Part-118

  James’s father's tourned serious. "Yeah, what about them?"

  James expihe situation with Sourov and the online scam. "I know it might sound trivial, but it's really upsetting him," James cluded. " you maybe look into it?"

  There was a long pause oher end of the line. "I'll see what I do, son," his father finally replied. "Give me some details, and I'll look into it."

  James provided his father with all the information he had, including the details of the seller and the amount of money lost. After listening patiently, his father said, "I'll check it out a back to you. Don't worry too much about it."

  With a sense of relief, James thanked his father and hung up the phone. He knew his father was a man of a, arusted him to hahe situation. As he drifted off to sleep that night, a sense of peace washed over him. He had done his part, and now it was time to let his father hahe rest.

  The buzzed with the usual pre-lesson chatter when a sudden outburst shattered the tranquility. A girl, her face torted with grief, was sobbing untrolbly, her friends desperately trying to sole her.

  Intrigued, James approached Mili, who was among the group trying to fort the distressed girl. "What happened?" he asked, his voice filled with .

  Mili, her eyes still wet with tears, expihe situation. "She ordered a nehone online," she said, her voice trembling. "Paid in advance, everything. But when the package arrived, it was just a cheap button phone." Her voice trailed off as she tried to tain her emotions.

  James felt a wave of sympathy for the girl. It was the same modus operandi as the scam Sourov had fallen victim to. The realization hit him like a cold shower. These online scams were being increasingly on, and it seemed like anyone could be a target.

  A sense of determination grew within him. He had to do something. He couldn't let these scammers operate with impunity. He remembered his versation with his father, the promise to look into the matter. Perhaps he could use this new case to gather more evideo build a stronger case against these online criminals.

  As he sat at his desk, his mind raced. He o find a way to ect these two cases, to shoattern, a modus operandi. If he could do that, maybe he could help bring these scammers to justice.

  Over the few days, a disturbing pattern emerged. The number of students falling victim to online scams increased armingly. Each case bore striking simirities: a seemingly too-good-to-be-true offer, an upfront payment, and the subsequent disappearance of the seller.

  The first case after cssmate's involved a girl named Anya, a year youhan James. She had ordered a limited edition pair of sneakers, paying a hefty sum upfront. When the package arrived, it tained a pair of cheap knock-offs. The seller had vanished without a trace.