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Original poster

to send money to a Moroccan taxi driver

554 replies

Autumnterm · 26/04/2022 16:08

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 €?

OP posts:
Ratrick · 26/04/2022 21:38

SirGawain · 26/04/2022 21:35

I cannot believe how gullible and stupid people can be. This thread takes the biscuit!

And I can’t believe how paranoid, selfish and heartless some others are. Swings and roundabouts.

wonkygorgeous · 26/04/2022 21:41

XingMing · 26/04/2022 20:37

Nearly 20 years ago we went to Sri Lanka on holiday for six weeks, based in one town. While we were there we got to know and like a local tuk tuk driver, and we learned about his life and the economics of it. He earned about 40p daily after he had rented the tuktuk and put fuel in it, and worked 10 hours a day. Out of that he was paying for his house, healthcare and food. So just before we left, feeling very guilty for our good fortune, we went to the local dealer and bought one. Then to a lawyer, stating that it was a gift, given freely. And we left him the paperwork to collect the keys. It more than doubled his income so he could pay for healthcare and education for his daughter (not free in Sri Lanka). We sent small sums annually thereafter at Christmas and when she was 11/12, she won a scholarship to the big secondary school. And from then on, we dropped out of the picture, but the baby we met is probably going to fledge as a professional young woman with choices and agency. We hope she will be part of raising her country above poverty.

So no, I really don't think it's a totally stupid idea to help out with a few hundred quid to change a family's life and hopes if it's not going to ruin your life. I wish more of us could do so.

This is a lovely thing have done.

pixie5121 · 26/04/2022 21:43

This reply has been withdrawn

Withdrawn at poster's request.

Ratrick · 26/04/2022 21:44

Autumnterm · 26/04/2022 21:27

good q. two reasons I posted I think

  1. I do tend to believe him but at the same time my elderly neighbour was recently a victim of a sophisticated boiler room scam that we have been told originated in Marrakech. Very different scenario but has made me super wary.

  2. I was hoping that someone who knows Morocco might know if there are private kindergartens which charge that kind of money and whether that’s a likely thing.

Show quote history

For your second question - short answer is yes. This page was quite useful for understanding the system (including its costs) a little better:

marocmama.com/schools-around-the-world-morocco/

Iamnotin · 26/04/2022 21:49

I think you should help him out - you know him while he's not a friend he's not a stranger on the internet either. If he starts to ask for more and you feel pressured you can tell him that things are tough for you, you're sorry you can't help and block him.

Morocco is a poor country, Marrakesh very dependent on tourism so it's not hard to imagine that a taxi driver could be broke. He's asking for a gift, not trying to get you into some dodgy investment, I don't think it counts as a scam.

BobblyBlueJumper · 26/04/2022 21:50

What a dilemma OP.

I might be soft in the head but I think I would send the money. I understand why people feel sceptical but there's no need for some of the horrible attitudes on this thread. People are basically good most of the time, I believe. You have met this guy, he's not a total stranger. Even if it is a scam he's hardly going to be raking it in is he?

XingMing · 26/04/2022 21:53

Have you personally ever spent months travelling in a less developed country Sir Gawain? I suspect not. Stupid and gullible is possible if you are in a country staying in a resort area on holiday being served food and having your laundry done but it is possible to meet people, decide on their character, and whether you like them, and to decide you would like to help improve their life -- if you have long enough to make that decision. It's also possible that you'd like to help but can't afford it. We could afford it, and preferred to help one family direct rather than giving the money to charity to pay an expensive chief and fundraising costs on top. I like to think it transformed one family's prospects rather than being taken advantage of, especially as the donation was unsolicited.

Horcruxe · 26/04/2022 21:54

CharityShopChic · 26/04/2022 16:22

You can't remember how you got his number? I bet you can't. I also bet he put it into your phone under some pretext. You and hundreds of other northern Europeans perceived to be rich.

Why ON EARTH would you pay money to some chancer you met once or twice, four years ago? If you're concerned, Google charities/foodbanks in Morocco and send them a donation.

Never ceases to amaze me just how many gullible people there are out there prepared to fall for a sob story.

And the whole "oh well, he's maybe not genuine but i'm prepared to take the risk" slow handclap to all of you virtue signallers. Because responding to this sort of blatant scam just encourages more scammers and next time it might not be you making a conscious decision to kiss goodbye to your cash, it might be your mum with dementia or your neighbour barely getting by on their pension.

You articulate this so much better than I can.

I would also feel guilty but block him.

Original poster
Autumnterm · 26/04/2022 21:55

update 2

following the suggestion of someone in this thread, I whatsapped him this afternoon to ask if he could send me a website link or the phone number of the school so I could see how I could help.

He has replied repeating not to worry, he will find another job.

He then said it sounded like I thought he was lying. He explained that the school is not a big fancy British or American private school with a website but it is a private house in his neighbourhood, divided into rooms where children are taught. Like a kind of childminder but with lessons. Again he said not to worry - And he sounded a bit offended.

Again there are two ways of seeing this. One is that he doesn’t want me to contact the school because he is making the whole thing up.

The other is that he is telling the truth and it’s a tiny set up run by a local person who may not even speak English, probably doesn’t issue termly invoices and certainly doesn’t have a website. Thinking back now to when I was last there, that’s not at all improbable. I remember talking about the big Carrefour supermarket to a receptionist at our hotel and she said that no ordinary local people can afford to shop there. The locals all shop at little independent mini markets that westerners never go into.

If he is telling the truth I could understand why he is offended that I am doubting him, on top of also feeling embarrassed for having asked in the first place

OP posts:
Scianel · 26/04/2022 21:58

OP honestly you should have just helped him out rather than listening to the amateur sleuths on this thread opining from their comfy homes.
It's done now I suppose.

fairylightsandwaxmelts · 26/04/2022 21:59

Also, you and I know nothing about this person, but the OP does know that he was certainly working as a taxi driver, in a place with a large tourism sector that is likely to have been significantly impacted by the pandemic. They may not be friends but they are acquaintances, which does put him a rung above ‘stranger on the internet’.

But IMO it would still be very silly to start sending him money. £90 isn't a tiny amount and what happens next time be needs help? He'll go straight to OP as she's helped him before and she'll feel even worse saying no after she's already helped him out once.

milkysmum · 26/04/2022 22:00

I'm shocked at how many people on this thread are saying they would send money to a random taxi driver in Morocco. Genuinely quite shocked. This is why so many people get exploited though I suppose.

fairylightsandwaxmelts · 26/04/2022 22:01

I think people truly do not get what it's like to live in a country with no safety net. He's probably burned through his entire savings by now. I'd be very surprised if a taxi driver in Morocco wasn't really struggling.

I think people do get it.

But there are more sensible ways to help than to send money to someone you've not seen in four years and who you barely know from Adam.

If you have money to spare and want to help, that's of course great - but why not go through a proper registered organisation or charity so you know you're not being scammed and you know exactly where your funds are going?

Scianel · 26/04/2022 22:02

milkysmum I've helped plenty of people out and I've never been exploited or scammed.
Don't give more than you can afford, easy.

BobblyBlueJumper · 26/04/2022 22:03

Yeah I was going to add that if you send the money to do it on trust and don't worry about asking for details of the school. I expected the setup to be more informal than we would have here and not really have the admin set up to take payments from abroad, in different currency, perhaps without people who speak English well to understand what you are trying to do and to credit the money to the right children.

milkysmum · 26/04/2022 22:04

After reading your update op I am even more certain ( not that I needed any convincing ) that this request is not genuine, please do not send this man your money. I would guarantee he has sent the same request to dozens of other women over the years pleading for money also. You must be able to see this is a scam surely?

Ratrick · 26/04/2022 22:05

OP, at the risk of offending him further, you could explain that while you have no reason to suspect him of being dishonest, you are aware that there are people who would make up a story to try and get money, and it can be very hard to know who is or isn’t genuine. Those same people could easily find a picture of two children, who are not their own, online. Could he send you a picture of him and his children together, and then you’ll happily send the money.

Of course there remains a risk that it’s a scam, but knowing that the children in the photo are his children (well, or at least that he knows them) could give you a bit more reassurance.

5128gap · 26/04/2022 22:06

No one on here has any idea whether the man is genuine or not. But the decision is easily made. Which would make you feel worse, being ripped off, or failing to help someone who needed it? Because you'll never know what the right decision is, so you'll have to face one or the other. Just pick the least worst.

PickledElf · 26/04/2022 22:07

No no no no no no and no. How many others is he on??? I had an email exchange for a few months with a waiter from Turkey I’d met whilst on holiday there… he had mistakenly sent me an email which also had exchanges between and some friend/relation and at one point he’d said to this man..,. She’s rich keep trying…
i never replied to again

Original poster
Autumnterm · 26/04/2022 22:09

I know, I’m kicking myself now

OP posts:
milkysmum · 26/04/2022 22:09

Scianel- if you are helping out people by ways of sending people you only met on holiday years ago money when they request it via text then you probably have been scammed- that is not a legitimate way of reaching out.
I'm a nurse and I work with many charities, one in Pakistan and we would never encourage this kind of thing. Please do continue to support people in need- but via proper ways so you know the money you are sending is going to those that really need it.

Scianel · 26/04/2022 22:12

@milkysmum I'm from a developing country and I assist there in various ways. Both through organised charities and yes sometimes I've just given people money. I quite prefer not paying the salaries of Westerners working for charity organisations tbh.

Original poster
Autumnterm · 26/04/2022 22:13

@BobblyBlueJumper sorry that was aimed at you. You are right, that’s what I should have done and I am kicking myself

OP posts:
pixie5121 · 26/04/2022 22:13

This reply has been withdrawn

Withdrawn at poster's request.

oakleaffy · 26/04/2022 22:13

Nope.
Always someone online after money.
Up to you, But Begging scamming online is very common these days.

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