Watch out for a red flag

A few days back @Kushyzee wrote about ads that usually pops out on youtube when someone wants to watch a video, the ads is a video of a little girl that has cancer, she said she doesn't want to die and all other things, the video was so touching and I watched it to the end and deep down I felt bad for her because she was so brilliant and it turned out to be a scam, the full story is on Kushyzee article.

Just yesterday here, while I was checking trends on Twitter after posting one of my freestyle videos I did some days back, I came across a tweet of a young child that needs help to go for an operation, the user that posted it attached some pictures of the child, the amount they need for the operation, and also the account number that the money should be transferred to.

But there was a red flag at the tweet that made me just scroll past it, the post looks legit but why did the user block the comment section, what if someone wants to ask about the location of the hospital, and someone that has been scammed before won't want to offer help at all because the user that posted it might be a scammer.

On Facebook, some people still use old photos of other people that asked for support to do an operation some years back, they will repost the photo and start asking for money with the photo, I have come across so many and they usually off their comment section so the real people that know the owner of the picture won't comment on it, they will just open a fake Facebook account to dupe people of their earned money because they wanted to help.

I know it's good to help out in a situation like this but the best thing is to do a background check before offering help, some people disguise themselves, but in the real world, they will act like they don't have money for transport or they have physical challenges and you might just fall for it and help them because they melted your heart with there sad story.

The one about helping someone with transport money is the funny and at the same time you will feel used, person like me, when someone asks for help to pay for transport, I like to pay it for them myself, at least it will guarantee that I paid it, instead of me giving them the money, cause some will just come down for the bus and change direction, haha, funny right? Well, a normal Nigeria must have come across one or two in this life.

A guy narrated a story on how he was inside a bus and someone tapped him from back and asked him to help with transport so the driver won’t embarrass him, so the guy scarified his last 0.50$ and give it to him, only for the other guy to use the money and buy soft drink with gala, he said he was just looking at him as he was eating it, haha, there was nothing he can do but to just look away.

There was this man that was caught sometime back, he use to disguise like someone that can’t walk very well, he usually seat on a wheel chair at the market side, he will be there as early as 6 am and will be there till afternoon when the sun comes out, he was always there and every day, doing his normal routine, telling people that he can't feed because he can't work, and other things.

Not until one day, someone that knew him saw him and had to raise an alarm that the man is not who he said he is and he is a very rich man, they found out that the man has a house in his hometown and not only that, he has more than two tricycles and also cars that he gave out to people to work for him and more, what baffles me is that he still go out and beg people their own little money, that is no longer begging, that is ripping, and I think it sounds familiar to something that everyone knows in Nigeria.

All these are red signs, that's why we should be careful about who to help so we won't end up helping someone that will scam us.

Lead image source

16-08-2022