Basically, i was just at the bus station, when this guy came to me. He then told me he is from germany and started to ask me for money because he said his mother was sick in the hospital. Then he tried to ask me to be in his Whatsapp group, and then told me his name, and then asked for my name (yet he somehow got it wrong multiple times)
So, i took pity with him, and tried to pay a train ticket to Berlin for him (i’m from Arnhem). But then i saw the price was 170 euro, which is way too much. Then, he asked me to pay a train ticket to Dusseldorf, which was 90 euro (still too pricy for me). Then i try to explain i was heading to my grandparents, and i don’t want to be bothered anymore, but it was kinda hard because he kept asking me to be friends, until he left.
My grandparents then told me he was probably a scammer, but i’m not sure. Maybe he was telling the truth about his mother being ill in Germany.
So, Reddit, AITAH?
Edit: title was meant to say “Refusing” instead of “Denying”, i’m sorry. I’m using Reddit via Chrome and i can’t change the title.
Edit 2: i don’t know what’s the right word for it. Is it “Denying” or “Refusing”? English isn’t my first language.
Comments
NTA – every stranger has family/issues/needs. You are not responsible for them
NTA — Who adds someone to a WhatsApp group within 10 minutes of meeting them and then insists on being your friend? He was clearly trying to manipulate you into feeling guilty so you’d eventually give him the money…. Dont feel bad about this
NTA for calling BS when someone tries to scam you. Being put on the spot like that can be really uncomfortable, it’s natural to be cautious.
Have you guys ever had a similar experience where you just knew something wasn’t right?
Come on, you know better. That’s clearly a scam.
Don’t be so gullible, people will take advantage of you.
Hang op, klik weg, bel je bank…
You did alright, was a scam. Don’t pay for stuff for strangers. It usually doesn;t end well. (Although I once paid a parking meter that didn’t accept apple pay for a girl with only a phone, but that was a couple euros)
I wouldn’t give any stranger any money.
In this context refusing and denying mean basically the same thing, but refusing works best in your sentence.
Usually if you refuse something you’re saying no to a question or request. If you deny something you don’t allow it to happen. Deny might be the better word if the guy was trying to climb into your car for a lift and you didn’t allow it. Either way your meaning is clear.
Definitely NTA, this for sure seems like a scam because no sensible person would expect a complete stranger to pay for something so expensive, so please don’t feel bad! It’s also very weird that he was trying to add you to a WhatsApp group, definitely a red flag imo
NTA Grandpa is right, this was a scammer – after you buy the ticket he will go to the office and get the ticket refunded, and then he’ll spend the money on whatever (drugs, party, w/e)….
I would bet he scams multiple tourists per day
I also bet he is not an actual German, but rather a Roma traveller
Sounds like a scam. NTA, and start reading r/scams so you don’t get tricked