What would you do if a stranger offered you money for helping him?

Question

True story: my dad came home from the 99 cents store today and said he met a man. The person was talking on his cellphone, and told my dad he was meeting his lawyer at a place, and so needed a ride. My dad being a good samaritan agreed. On the way there, the stranger told his story, said his relative died in a plane crash and left him over $300,000 dollars, and now he has $200,000 left. Never said what happened to the $100,000. The guy said he was leaving for Nigeria that night and couldnt take the money back with him, so offered it to my dad to donate to a church, and then offered $400 to my dad as payment for giving him a ride. He actually had the money stuffed in a briefcase and showed it to my dad. Anyway, my dad didnt accept the money and left the guy at Home Depot where he asked to be dropped off. My dad was skeptical and said the stranger looked crazy. Either the man was a con, or just crazy. If he were crazy, then I feel sorry for him, because someone may take advantage of him. My dad told him to call the cops, but the stranger didnt want to, didnt trust the cops. What do you think of this situation? Could my dad have been in danger, or was God giving him a gift? What would you have done?

Answer 1

woaaah

i would of taken the money!!!!

u kno

these days gas is expensive..

but ur dad was nice enough to do that

sumthing like that hapen to my dad lol

seriously..

well

maybe the guy with the suitcase wanted

to share is money idk??

Answer 2

wow yeah i think your dad was in danger.

that's crazy sick stuff right there :DD

i woulda taken it though.

Answer 3

I don't think there was any danger.. i would have taken the money of course , once in a lifetime chance.

Answer 4

Sounds like a scam to me. As soon as they mention Nigeria you know it's a scam.

Answer 5

well maybe what he said and if your dad is a good man then just maybe god may have been giving him a gift. he helped someone out so yer maybe.

Answer 6

No it probably wasnt a sign from god, and he probably wasn't in danger, It was just a random thing that happend.

I wouldnt have taken it, or given him a ride, but i would have callen him a cab since he had all that money...

Answer 7

definately sounds shady...but i doubt your dad was in danger. if the guy wanted to do something, he still would have.  He wouldn't have said to himself, "hey this guy isn't going to take my 400, ok, so let me hurt him"...the dude was surely shady as slim, but i doubt there was any harm to be done.  If he SHOWED your dad the cash, then obviously, he was being some what honest.  if i were your dad, i'd have popped the guy, and took the whole 200k....what the heck is 400 bucks?

Answer 8

That doesnt sound right at all

who offers someone 200k that is just silly and wrong and i would have saud no as it sounds dodgy who know where the money came from

stolen v, drugs , murder , robbery

i would have liked to take it but it sounds dodge i would be scared

Answer 9

EDIT**********

Nigeria is the #1 Scam Country of the world!

Haven't you seen those emails where someone needs 'help' and they just inherited all of this money??? And they end up asking the person for their bank account info so they can 'wire the money to them'.

Yeah PLEASE DON'T CALL THE COPS I DON'T TRUST THEM! LOL

He doesn't trust them because he's a con - DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUH

Answer 10

I wouldn't take the money.  

Answer 11

Your Dad is right, what a scam.

Answer 12

Stranger Danger!

Answer 13

I believe that your dad could have been in danger. Why would this guy be meeting his lawyer at a home depot?

as for god, perhaps it was a test of some sorts, just not the way you think. Greed is a deadly sin. accepting the money may constitute as a sin.  

Answer 14

Well, first of all, you can take $10,000 in cash anywhere in the world without paying customs or taxes.  So, he could take some of it.  Second of all, I don't trust anyone who "needs a ride to a lawyers" and who has a bunch of money stuffed in a briefcase.

Third of all, you can wire money, or even access your money from abroad using ATMs and international banks - even in Africa.

I think your dad did the right thing - either he had serious mental illness, or he was a scam artist.

By the way, I knew a guy who had some kind of rare meningitis that he didn't know about - he went crazy - and no one knew for a while.  He drained his families savings of $30,000 by giving it to a homeless man - first renting a hotel for him and feeding him, then giving him cash.  They didn't find out until he wrote a check for $9,000 to his church and the bishop knew they couldn't afford it, so told his wife and gave her the check.  That's when we figured out he was having problems - he had lost his job but kept going like he was working, etc.

So, it could have been someone with severe mental issues too.

Answer 15

don't take that.  the scam kind of sounds like a popular one going around the past few years where africans/middle easterners were conning westerners out of money.  it goes like this:

1.  con man tells westerner that con man just obtained/inherited a large amount of money that con man cannot take with him to another country without the help of the westerner.

2.  then, con man shows westerner a container full of lots of paper bills...that are coated in some type of black/colored ink.  

3.  con man says that ink is there so that the money could be transported to another country without detection, and with some relatively inexpensive solution, the money can be cleaned and used.

4. con man asks westerner for a few hundred dollars for cleaning solution,  and in exchange offers the westerner half of the thousands of dollars inside.  con man may even clean off a couple of bills with lefterover solution to show that real money is underneath.

5.  con man takes westerner's money, leaves half of the covered paper bills with the westerner with promise to send solution.

6.  con man is never heard from again, and westerner comes to find that the paper bills are not money, but cut out pieces of ordinary paper instead.

Answer 16

i would of done the same thing ur daddy did.

Answer 17

your dad is dumb, kind, but dumb. i wouldn't have taken the money anyway.  

Answer 18

I wouldn't have taken the money. That doesn't sound right. I wouldn't have given him a ride. Yur dad could of been in danger but u don't know this person story so its hard to say

Answer 19

Another boring night on Yahoo Answers.

Answer 20

1.  Your dad was taking a chance on giving a stranger a lift.

#2.  There is no way that this man was actually going to give your dad $200K.

      

#3.  If it looks like a scam, smells like a scam and sounds like a scam, you can bank on it being just that, a scam.

#4.  This con man was just seconds away from asking your dad to put money up in "good faith."

You should advise your dad that in today's warped society, it doesn't pay to give strangers more than the time of day.  Remind him that you don't want to find yourself fatherless!

Answer 21

It dosnt sound like a Godly story to me. it may have a been if your dad or church had been praying for finance.

It may have been stolen or this man may have a serious legal issue arise. Your best bet may be to contact a police force to ask about the situation. They may have been looking for this man.

Answer 22

My experience with these types of situations (not that I have been in a situation very close to this one) has been to follow your instincts.  Obviously this is a far cry from anything I've been witness to, but much of the gravity surrounding the situation I think is similar.  I personally try to go with whatever feels right, and my personal opinion is that there is much truth to be found in the saying "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is".  

The man may or may not have been telling the truth, but the important thing to remember is that your father would have never known one way or the other.

1.  If he had accepted the money, he would have never known if it was honest money.

2.  Since he refused it, he will never know if it could have been legitimate.

One way or another, a situation as thick as this one will never leave his conscience, He'll have to carry something with him from it.

It may have been an opportunity for the church to benefit, but you should also remember from a religious standpoint that God gives you everything you need.  The church and it's attendees may not always have what they want, but I would bet that they have what they need.  While it could have been a sign from God to help the church, it's much more likely that it was a test from God to the strength of your father's will.

Your father should be proud that he was able to make such a powerful decision.  God will take care of that church with or without money.  Nobody gives away $200, let alone $200,000.

God Bless.

Answer 23

I probably would have done the same as your father but I would have called the cops any way

Answer 24

If your story is complete, then I'm not sure how it would be a scam... but something strange (and probably illegal) was definitely going on. Why would the guy want your dad to donate the money to a church? Why wouldn't he just do it himself and write it all off on his taxes? Your dad was wise to use common sense and not let the sight of cash cloud his judgment.

Answer 25

I wont take any money as $999999 are in my pocket every day ! i would just give him $50 for cleaning my shoes with his tongue !

         And it really depends what he asks for

Answer 26

If he didn't have to meet the attorney at a certain time, I would have taken him to the closest church and let that man give the money to the church.  If he gave me a tip, I would take it, with gas prices and all.  But I would've also checked each dollar bill with one of those markers to check if the bill is real.

Answer 27

To answer the question in your title: No I would not take any money to help someone.

the rest sounds like an overactive imagination

Answer 28

The money was stolen. The guy was trying to ditch it and get away. it would look suspicious if he tried to take all that money on a plane. He didn't want to call the police because he would be handing himself in.

That's my arguement and the reasons for each, it may or may not be true.

Answer 29

I would have not picked up a crazy Nigerian from the 99 cent store...so i don't know

Answer 30

That is how they steal your organs. Your dad is Lucky.  

Answer 31

ahh..wut a sad situation... if your dad felt it was right then it was the right thing to do-for him.

i personally wouldnt have taken the money.. but i dont think the man was crazy, im from a different country and i know that there are some unexplainable situations. its a sad story tho.. im very sorry to hear this.. god bless you and your dad for helping.