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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:
worraliberty · 26/04/2022 22:15

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.

How do you know you've never been exploited or scammed and what does it have to do with not giving more than you can afford?

XingMing · 26/04/2022 22:16

I don't get why it is so daft to try to help out a person you know, who has helped you negotiate unfamilar surroundings. Honestly, I would rather help an individual person and their family than send money to a charity. Which is why, if I know people in a country like Sri Lanka, I'd rather support them direct. I know the money I sent is going to be spent first hand and sensibly on improving their housing, education and health in their local economy. Happy to donate stuff to Oxfam, but I wouldn't give money.

Nat3kids · 26/04/2022 22:16

I think some of the language being directed to OP on this thread is pretty nasty. You might not choose to send money in this situation but people who have no way of knowing this guy’s trustworthiness are being quite patronising saying OP is gullible. Having said that I would probably prefer to send to a charity because although I’m sure all taxi drivers have lost a lot of income over the pandemic there are probably others with even greater need.

Blackbird2020 · 26/04/2022 22:17

All this back and forth about whether you should / shouldn’t / scam / genuine…

Ultimately ANYONE who wants to borrow / have money from me needs to establish a better relationship with me than what you have just described, OP.

I will help friends, family and charities with money. End of. Trust and money go hand in hand for me, which is probably the same reason why you are posting on here in the first place….

UrslaB · 26/04/2022 22:19

Do not pay money into an unknown bank account of anyone...ever. This is just so mind boggling to me that you would even consider giving money to someone you barely know. If that bank account is later linked to any kind of illegal activity then guess who will be getting a knock at the door and asked why you were sending it money? Being able to prove your innocent in this situation may be easy, but an interrogation and being mixed up in something unexpected is a stress and anxiety easily avoided.

The number of people who so naively and casually say, 'just help him out' and 'yes, send it to him' and 'if it's a one off then sure.' Like, being scammed out of the money and later harrassed for more is the least worrying thing I could think of happening here. I think this is my past professional experience of seeing the absoulte worst of humanity and the absolutely horrifying situations innocent people can get themselves embroiled in. The justice system shows that fact is stranger than fiction and what most people assume is a harmless situation can have multiple angles for criminals to exploit.

Don't do it. If you want to aid those in need then do it through a legitimate charity.

Scianel · 26/04/2022 22:19

How do you know you've never been exploited or scammed and what does it have to do with not giving more than you can afford?

Because I'm not an idiot. But you know what, if someone got a tenner off me under slightly false pretences, so what?

pixie5121 · 26/04/2022 22:23

This reply has been withdrawn

Withdrawn at poster's request.

XingMing · 26/04/2022 22:27

I'm not bothered by the others with greater needs. I'd much rather go direct and help. It's not my place to decide whose needs are greatest because my reference points are not relevant. Only that I would prefer to know that the recipient is going to do their utmost to get maximum value from the donation, and to trust them to know what's best locally.

tootiredtoocare · 26/04/2022 22:28

You'd be stupid to send it. You're obviously a really kind person, but I'd be very surprised if 90E today is not 500E next month for some other essential. Don't be scammed.

EnoughOf · 26/04/2022 22:30

Help if you can, it's not a scam. He is desperate and asking help from wherever he can.

Skiptheheartsandflowers · 26/04/2022 22:32

I dunno. I'm normally sceptical about things like this but it's a very long con, 4 years of texting, for the sake of €90. I agree that if it then turned into regular requests it'd be a bad sign. But most con men would have been unable to wait this long before asking.

fairylightsandwaxmelts · 26/04/2022 22:33

Do you have any idea how those charities operate? Most of them are basically scams, paying the top brass bloated salaries, often to galavant around and fly business class. You honestly think 90 quid to a charity is better spent than giving it to a man she has met several times and liked? I certainly don't.

Well, as with everything it's personal choice but I would 100% rather give to a registered charity than some random taxi driver I met four years ago and haven't seen since.

accentdusoleil · 26/04/2022 22:33

He is right . The local kindergarten won't speak English and most payments will be done in cash . He probably doesn't have a bank account and will want you to send via western union .

I imagine the money is for food though to be honest.

It is common for people to ask friends to lend money in Moroccan culture . It's not seen as cheeky as here

Good luck op

pasturesgreen · 26/04/2022 22:33

Jesus wept, don't send any money! It's €30 this month, then it'll be €50 or €100 later on as you'll be seen as a soft target. Block his number.

DreamingOfTowels · 26/04/2022 22:36

Sorry I haven’t RTFT have you Google reverse image searched the photos

Blackbird2020 · 26/04/2022 22:37

I think the Moroccan issue is blurring matters…

Just for a minute think about how you’d feel if someone you really didn’t know, just someone who you briefly used their services a few years ago, asked you to help out with a bit of spare cash because they had hit hard times.

And then when you continued the conversation (especially when most would have just ignored the message), asked for more details etc. this person’s response leaves you feeling that they are upset with you for thinking they might be lying.

Just think about it, this almost random is actually happy to let you know he’s a bit pissed off that you were (sensibly) checking for some extra information.

This is not someone you want to lend money to, however genuine they might be. This person doesn’t see you as a person with genuine fears, concerns etc. They see you as an ATM.

Scianel · 26/04/2022 22:37

@accentdusoleil In the culture where I grew up, asking someone for money is actually a sign of respect. A wealthy person might ask you for a small token amount or something like a can of coke as an acknowledgement or almost as a joke.
Views on bribery tend to be all sorts of shades of grey in consequence.

Plus yes let's face it if you're desperate and your kids are hungry you're not going to be stressing about the niceties.

Puzzledandpissedoff · 26/04/2022 22:38

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

How very convenient - a place so private that you'd stand no chance of looking it up
And how very odd that few of the "send the money" posters have suggested the obvious route to helping - donating to some local cause instead

There's a reason why so many agencies working with the disadvantaged urge us not to give direct, and this is it

Scianel · 26/04/2022 22:39

he’s a bit pissed off that you were (sensibly) checking for some extra information

He's offended that his honesty is being called into question.

Blackbird2020 · 26/04/2022 22:41

@Scianel And if he had a little more insight he’d not be. So yes, I stand by my opinion, this isn’t someone I’d easily lend/give money to.

Booklover3 · 26/04/2022 22:43

I’d probably have paid it OP. From a bank account with little in it that I don’t use often. I’m obviously gullible. I wouldn’t have paid any more money to him though.

MapleMay11 · 26/04/2022 22:45

XingMing · 26/04/2022 22:16

I don't get why it is so daft to try to help out a person you know, who has helped you negotiate unfamilar surroundings. Honestly, I would rather help an individual person and their family than send money to a charity. Which is why, if I know people in a country like Sri Lanka, I'd rather support them direct. I know the money I sent is going to be spent first hand and sensibly on improving their housing, education and health in their local economy. Happy to donate stuff to Oxfam, but I wouldn't give money.

I agree with this and I would send him money. Having lived in developing countries, I wouldn't find this request unusual if it came from an acquaintance. I accept that I am viewed as someone who has more and it's my choice whether to give or not.

Puzzledandpissedoff · 26/04/2022 22:47

it's a very long con, 4 years of texting, for the sake of €90 ... Most con men would have been unable to wait this long before asking

Why assume that he's waited 4 years and hasn't been asking others in the meantime - or that £90 is all he's been able to collect?

I don't pretend to know either way, but if only one person sends money through each round of messaging he could have built up a nice sum by now, and looking at this thread he'll probably net a lot more than one each time

CharityShopChic · 26/04/2022 22:51

We can see though @Puzzledandpissedoff the hared already voiced about large charities. They're bloated, scams, paying huge salaries. 🙄Conveniently ignoring the fact that registered charities are accountable, audited, have all the details of spend up there on their websites.

Sending money in this way to a randomer - a fleeing acquaintance from 4 years ago - is MADNESS.

People who are concerned about poverty in Morocco could easily google "charity in morocco" and give money that way.

Snozzlemaid · 26/04/2022 22:57

ScrumptiousBears · 26/04/2022 16:25

Have you posted before Op because I've read this story before.

Me too.
I've definitely read an identical story on here before.

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