It was a Sunday morning like any other. Cynthia and her husband Joel were relaxing at home when suddenly, Cynthia's mobile phone rang. It was an unknown number, so she hung up the phone. However, the number called repeatedly, so she picked up the phone to see what the caller wanted.
"Hello?" Cynthia said.
"May I speak to Cynthia Fong Wing-kuen, please?" the female voice rasped in the background.
"Yes, speaking."
"Hi, Miss Cynthia. I'm calling from Tin Shui Wai Hospital. I have some bad news for you. Your husband has been involved in a car accident earlier and is now sent to hospital," said the female voice. Knowing that she had received a scam call, Cynthia decided to play along.
"What?" Cynthia pretended to be shocked. "My husband is in hospital?" Joel, who was seated beside her, widened his eyes, but she looked at him, signaling him to keep quiet.
"How is he doing now?" Cynthia continued.
"He's currently fighting for his life," replied the scammer. "We need you to send us money, about $1 million." Hearing this, Cynthia widened her eyes, pretending to be shocked.
"So, what do you want me to do? Bring the money to the hospital right away?" she feigned disbelief.
"Your husband's life is currently in danger. By the time you bring us the money, he would already be dead," the scammer continued nonchalantly. "I'll give you a bank account number, and you'll send us the money."
"I'm sorry. I can't hear you clearly. Can you repeat what you've just said?" Cynthia requested.
"I say, your husband is currently fighting for his life in the hospital, and we need $1 million to save him. I'll give you a bank account number, and you'll send us the money," the scammer replied rather irritably.
"But I only have $100 in my bank account. How about I transfer you $100 first, and the rest of the money, I'll pay you by instalment," Cynthia suggested.
"Hello, this is a hospital, not a market. There's no room for negotiation. If you don't have the money, you can try borrowing from others," the scammer said unsympathetically.
"How are you going to expect me to raise that much money at such short notice?" Cynthia pretended to be shocked. "It's $1 million, I doubt anyone would agree to lend me such a huge amount of money. Tell you what, I'll just transfer you $100 first, and the rest I'll try to think of something."
"Hurry up, your husband is now on life support. We need you to send $1 million for us to save his life," the scammer said impatiently.
"Oh, please plug him off life support, then, " Cynthia replied.
"What?" the scammer asked in shock.
"I say, you can plug him off life support for all I care. That useless bum of a husband, why would I need him? He doesn't help me with the household chores, and even left me to fend for myself. I have long wanted him dead. And besides, if he dies, I can get my hands on half of his property," Cynthia repeated. Upon hearing this, the scammer was so shocked that she hung up the phone. After the scammer hung up, Cynthia turned to Joel.
"It was a scam call," she explained. "The scammer told me that you were involved in a car accident and needed money. That's complete nonsense. My husband is sitting right beside me. How dare she try to scam me like this? She should have done her homework before trying to scam people." Upon hearing this, Joel widened his eyes in amazement. And both husband and wife had a good laugh over this incident.
