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 €?

This is a scam!

But I can see how if you were really desperate and had no one else to turn to you might ask someone you thought was in a position to help without missing the money too much.

During peak lockdown in 2020 (before the US Govt stimulus checks were sent out) Yashar Ali did a thing on Twitter where he would send strangers who said they were really struggling some money to help them out, and encouraged other to do the same.

I have to confess I did send two people some money. I have no idea whether or not they were scammers. They never asked me for any more money. I have never regretted it.

How many tourists do you think he meets and if he asked several of them for 90 euros, that could be a nice little earner

Pay the school directly.

Get the names and DOB of the children.

Research the school in question and only communicate with them directly not through a link.

I can't see this being a scam if they are willing to let you pay your way. Not their way!

It might not genuinely be your taxi driver - it could be a scammer spoofing his number.

Not RTFT but I would urge you not to send money. I am from a developing country myself and one of the downsides of being wealthy in comparison to most of the people there is that everyone you come across will try to get money out of you. Everyone from taxi drivers and shop assistants to real estate brokers. I don't allow this because otherwise I would be doing nothing else and I would be constantly harassed .

I do not engage in chit chat about their family. I do not send pictures of mine. I know this sounds heartless but it is the only way to remain unharassed. I donate money to legit charities instead.

I am in two minds tbh. We used the same driver in Bali for 3-4 trips, he was the regular driver for a villa we rented. In 2020 he sent my DH a message saying himself and his family (3 kids) were struggling - Bali is hugely reliant on tourists - and could we help. We sent around A$500 over two years, he didn’t ask again but we thought that if he didn’t need the money we trusted him to share with people who did. We have just returned to Bali for a holiday, we are using him as our driver and he said thank you very much for helping him through hard times. Only you know if you think the guy in your situation is genuine or not.

No thanks. I'd block him. Maybe I'm cold-hearted. 🙄🙃

Ive always wondered why scammers keep trying, as surely most people arent that gullible, but if you're capable enough to be on mumsnet and you'd still fall for it, then I must be in the wrong job!

You could probably make back £150 of whatever you end up being cleaned out of when you sell your story to take a break, down the line. If you're happy with that go ahead.

You know he's most probably a scam artist hitting up lots of tourists with his nice guy in trouble bullshit, don't you?

And that he'll keep asking you for larger and larger amounts of money?

They may not all be scammers. Many will be genuine and suffering due to the pandemic. It's just that I don't like being put on the spot like this.

Have you ever begged on the streets yourself?

I presume so since you know so much about what it feels like.

Can I have £500 please?

I've been the person on the street begging for cash and yes I do think people who ignore people asking for tiny amounts of money they can easily afford are cunts.

I think that 90 euros is probably seen as a very small amount to send. However. It might open the flood gates.

on the other hand, he’s offering driving services in return if you are ever there.

who knows. These days most things are a scam. It’s sad that scams stop genuine people getting a small amount of help.

unfortunately you risk him asking for more

difficult to know what to do

id be inclined not to - but I’m bitter and cynical

But this is a man with a phone and enough money to send lots of texts to people abroad.
He's not even claiming he can't feed his kids - just that he can't pay for their school which many have pointed out is free.

He's not even pretending to be on the bones of his arse.

I think I’d send £90 then block.

It would be a huge error. You'd never hear the end of it, and no doubt you'd end up of some easy target list. If it helps, try to reframe this is spending your sons inheritance? This is the kind of shit I hope my elderly Dad doesn't fall for, some day. I'm amazed you have even engaged in chit chat from this guy. I mean, why?

So, so many gullible people on this thread. No wonder scamming is such a problem.

I don’t give to people begging on the streets either.

And FWIW there are plenty of begging sindicates out there so not everyone begging on the street is genuine.

That aside, while I would buy someone a meal for instance there is absolutely no way I would hand over cash and be responsible for the drugs hit that might kill them. There are registered and legitimate charities who help out the homeless, I would rather give to them.

But someone in a foreign country begging for money from a tourist he has met only once is so blatantly a scammer tht anyone who gave to him deserves to be scammed.

It’s the kind of act which would make me consider not having a joint account if my DP were that gullible.

Do not do it. He is using you. Text book, 'hello my friend'

He is not your friend. Send money once and the requests will be relentless