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Over the past year and a half I have gained quite a friendship with a person from another country. The reason we know each other is that I created a video online that gained a lot of attention. He helped this video gain the majority of that attention. This person has helped me grow my success online with a fan base that seems to be exponentially growing, but is too difficult to maintain while working a full-time job at the same time.

This person has offered to pay for me to go to the UK and pay for my accommodation, food, internet, everything, and give me a year to start making money from it on my own. I don't know much about it since it all came out of nowhere, but he's saying I can get famous and has never seen anyone grow like this. Saying I can make lots of money and wants to help me get there.

I want to know if anyone can think of any way it can be a scam if someone is paying for a flight, paying off all debts, paying my food and accommodation and living expenses. It just seems too good to be true. Like, the best deal anyone has ever gotten.

(I didn't know where to post this, so please redirect me to where it should go. Sorry)

user381929
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    Do you have the appropriate visas tp get there and permission to work there? Are these just promises or actual tickets or a bank account? – Roddy of the Frozen Peas Feb 07 '18 at 00:06
  • He will be paying for my working visa application, any fee's in getting there. – user381929 Feb 07 '18 at 00:08
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    Is he offering you a legal contract on top of all this? Is he offering to be your agent? – doctordonna Feb 07 '18 at 00:13
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    Are you sure the attention is real, or could he have a bot network that is giving you all of the views automatically? – ajd Feb 07 '18 at 00:18
  • I've seen the videos used on his pages and other pages as well, reaching multiple millions of views on some. I just don't make any money from it.. I suck at everything to do with it. He even says he doesn't want anything from it. He's the nicest dude ever, and I do trust him. I just wanted to see if anyone had heard of a weird scam like that or if anyone would go through the lengths to get me there to screw me over in some way.. maybe I'm just paranoid – user381929 Feb 07 '18 at 00:25
  • @doctordonna no legal contract or anything. Not offering to be my agent. Just to do everything full time. So I don't have to worry about working another job to pay bills and food and stuff. All that paid for so I can focus on getting successful in a short amount of time. – user381929 Feb 07 '18 at 00:27
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    It is extremely rare for someone to offer to cover so many expenses without wanting something in return. Don't go into this without asking questions and seeing proof. I personally wouldn't go forward without some legal binding. You don't even know if he's using his real name. – doctordonna Feb 07 '18 at 00:34
  • Well what kind of legal binding would I need for someone who is paying for everything for me? I don't know what I would even be asking proof of or how he would supply it. – user381929 Feb 07 '18 at 00:38
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    @doctordonna is giving sound advice. You will have no recourse without a contract. By the sound of it, he is promising you a bunch of things, and he might come through, but if he doesn't, there's nothing you can do about it. The 'proof' you need is a contractual agreement detailing his and your roles and responsibilities, while stipulating a timeframe. – MastaBaba Feb 07 '18 at 00:40
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    Go look at the UK register of licensed sponsors: workers. If he/his company is not on it, he cannot sponsor you. – Giorgio Feb 07 '18 at 00:49
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    This looks like the early stages of advance fee fraud to me. Your 'friend' persuades you to go to Britain, and everything looks good, until there's just the matter of the visa fee to pay, and then a problem with the airline ticket, send some money to cover local business registration which he can't pay because...reasons, on and on and on.... If it looks too good to be true it probably is. –  Feb 07 '18 at 02:07
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    My guess, which I can not verify without knowing more about the OP, is sex trafficking will be how the debt incurred will be paid. – Andrew Lazarus Feb 07 '18 at 02:43
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    The common response to questions like these is simply "if you have to ask, you probably are...". –  Feb 07 '18 at 03:33
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    I do hope someone adds an answer acknowledging that there might be something legit behind this and how to make sure. There's a lot of danger here, but it's not like that's unsolvable. Op: please don't jump into this without insurance. Yes, it might all work out. But what if? – DonQuiKong Feb 07 '18 at 09:03
  • "has offered to pay " ... " will be paying " - let me ask you this - have you to date received any actual money from this person? At all? Or is "helped me grow my success online with a fan base" all they've materially done? – AakashM Feb 07 '18 at 09:41
  • @AndrewLazarus Why did you jump to that? Is it so common? – Ant Feb 07 '18 at 10:18
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    @AndrewLazarus Actually, never mind. After reading about it in wikipedia, this seems like a classic case :-( Scary stuff - we should be more aware of it – Ant Feb 07 '18 at 10:28
  • Whats your citizenship? A standard visitor visa is 6 months max, a visa free entry is also 6 months max, so unless you are from the EEA or Switzerland it would be very hard for you to move for a year anyway, or unless you are eligible for the working holiday visa. – BritishSam Feb 07 '18 at 10:28
  • How well do you know him? Have you texted? Talked on the phone? Video chatted? met face to face? If he has the resources to take you there, has he came to meet you where you are at? Basically: What have you done to make sure you aren't being catfished. – WernerCD Feb 07 '18 at 13:05
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    Why does this person want to move you to the UK in the first place? Your physical location doesn't seem particularly relevant to your success as an internet personality, which raises another red flag for me. – Nuclear Hoagie Feb 07 '18 at 13:58
  • @user381929 If you decide going through with this, make sure you are in control at all times. Make sure you can enter and leave the country on your own accord. Get the visa yourself, make sure you have direct personal access to money to get a return flight. Make sure you legally can get the ticket and board a plain back (valid visa) and have some backup money to get food and accommodation if he decided to kick you out. Even if this is legit, the situation and mood can change. Although I admit I do doubt this is legit. – Jeroen Feb 07 '18 at 14:33
  • One question I miss in all the comments and answer, do you want to go? From your question I get reluctance for the whole project. If you are not fully behind it, you may need to consider not going even if it is a good break for a career. (And that is besides the risk of scamming.) – Willeke Feb 07 '18 at 16:26

6 Answers6

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"This doesn't really answer the question" but it is important enough to ensure it gets noticed! (If moderators disagree, they can "fix it.")

Sex trafficking and other forms of slavery are real and widespread. While it seems to me that no one would spend that much time and effort to get a victim, one never knows.

I recommend, without this person's knowledge, that you contact law enforcement in the area he claims to be in and/or wants to meet you in, and ask them whether they think it is legitimate.

WGroleau
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    +1. I see @WGroleau and I are equally cynical (referring to my comment on the question itself). – Andrew Lazarus Feb 07 '18 at 03:13
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    Also, here in USA, many illegal immigrants are controlled by an "employer" with the threat of reporting them to immigration. – WGroleau Feb 07 '18 at 04:43
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    What incentive does law enforcement have to say "yes" if they think it's probably legitimate? Wouldn't they just say "no" even if they have no idea what the scam might be, just to avoid a remote risk? (Put another way, would you really expect them to say "yes" if it's legitimate?) – user541686 Feb 07 '18 at 08:51
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    If they know it is a scam and they're already after him/her/it, they'll say so. If they don't know, they'll either say "we don't know but it's awfully suspicious" and start investigating, or they'll say "yes" and start investigating. Or (unlikely) it's legit and they know it and say so. Any other response and they are not doing their job. – WGroleau Feb 07 '18 at 09:24
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    Police knows scams much better than the average person and they are entitled to help people before they become victims of a crime. – Janka Feb 07 '18 at 10:39
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    I recommend, without this person's knowledge, that you contact law enforcement in the area: Is that very easy for a non national to do? – Hanky Panky Feb 07 '18 at 10:44
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    Depends on whether that non-national knows how to do a web search. I've several times contacted police in places I hadn't been to. – WGroleau Feb 07 '18 at 12:19
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    @WGroleau In an ideal world, the police would have the time and resources to investigate every suspicion they were informed of. In reality, they're much more likely to say that, as long as the asker obtains proper immigration paperwork, most matters arising between them and their host/employer/whatever would be civil, rather than criminal. They will simply advise the asker to be careful and point out that things that look too good to be true usually are. The police are not there to do your due diligence for you. – David Richerby Feb 07 '18 at 13:09
  • While you want to protect yourself... "Call the police" seems like a bit of an overreaction if you aren't 100% confident this is a scam... – WernerCD Feb 07 '18 at 13:10
  • +1 @GayotFow sends his regards for such a great answer. – Giorgio Feb 07 '18 at 13:13
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    Nice answer. But for: If they know it is a scam and they're already after him/her/it, they'll say so. If there is an ongoing investigation, police will refrain from telling that, to avoid warning the offender. While they probably would not say "Come in, he is a legit guy", any negative answer would not probably be very specific -e.g. "We cannot ensure you that this is not a scam" or "As far as we can tell, these practices look suspicious/match criminal modus operandi" or something like that-. – SJuan76 Feb 07 '18 at 14:01
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    @WernerCD "Calling to the police" is not the same than "pressing charges". And of course, if the OP thinks that it would be rude to put the "friend" in the spotlight, s/he can ask the police for advice without disclosing his name, as s/he has done here. – SJuan76 Feb 07 '18 at 14:06
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    @SJuan76 I'm all for being safe - you do have to protect yourself from catfishing, scammers and traffickers... but on the flip side, calling the police - while not pressing charges - is a very serious step IMO. VERY serious possible repercussions for a suspicion. From the simple loss of a friendship (You called the police? Guess you don't trust me.) to police involvement where there doesn't need to be (as an American, I hope you can understand where I'm coming from - not that corruption doesn't exist elsewhere mind you). – WernerCD Feb 07 '18 at 14:14
  • @WernerCD Calling the police to become more informed is far from a very serious step. Pretty sure in my country they would happily talk to you about the risk, steps you have to take if you go though with it and what to do if it ends up being a scam. I think however your countries own embassy in that country or the immigration services of that country might better locations as they might have more general information regarding this then the local police. – Jeroen Feb 07 '18 at 14:40
  • @SJuan76 There's no such thing as "pressing charges" in the UK. If the police decide to investigate something, and come up with enough evidence, they pass that to the Crown Prosecution Service who decide whether or not to take it to trial. Unless they decide to bring a private prosecution, the victim is not a part of the decision to prosecute. – David Richerby Feb 07 '18 at 14:44
  • @WernerCD There's no such thing as "pressing charges" in the UK (see my above comment). – David Richerby Feb 07 '18 at 14:45
  • @DavidRicherby : I think that's actually true in the US too. However if the principle witness to an assault says that they don't want to offer evidence, it becomes much harder to convict. (It is possible to compel testimony, but it is a lot of work, and they might lie.) – Martin Bonner supports Monica Feb 07 '18 at 14:54
  • In USA, if police or DA choose to proceed, the victim cannot stop them. However, if they would rather not, but the victim disagrees, the must at least pretend to work on it. And I suspect that in most places, they would rather prevent a scam than wait till prosecution is necessary. (Though sometimes, the rights of the possibly innocent require restraint.) – WGroleau Feb 23 '18 at 00:47
  • I have to modify my last comment. The victim cannot force there to be no prosecution of a crime. But here, we are not reporting a crime, but asking whether a certain action is likely to result in a crime. The authorities can’t easily prosecute a crime before it happens. – WGroleau Dec 30 '19 at 16:55
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This person has offered to pay for me to go to the UK and pay for my accommodation, food, internet, everything, and give me a year to start making money from it on my own. I don't know much about it since it all came out of nowhere, but he's saying I can get famous and has never seen anyone grow like this. Saying I can make lots of money and wants to help me get there.

Even if you assume for a minute that this person has no ill intentions it is blatantly obvious that this person wants you to move for his gain, most obviously financial.

Always Remember: if you're getting it for free, you are not the customer you're the product.

And you actually are the product that he is willing to sell even in the best possible case. Since you do have talent and your creations can become famous, start learning how you can continue to grow your fan base yourself. The same YouTube that made you famous will have tons of videos to help you with that.

Meta

I like the other answer but I think the suggestion it contains and the discussion on it is going overboard with an investigative theme when this is only a matter of due diligence as of now. What should the OP do if the other person is reported clean after a casual contact with police? Just because someone is not known to the police or because they aren't able to furnish that information easily what should the OP do? Consider the other person clean and run for the deal? That's risky.

It's not really a matter of investigation, small business deals don't work that way. OP should stay away from such a deal regardless of what comes out from law enforcement.

Even in the best case scenario this deal makes no business sense.

Hanky Panky
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Have you had a Skype or Hangouts chat with him? Gotten to know him? Searched up his name and found his face or info somewhere? Really, if you're going to become business partners, it's ridiculous to fly somewhere without having seen and done some research on each other, and this is true regardless of whether or not this is a scam.

Try doing these. If he gives you a hard time, it's probably a scam. Otherwise, maybe not (unlikely).

user541686
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  • At the least, meeting someplace very public (and keeping it that way - e.g. don't follow them to a private place the first meetup) makes a lot more sense than moving and uprooting your life first. If they are legit they would understand the need for safety and caution. If they are illegit they will resist that or try to convince you otherwise with reasons you cannot verify that bring about emotion or urgency. – cr0 Feb 07 '18 at 14:33
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If the other answers and comments on this question haven't put you off pursuing this further, you should:

  • Do some thorough research into UK immigration and employment law as it would apply to you - depending on your nationality, etc. As a starting point you can find information on the UK government website and possibly on the Expatriates or Law SE sites.
  • Ask your contact any questions arising from this. For example are they offering to sponsor your visa application, can they send you a copy of the employment contract they will be offering you, and so on.
  • Check their answers by getting independent legal advice. For example, have a lawyer examine the employment contract and review what your immigration/visa situation would be.

If your contact is not willing to cooperate with this, I suggest that would be a red flag that it is a scam. If you think the above steps are too difficult or expensive, I suggest that the risk that it is a scam is too big for you to take.

nekomatic
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It strikes me that the most likely thing here is that you're being baited for some kind of advance-fee scam or an airline fee scam. The classic signs are all here; exotic locale, once-in-a-lifetime-offer that seems too good to be true, other person is willing to invest considerable expense without you having to risk anything, etc, etc.

Given that they're offering you the equivalent of about $15,000 of accommodation and services, if you want to assess whether they're actually genuine, you could ask them to advance you a very small sum of money (say, $100) toward a new piece of equipment for your youtube videos. Scammers hate paper trails and they hate risking their own money. If they're legitimately going to act as your agent they'll send the money without question from their bank account to yours. If they hmm and hah, insist on paying via an anonymous method (such as Western Union), threaten to break off contact because of your unreasonable request or seem in the least anxious about spending that kind of money then you know that they're definitely trying to scam you.

My guess is that at some point over the next few weeks/months they'll claim that they've sorted out your accommodation (so that there's a ticking clock to raise the stakes) and they're ready to book your travel but they've found out that they need your personal details (so you'll need to post your passport, etc) to make the bookings. They may also ask for you to pay a portion of the travel fees or some kind of "arrangement fee" that "has to come from your account, not mine".

Valorum
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You need to get an understanding of this individual outside of the communication channels he is controlling. It is easier to get assurance about an individual's real reputation on some social media than on others. YouTube is overrun with trolls, Twitter is a little bit better - you can understand people's history and network a bit more easily, Facebook is slightly better again - you can usually separate bots from real people fairly easily, LinkedIn is much better just for understanding people's careers and bona fides.

Do they have a blog, or company sites they happy to show you? Do they work with well known people who are happy to vouch for them?

Email or message them: make sure you ask them all the questions you want answered. It's okay to say that you want to be clear about your immigration/visa/employment status. If they are offering you a job they should be happy to offer you a written employment contract.

If you can't build up a clear picture of who this individual is then just don't trust them. If they are trustworthy they will also be transparent.

tonyofthewoods
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