Me and a Phone Scam

So.... on Apr 25, I came very close to sending some rando in Hong Kong all of my savings.

It was a 6 hr long experience, and was very stressful. Now, I can look at it with relative equanimity, and even glean some lessons and laugh about it, but at the time... oof.

I figure I should put it here for posterity's sake, because it was quite an experience.

( it all starts with a phone call from the Chinese Consulate )

Well, that's the whole story.

It was quite the emotional roller coaster, and it's made me think a lot about why I fell for it --

- knowing just enough Chinese to understand, but not enough to question the situation
- trusting authority and not being willing to challenge them
- not wanting to upset people