“Please, help me in any way you can. I’m a student trying to build a source of income for myself before I graduate. The money is for customers, not me. They are on my neck to collect their money.”

These were the words of a female student of Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto (UDUS) to FIJ weeks after she was scammed by Adeyemi Annie, the owner of Annie’s Fashion Store.

The student, who doesn’t want to be named, said a friend had linked her up with Annie in June. FIJ learned that the student sells bags.

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“My friend posted the kind of bags I needed at the time, and when I made inquiries from her, she told me she got them from Annie,” she said.

Annie, according to this student’s friend, was living in Lagos State.

“So I reached out to the vendor after my friend assured me that she was trustworthy and that she had been buying goods from her for a very long time,” the student said.

The student chatted with the vendor on June 15, sent pictures of the goods she needed and confirmed they were all available for delivery.

After the vendor agreed to send the goods by Saturday, June 17, the student entrepreneur sent N21,500 to Annie’s PalmPay account number, but the vendor failed to send the goods the student entrepreneur paid for and still blocked the student on WhatsApp.

“She still chatted with me on Saturday morning, saying she would soon send my goods to the park. I gave her all my delivery details, but I did not hear from her even around 11:00 am,” the student said.

“She was supposed to have gone to the park, but she didn’t call or text me. I called her number, but to my surprise, her number was being forwarded.

“I called my friend immediately to tell her what was happening. She messaged Annie, but she found that the vendor had blocked her. We gave some people her number, and she did respond well to their messages, so I thought something might be wrong with her phone.

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“I called her again on Sunday, and thankfully, her number went through. But immediately I mentioned my name, she ended the call and blocked me. She also blocked everyone I gave her number to.”

When FIJ sent messages to the vendor on Tuesday afternoon via WhatsApp and SMS, an automated message was received, saying, “Thank you for contacting Annie’s Fashion Store! Please let us know how we can help you.”

That was the only message received from Annie, as the vendor blocked FIJ’s number afterwards. Her phone number was also not reachable, as the calls put across to her were forwarded.