to send money to a Moroccan taxi driver

[Autumnterm]

Back in 2018 I went to Marrakech on holiday with my son. I can’t remember exactly how but I ended up getting the phone number of a friendly local taxi driver who took us from A to B several times. When we went back the following year we used him for our airport transfers both ways.

Since Feb 2020 we haven’t travelled abroad anywhere but I would occasionally get a text from him saying hello or how are you, to which I would respond hello/salaam/labas and that was that. I didn’t think much about it except that he was checking in just in case I was headed to Morocco and was tempted to use another taxi driver....and I did at one point recommend him to a relative going there but their trip was recently cancelled due to COVID.

Anyway cut forward to this week. He texted again and said hello my dear friend how are you and your family, and I responded as usual.

But this time he went on to say that life is hard for him, he has had no work due to the collapse in tourism and as a result he cannot pay for his kids to go to school. He sent me a picture of them - a boy and a girl, they look to be about 3 and 5 years old so I presume he means nursery school.

Stupidly (maybe) I asked how much was school and he said €90.

He has since sent me several texts asking if i will help pay for his kids to go to school. His English is not perfect but it sounds like he wants €30 a month for three months and he says in return if/when we go back he will drive us anywhere we want.

On one hand I know that Marrakech is one of the scam cities of the universe (lots of the people who run investment scams targeting UK pensioners are actually based there). I have no way of knowing if the kids in the photo he has sent me are really his and if there really is a charge to go to school and if he really has no work.

On the other hand €30 is affordable for me and I genuinely do feel sorry for people who rely on tourist revenue who have had a very hard time of it over the last two years. Morocco is open for tourists now but it was locked down for the whole 2020 season and some of 2021.

Would I BU to send him some €?

For goodness sake!!!! Giving him money would be a very bad idea, for all the reasons already mentioned, why on earth would you give a completely random person €90, don't do it, it will go on and on and on, block his number and forget about him.

I can’t believe there are people in the world who are this stupid

I am a single mother with 2 DC and am struggling to pay the nursery fees, feel free to help me, @Autumnterm .

I'd agree with this.

No, I haven’t, it literally only just happened yesterday morning.

No chance!!

So is school 90 euros for 3 months? €15 per child per month? You know that makes no sense.

But if you've got money to burn I'll have two kids in nursery as of next month...

Really????!

no, his story isn’t remotely plausible. For starters education is free in Morocco so he’s already a proven liar.

Secondly you really think that he has no-one in the world to ask for money other than a tourist he met years and years ago and knew for a matter of a week or so?

He’ll have texted everyone in his contacts the same bleeding heart shit in the hopes that a couple at least are stupid enough to fall for it.

Name change fail?

Gullible much…..!

No way would I even entertain doing this. Just no.

If I could afford it, I would. It might well be rubbish but I always give money to anyone who asks. I'd rather help than ignore someone who really was desperate. There's no way of telling.

Honestly, if you are burning to pay for the education of a couple of young children in Morocco (and you can do worse things with your money) actually research charities that support education in RURAL Morocco, where life is pretty crap for girls, and send them £100.

moroccotravelblog.com/2021/04/08/top-4-moroccan-ngos-making-a-social-impact-in-womens-empowerment/

highatlasfoundation.org/hafs-commitment-to-girls-education-in-morocco/

I wouldn't personally. But it's your call of course.

And if by doing so you are actually encouraging the scammers to go on and exploit people a lot more vulnerable?

Please send me £50 @BlindGirlMcSqueaky, i'm down to my last 37p and have no food in the cupboards to feed my 11 children, 20 cats and a rabbit. Thanks.

The “I’d rather help someone in need” shite is precisely why scammers get away with scamming people and why scamming is so rife.

Honestly the stupidity of some on this thread is unbelievable.

I'm sure I've read this on here before. Not doubting you OP, but this has scam written all over it. Block him

@BlindGirlMcSqueaky

If I could afford it, I would. It might well be rubbish but I always give money to anyone who asks.

Can I have some please?

Well, for one thing I cross posted with that poster.

But also, looking online I don’t think school starts in Morocco until the age of 6. Pre-schools can and do have tuition fees. In the OP, she guessed that their ages were 3 and 5.

I wouldn't dream of giving him any money. If you feel guilty then make a donation to a legitimate charity. It might not feel as good but at least you know the money is going where it should.

Even if, and it’s a big if, this bloke was hard up for cash, why on earth does anyone believe that he would contact a tourist he had met several years ago and had no relationship with other than that she’d been in his taxi and ask for money?

FWIW the other thread about this was some months ago and was about some kind of tour guide iirc. And the gullible were out on that thread as well….

You'd be encouraging him to harrass future tourists. He's a scammer. Block and delete.

That's a totally realistic figure
private school in Morocco is not what we think of the term

Yes it's a scam.
donate to a well known charity if you want to support those in need.