Featured Image Credit: Credit: WISN 12 News / SOPA Images / Contributor / Getty
If you wanted any more proof that nice guys finish last, read on.
Anyon Rettinger was trying to be a Good Samaritan - but it ended up costing him £4,000 ($5,000) - no small amount of money considering how all our bills have rocketed recently.
Now, the 27-year-old is warning others to not fall foul of the same scam.
Based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Anyon was approached by a young boy - no older than 12 years old, he said - while working on his car in his driveway.
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Anyon told WISN the kid rode up on a Lime Electric Scooter, and asked if he could use his phone to contact a parent.
"He was scootering and his funds were running out and he'd went too far," Anyon recounted.
You don't really have much reason to mistrust a kid in distress, so Anyon did what most of us would probably do in that situation - he unlocked his phone and handed it over.
Before you jump the gun - no, the boy didn't scoot off with his phone. Instead, it was a lot shadier than that.
Afterwards, Anyon realised the kid hadn't actually called his parents - but had, within seconds, opened Apple Pay and transferred £4,000 ($5,000) to another account.
All in the blink of an eye.
"That internal panic kicks in, you know?" Anoyin told WISN 12 News - and things got worse from there.
He couldn't get the transaction cancelled - it was deemed a 'valid charge' - and adding insult to injury, he was even charged an overdraft fee. Ouch.
But Anyon suggests more should have been done to protect him.
"Even my recurring bills are not remotely as high as thousands of dollars," he said.
"So this should have had a red flag on that through their system.
"In a very large grand scheme, it isn't that big of a deal.
"But for a 27-year-old that doesn't have a lot of money that's trying to make it? It's huge."
Luckily, there's somewhat of a happy ending to this story - CBS reports that Anyon eventually managed to get his cash back, although it did take a long and hard battle with the bank.
He also filed a theft report, and it turns out Anyon's not the only Milwaukee local to fall for the scam.
State Representative Evan Goyke also said that around 15 people have contacted him saying that they've had a similar encounter.
Police in Milwaukee are now investigating the scam, while Apple was also said to be looking into it.
Apple and Milwaukee Police have been contacted for comment.
