPhone. Could the things be connected? Did I accidentally buy online games and swipe my credit card at NISA LOCAL and JACK’s? No way. Someone tried to steal my login details and is now using them to feed themselves and spoil their kids with some online games.

It was time to take action. Take that phone and call your bank because the money is leaving and it might not come back. EVER. I cannot express the fear that crossed my brain and lynched my skin. I’ve been put on a waiting list as there are two many customers who need help with their finances. Listen, I’m not saying my issues are more important but I just got scammed and they’re stealing my money! I’m entitled to get immediate help, am I not?

The bank didn’t care. I had to wait. So I waited.

‘Good afternoon, how can I help?’

‘Good afternoon, I’m Alessia. I need help for a recent scam, it seems like I’ve been purchasing some stuff but it wasn’t me, what should I do?’

‘Did you buy anything lately?’

‘I bought an iPhone 12 for £1, but I didn’t receive a confirmation yet so I actually didn’t buy anything.’

‘Okay no worries, I’ll just need you to confirm your details, such as date of birth, postcode and name and then I’ll block your card for three days. After three days you should get a new one sent through post’.

Three days passed and there was nothing. My bank account was blocked and I couldn't access my money. It was a living hell, a nightmare and just a terrible situation to be in to be frankly honest.

I don’t have cash so I couldn’t buy my food, my drinks, pay my bills and neither could I online shop. For two weeks I had no money and I was indeed broke.