The competition of dishonesty and disloyalty we suffer from throughout life mold us, often leaving us tougher and more insightful, even when it’s hard to see at first.

Those featured in this piece went through startling betrayals, whether from trusted people or amazing circumstances. They pushed through and courageously shared their experiences on the internet.

Story 1:

My neighbor called at 3 a.m. He yelled, “Wake up!

There’s a man in your backyard!” Terrified, I ran to the back but found no one. The next day, my dad’s Rolex had vanished. Worried, my neighbor and I installed security cams in our homes.

Months later, the police visited me.

My blood ran cold when they revealed they had found my Rolex at my neighbor’s house. His son had been caught stealing from another home just a few blocks away.

It turned out the father and son were in on it together. While the dad distracted me with his call, his son had already snuck inside, grabbed the watch from my room, and slipped out without me noticing.

I was stunned.

After that, I could never trust anyone again, especially since I had known this neighbor for over 25 years and had considered him a friend.

Story 4:

A man told me that he was a boss or something at a company in another city, but he lost his phone and wallet. So he asked me for $50. I can’t believe I just gave it to him that day.

What’s even more ridiculous is that when I went to a lady selling balloons to exchange for change, she seemed to have noticed something was wrong and didn’t intend to give me change.

However, I didn’t realize that she was actually helping me. © ElsaJones315 / Reddit

Story 5:

We found a videographer for our wedding online who was a good deal—not too good, but on the cheap end. They were Vegas-based and hired out their contracts to local videographers.

They were “certified lovely” by a website, and we would get more details on our specific videographer two weeks prior.

We also got a discount for paying in full—$874 upfront. Well, the two-week mark goes by, nothing. One week, I email multiple times, try calling, nothing.

I then go on Yelp to see what I can find, only to discover dozens of reviews of people saying no one showed up.

Luckily, we were able to contest the charge with our credit card company and also found a super last-minute videographer thanks to our wonderful wedding planner.