Someone I started dating recently asked me to hold £5k cash for him while he travels abroad - Scam?

Farrella

My new boyfriend asked me to hold £5k cash for him while he travels abroad, as he does not have his UK bank account set up yet (he is from EU, apparently it is harder than he expected with Brexit).  Is there any reason why I should worry that this is a trap or am I just paranoid?  Should I agree or should I suggest an alternative.  He can't carry the cash with him, I think he is already carry a fair amount.  He worked as a bartender, model, mover etc so a lot of jobs were cash in hand.

Exodi

As in hold the £5k in physical cash?

Or he transfers you it or you deposit the £5k into your account and you transfer it somewhere for him?

I would be worried if you're putting it in your bank account, that you may be involved in a 'money mule' scam.

penners324

If he needs an account to hold money, get them to open their own savings account and put it in there.

Otherwise you have £5k in cash satvin your house....

Thrugelmir

Put it in a suitcase under your bed. 

[Deleted User]

No it is a bad idea unless you have known him for years and know of concrete connections to family etc and have established he is legitimate. Do not take the money.

jim8888

If it's physical cash that you can keep somewhere safe, then maybe. If he wants you to put it in your bank, next move I'd suspect from him would be to ask for your pin, or account details, so he can start accessing the cash. And that's a slippery slope.

eskbanker

Farrella said:

My new boyfriend asked me to hold £5k cash for him while he travels abroad, as he does not have his UK bank account set up yet (he is from EU, apparently it is harder than he expected with Brexit).  Is there any reason why I should worry that this is a trap or am I just paranoid?  Should I agree or should I suggest an alternative.  He can't carry the cash with him, I think he is already carry a fair amount.  He worked as a bartender, model, mover etc so a lot of jobs were cash in hand.

So he's apparently saved over £5K (over and above what he's spent on living expenses, etc) since moving to the UK, during which time he's had a lot of jobs but hasn't yet managed to complete the opening of any sort of financial product?

Smells very fishy to me, but if you're looking for alternatives to suggest, get him to buy a fire safe....

PRAISETHESUN

I agree it sounds suspect. If you do decide to accept it then I'd suggest getting something written to document the arrangement, stating it is his money (not a gift/loan to you) and that you are just safeguarding the physical cash while he travels. Alternatively he could buy a decent safe...

If he asks you to deposit the cash into your account, or transfers you money electronically and then asks you to send it back to him (or send it elsewhere) then that would raise big alarm bells.

lozzy1965

I'd be highly suspicious of money laundering.  You will have to justify where the money has come from.  If the answer is your boy friend then he will have to justify it.  And if the answer is "cash in hand" then I would want HMRC to check out that he has declared it and paid taxes on it.  If any of the those points make you uneasy then you have your answer.

Section62

Farrella said:

My new boyfriend asked me to hold £5k cash for him while he travels abroad, as he does not have his UK bank account set up yet (he is from EU, apparently it is harder than he expected with Brexit).  Is there any reason why I should worry that this is a trap or am I just paranoid?  Should I agree or should I suggest an alternative.  He can't carry the cash with him, I think he is already carry a fair amount.  He worked as a bartender, model, mover etc so a lot of jobs were cash in hand.

An EU citizen with a UK address and a (legitimate) job should have no problem setting up a bank account.

This is one of those situations where if you need to ask random internet strangers 'is this Ok', you probably know the answer already.

theoretica

Also, your home insurance almost certainly won't cover this and it would be rather a risk if anyone had a hint it was in your home...