If someone, a total stranger, approaches you on the road to borrow some money, what would you do? Most of us would likely ignore the guy – and walk away as fast as we can! After all, there are so many scammers these days that it’s hard to let your guard down and talk to strangers who might take away all your money.
But a rather kind, and perhaps naïve, South Korean guy was approached by a man from Dubai to ask him for some money. The incident happened in South Korea. The guy from Dubai told the South Korean guy that he lost his money and didn’t have anything left for food or to process his documents so he can get back home.
In that situation, many of us would likely scoff and say, “Yeah, right!”
That’s the typical line of many scammers. Many have fallen in that trap and lost all their money. Despite knowing that, the South Korean guy still let the Dubai man borrow some cash. He gave the other guy 300k won ($250). The two exchanged phone numbers, with the Dubai man promising to pay back the money as soon as he gets home.
For many, the 300k won ($250) is good as lost. After all, they are total strangers – and the Dubai guy was not even able to provide the South Korean guy with some IDs because he supposedly lost his wallet!
A week later, the Dubai man messaged the South Korean guy to ask for his account information because he’s sending his payment. For many, that’s another red flag! With so many hackers these days, it’s not a good idea to just give your bank account information to strangers.
Still, the South Korean guy had full trust in the other guy. That trust would soon pay off because the other guy turned out to be a rich man who truly lost his wallet. For lending him money when he was truly down, the rich Dubai guy rewarded the South Korean guy with 890 million won ($775,000)!
From $250 to $775,000, that’s certainly one of the biggest rewards anyone could have ever received after just a week of lending money to a stranger. Good karma on the South Korean guy.
What’s a Red Flag?
In sports and in a figurative sense, a red flag serves as a warning for a person to stop and consider his options before proceeding. But even if the person pushes through with the action, the red flag serves as a reminder to proceed with caution.
