MY BEST FRIEND USED MY DOCUMENTS TO COLLECT LOAN AND ALMOST RUINED MY LIFE- MAN ANONYMOUSLY SHARED SAD STORY

I’m writing this because I don’t know how to talk about it out loud without sounding stupid.

I trusted my friend.

Not the casual kind of trust. The kind where you give someone your ATM card to help you withdraw money. The kind where you send your ID when they say they need it to register something quickly. The kind where you believe someone when they say, “It’s just small help, I won’t misuse it.”

We had known each other for years. We struggled together. Hustled together. Ate from the same pot when money was tight. When one of us didn’t have transport fare, the other covered it. That kind of friendship.

Last year, I started a small business. Nothing big just something to keep myself afloat. My friend was always around, helping with errands, deliveries, and talking big about how we’d grow together. Sometimes he used my phone to call customers. Sometimes he helped me fill forms online because I wasn’t too good with some of those apps.

One day he asked for my ID and a selfie.

He said he needed it to register me on a platform that would help my business get small loans when I needed cash flow. He even showed me his own account on his phone. Everything looked normal. I sent my details without thinking twice.

Months later, my phone started ringing from numbers I didn’t know.

The first call was polite. The voice on the other end asked when I planned to pay back my loan.

I laughed. I thought it was a scam.

Then another call came. This time, the person mentioned an exact amount and a date. Then another app. Then another.

Confused, I checked my credit report.

That’s when I saw it.

Multiple loans. Different platforms. All in my name. All overdue.

My chest went cold.

When I confronted my friend, he didn’t deny it.

He said he was desperate.

That he thought he’d pay it back before I noticed.

That he didn’t think it would “spoil my name like this.”

That he only did it because he trusted me and felt I wouldn’t abandon him.

I didn’t even shout.

I just sat there listening to someone I loved explain how they almost destroyed my life because they were “under pressure.”

The messages from the loan apps didn’t stop.

Threats.

Calls to my contacts.

Messages saying my name would be published.

I paid some of the debt just to protect my name. I couldn’t afford all of it, but I couldn’t bear the shame either.

We don’t talk anymore.

Not because I hate him.

But because I can’t look at him without remembering how easy it was for him to ruin me.

If you’re reading this and you trust someone with your documents, your BVN, your ID, your phone please think twice.

Some betrayals don’t come with shouting or anger.

They come with soft voices, excuses, and apologies that arrive after the damage is already done.