As a parent, if my child came to me and told me this story, I&#x27;d have trouble not calling him a n00b and making fun of him. I wouldn&#x27;t, but I would explain to him that he deserved to be ripped off for trusting strangers online. Your parents shouldn&#x27;t be able to fix everything for you. I don&#x27;t think you&#x27;re parents should have done <i>anything</i>.<p>You learned a valuable life lesson. If anything getting ripped off online and learning this lesson was <i>safer</i> than getting ripped off in a dark alley over some magic beans.<p>If they had done something, what would you have learned? If I cry hard enough, everything gets fixed? That leads to uselessness.