“F-R-E-E that spells free, credit report dot com baby. Saw their ad on my T.V. thought about calling but was too lazy. Now instead of rolling fly and looking phat. My legs are sticking to the vinyl and my posse’s getting laughed at.” You all have seen the commercial. But how many can say they truly know what it feels like to have it happen to them?

Many students are graduating from high school and getting ready to go out into the real world. Some will go to college and live in the dorms but for some they will be getting an apartment with their friends. But how well do you really know your friend or even your best friend? I sat down with K----- to hear her story of how her best friend stabbed her in the back.

How long have you and L------ been friends?
We have known each other for a very long time and have always trusted each other with everything. But if I have to give an exact time I would say 10 years.

When did you decide to move in with each other?
The second that we graduated and both got accepted to SDSU, we knew it would be perfect to move in with our best friend.

While living together did you notice anything weird with her?
For the first month that we lived together everything was perfect. We went everywhere with each other and never had any secrets. Then she started to not come around a lot and staying with her friends at another apartment building. She never really wanted to be around me. When I would ask her to go places with me she would always have an excuse why she couldn’t go.

So what exactly with the problem?
To this day I still don’t know the whole story. I really don’t know every little shady thing that she was doing behind my back.

What was she doing behind your back?
I started to notice that every time I got paid I would go and deposit money into the bank. They would give me my balance and it would always be less than the time before when I had used my account. So I took precaution and changed my pin number. Still this was happening and I came to the conclusion that only one person knew my pin number. The person that I thought that I could trust, my roommate and best friend L-----.

How did you approach her about this?
I brought it up casually what was happening with my money and she said, “Oh my gosh. That sucks really bad. If you ever need any extra money or anything then you can come to me.” Since she was my best friend I believed her, of course. And so I went to the bank and talked to them.

What did you talk to the bank about?
I explained to them what was going on and if they could bring up all of the transactions that were made in the last 3 months. They did and I looked at all of the places my card had been used. All were in the same area. I noticed a couple of places in particular that stood out. L----- had brought home a few things that she thought would look great on me. They were from Country Peddler. I never heard of that store and loved what she bought me. I asked her how much it was and she said that it was really cheap, only about $15. I noticed that there was a purchase at that store for $15 on my account. So I packed up and went home to discuss that issue with L-----.



Did you truly think that she was behind it?
No one ever wants to believe that their friend is capable of backstabbing them like that. Only when I saw it in writing did I finally face the facts that my best friend was a fraud.

Did you plan out what you were going to say to her?
I didn’t completely know what I was going to say. It is really hard to go to who you thought was your best friend and tell them you know everything about what they were doing for the past year.

What was her reaction?
She tried to deny it for a little while until she realized that there really was no getting out of it. She then confessed to everything.

Exactly how much money did she take?
I really don’t know for sure but it’s somewhere between $800 and $1,000.

Did she ever pay you back?
Well it was really interesting when she was confessing to me, she told me that on my birthday and on Christmas when we would exchange gifts, and my money bought my gifts. So some of the money went toward me so that wasn’t all too bad. But in the end she bought me new furniture and some groceries.

Do you still talk to her?
NO!

When was the last time you talked to her?
About 3 years ago.

If you could say one thing to her right now, what would it be?
I would probably tell her that she sucks. That’s it. I really have nothing to say to her.

Do you ever run into her when you go out?
I did once but she moved to Minneapolis so that’s good.

Is it hard for you to trust people now?
At first it was hard. I don’t believe that everyone is like that and I can’t go my whole like not trusting anyone.

Have you ever had anything like this happen lately?
No and I hope no one ever does have their best friend do that to them.

Do you take extra precautions now?
I did at first but now it is about the same I did before.

Do you have any advice for others?
Just to look beyond the lies and try to see what people are really like.