I had a dear friend in Pakistan, Rizwaan Ahmad Khan, who defrauded me out of about $1000. I had known Rizwaan for a long time and considered him one of my closest friends. I trusted him and was always there to help him out when he needed it, including lending him small amounts of money.
A few months ago, I hired a Pakistani web developer to build my photography website. They requested payment up front and said it would take 1-2 months to complete. I sent them $500 on 09/25/2021, but after a month, the website wasn’t showing much progress. Despite this, I sent them an additional $500 on 11/02/2021. Over the next few months, they continued to ask for more money, but I didn’t give it to them. They also stopped updating me on the progress of the website.
Feeling frustrated and not knowing what to do, I turned to Rizwaan for help. He spoke with one of his friends about the situation and even showed the developer screenshots of our communication. The developer then contacted me again, asking me not to contact him anymore. But I showed the developer’s boss, who was also the employer, the screenshots of our communication. He promised to repay me the money in a few days but later stopped replying to my texts.
I then asked Rizwaan for help again, and he got in touch with his business partner. The developer then transferred the money to Rizwaan’s bank account, or so we thought. Rizwaan later informed me that the money never arrived in his account and that the bank was holding it because it was a large amount. He said he went to the bank to complete a form about the money and that either he or the bank would call back. But he repeatedly excused himself, saying he had other obligations.
Weeks went by with no talk about the money, but eventually, I asked Rizwaan about it again. He then told me that the money was never transferred to his account by the developer, Ali. I contacted Ali, but Rizwaan refused to talk to him. Ali then threatened to seek legal counsel and even obtained Rizwaan’s bank statements from the bank manager. Rizwaan warned both Ali and me not to obtain his bank statements without his consent and threatened to contact the police. He also promised to give me the money out of kindness if he didn’t receive it from Ali. But later, he stopped responding to my texts and calls.
What hurts the most is not the money itself, but the fact that one of my best friends did this to me. To my readers, I hope you don’t become the Rizwaan to any of your friends. Whether Rizwaan was a friend or a fraud, I’ll leave that up to you to decide.
