Well-organized gang scam

About a year ago, while I was an intern at a car sales company in Abidjan, I was the victim of a particularly well-organized scam. At that time, I was handling incoming calls related to vehicle advertisements. A man with an Arabic-sounding voice contacted me because he was interested in a car. He negotiated the price and told me he was leaving Dabou for Abidjan to come see the vehicle and, if possible, finalize the purchase. He even told me he had cash on him. About an hour later, he called me back to say he had just knocked over three goats belonging to an old man who refused to let him leave without compensation. According to him, he offered 200 euros, but the owner demanded CFA francs. The old man valued each goat at 30,000 FCFA, totaling 90,000 FCFA. The man then begged me to help by advancing part of the money. He claimed that once he arrived at the showroom, he would repay me in euros and even give me extra as thanks. To convince me, he sent me a photo of euro bills and called me several times to pressure me. Unfortunately, being young and an intern at the time, I believed his story. I took 30,000 FCFA from my own savings and made the requested transfer. After receiving the money, the supposed owner of the goats confirmed he had received it. I then waited for the client in front of the showroom until 9 p.m. He never showed up. When I called him back, he first told me about traffic jams, then disappeared. I also contacted the number of the supposed old man, who told me the man had left a long time ago. After that, no one answered my calls. That’s when I realized everything had been staged to extort money from me. Imagine if I had borrowed money to gather the 90,000 FCFA he asked for! Be vigilant!