I Accidentally Worked For A Scam
- When I was a freshman in college I made a ton of money
in what I can only describe
as the weirdest of circumstances.
And this is that story.
Hello again.
Before we dive in, I should emphasize
how weird this story is.
It doesn't make any sense.
But, it's completely true.
I'm also gonna be vague about names, locations,
specifics because you'll see.
Here we go.
So I was 19, a freshman in college, a.k.a broke.
So one day I'm just hanging out with some friends
and someone mentions that there's,
I don't know what else to call it,
but an event happening where students could make money.
Oh cool, what do we have to do?
Tutor some kids?
Hand out some flyers?
What are we talking here?
"No." he says.
"There's this bar.
"You bring your ID with you,
"show it to these people and they give you $20.00."
Just making sure I understand this.
I show people my license and I get $20.00.
And that's it.
Red flag right from the start here.
What is happening?
Why would I get money for just showing someone my ID?
Of course looking back now, it sounds incredibly sketchy,
but then, let's do this.
Why wouldn't we?
What's the worst that could happen?
We don't get $20.00?
May as well check this out.
So the day arrives when this event is happening.
And a group of us go to this bar,
"Write down your name and phone number
"and get in line", someone says.
Pst, easy.
Paperwork done, we're waitin' in line,
we reach the front.
There's two men behind the bar, "ID?" the one guy asks.
20 bucks here we come.
I hand my license over.
I can smell the cash.
"One sec." he says.
And walks away with my ID.
Whoa, no, no, no, excuse me, what is going on,
this is supposed to be a clean exchange?
Oh God, I knew this was a bad idea.
Is my identity stolen?
I knew this was too good to be,
"Here", he says and hands me back my license
with a 20 dollar bill.
OK, as for everyone else, they got $20.00 too.
So this thing that sounded completely impossible
is in fact very real.
I know what you're thinking, cool story,
that's a ton of money.
This story sucks.
And to that I say, chill,
because we're just getting started.
A few days go by and I get a voicemail.
It was something like,
"Congratulations, you've been selected for the next round.
"Please bring your ID to the same address."
What the hell is going on?
Only one other friend of mine got this voicemail.
They were narrowing people down.
Was I supposed to be excited or terrified.
I weighed my options.
My ID was probably being used
to take out loans for drug mansions overseas.
$20.00.
I'm now a part of the mafia
and currently being watched by FBI?
$20.00.
Let's do this.
So the day comes, again.
I go to the bar, fill out my name, number, again.
Shorter line this time.
Apparently these IDs were the best of the best.
I get up to the bar, hand my ID over,
he walks away, again.
This is probably where my good luck runs out.
He'll come back and say I have to apply
for some fake credit card or something.
It's a shame because I was really starting to,
he hands me my ID and $100.00.
At this point I am really struggling to not laugh.
Not only did I get money,
I got five times the amount of money.
Is this my job now?
Is this how I make a living?
Folks, step right up and take a look at
what some might call the finest ID
in these here United States.
My friends are waiting outside the bar.
They're just as confused as I am.
The money is really starting to pile up here.
What if I told you this story
is about to get 10 times weirder?
Maybe a week goes by, I get another mysterious voicemail.
"Congratulations, you've been selected as the final person,
"please meet us on Saturday morning at this intersection."
Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
This time it wasn't even an address.
It was just an area downtown, but in the morning.
Well, I had a decision to make.
Do I continue showing up in strange places
at the promise of money?
With no idea what's waiting for me?
Or do I just quit while I'm ahead?
As you're watching this, you're probably like,
"Brigid, come on, there's no way
"you're dumb enough to see this through.
"You probably came to your senses like a sane human being."
Let's do this.
I know, I know, it's bad, okay.
But I went.
I wanted to see what life had in store for me.
I didn't go alone though.
I brought a friend.
We head to this corner downtown.
We're standing there on the sidewalk.
What are we supposed to be looking for?
Suddenly a van door just slides open.
Yeah, a van.
This is it.
This is how I die.
There's a group of at least five people in this van.
A man and a woman get out.
Goodbye cruel world.
"Alright, so here's what's gonna happen."
The woman hands me an envelope.
"There's $7,000.00 cash in here.
"And here's a list."
I'm an assassin.
I'm an assassin now and this is my hit list.
"The games are in order of priority,
"seats together, no partial viewing."
I glance around as she's talking.
Oh, we're outside of the stadium.
Wait, wait, wait.
Am I buying tickets to a sporting event?
If you're thinking of leaving this video,
don't, because this story gets crazier.
The lady explains to me
that I'm about to have the chance to buy tickets
that the general public doesn't have access to yet.
It was up to me to get as many of the games on this list
as possible.
Okay, okay, a little confusing with all of the requests
that they had.
But this isn't nearly as scary,
"One more thing", the woman says,
"Under no circumstances do you tell anyone
"where you got this money or who we are."
Wait, what?
Who?
Why?
What?
Real confidence booster.
At least my friend can come with me.
We start to walk towards the stadium.
"No, he stays here."
Of course, leaving my friend on the corner.
All by myself.
Here goes nothing.
There was a small group of rich looking businessmen
gathered outside the stadium.
Someone from inside the stadium
pokes their head out of the door,
"We're ready for you, follow me this way."
I'm assuming that includes me.
We walk into the stadium, down this hall
and the guy pushes what looks like a wall.
It's a door that leads into this dimly lit conference room.
There is no one under 35 years old, except for me.
There are no women in this room, except for me.
Everyone is in a suit, except for me.
The same person who let us into the stadium
explains how we'll be picking games
and who gets what tickets.
I stuck exactly to what the people in the van had told me.
Eventually we were done.
The stadium person speaks up again,
"I don't imagine this is the case,
"but no one is paying with cash correct?"
My stomach does a back flip.
All the businessmen are obviously shaking their heads no.
Shit, shit, shit, shit.
I have to raise my hand.
I literally have an envelope of $7,000.00.
Yes, I have cash.
Ahem, um, I am paying with cash.
Everyone was clearly aware of the small blonde girl
from the start, but now everyone's eyes are on me.
It felt like I was in a movie when someone goes,
- "She doesn't even go here."
- But that didn't happen.
"Okay, you can swing around to the front of the stadium
"and pick your tickets up there."
We all go out front.
Everything seems normal.
I walk to the ticket window.
Slide my list of games through the slot.
The woman behind the glass looks me, up and down.
She turns around and puts all of the tickets
I need into an envelope.
She slides it back through the slot towards me.
I calmly reach for them,
but her hand is still on the tickets.
All sound is gone.
I feel like I'm gonna throw up.
With the deepest eye contact I've ever felt,
she looks at me and asks, "Who sent you?"
I stare back at her.
I say nothing.
With her other hand the woman turns around
to pick up a phone.
I don't know who she wants to call,
but I don't want to stick around to find out.
I slam the cash on the counter.
I grab the tickets.
And I run.
I run as fast as I can.
Thinking back, I didn't hear anything,
no yelling, no sirens.
After all, I did pay for the tickets.
Not with my money, but I paid for them.
The air stings my lungs as I make it back to the van
out of sight of the stadium.
My friend is still, unharmed.
Nobody has any idea what I just went through.
I practically throw the tickets into the van.
They quick flip through the envelope
checking the tickets against their list.
The van people look at me.
They hand me an envelope.
"This is for you."
Oh yeah, I'm getting paid for this.
With a heavy thud the door slides shut
and the van drives off.
That would ultimately be, the last time I saw
or even heard from these people.
My friend and I open the envelope.
It had $500.00 in it.
To a college student, I practically struck the lottery.
Keep in mind that this was $500.00
for maybe an hour of my time.
Did I think someone was gonna steal my kidneys, kinda.
Was this whole experience worth it?
Not really, no.
And guess what?
That night we all went out to celebrate my accomplishments.
And guess who loses their wallet?
(ding)
Really great.
All that had been for nothing.
But, in the end, I did come away with a really great story.
(soft music)
- Hey Unsolved is on a new channel.
And now your part.
- Subscribe here.
- That was my part.
