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

jaypers

In short, don’t do it. It’s more than likely something not 100% legitimate, plus the fact that financial matters are always problematic if they are a factor in a relationship. This is also a new relationship so alarm bells should be ringing. Trust your gut and say no. If it affects anything with the relationship it wasn’t right in the first place.

DjangoUnchained

its a scam. he will build trust with you, then gradually you feel obliged to trust him and so the scam begins.

tebbins

I also have a newish partner who is an EU citizen with pre-settled status. He has had no problem opening a bank account, it's a BS non excuse and we have both been very honest and upfront about money from the start.
The fact he only gets paid cash in hand is extremely dodgy. UK residents can open bank accounts and get paid into them.
The fact he just has £5k cash lying around "from odd jobs" is extremely dodgy.

The fact he wants you to hold it rather than keep it on his person or pay it into a bank account is extremely dodgy.
Sugarmummy & £5k cash means you should get a full STI check, that said it's not unusual these days for students to be escorts and no more. But he really ought to be more open and honest about this and then you need to decide if you're ok with him making his living that way. I'm on the liberal side of the debate, I think it should be descriminalised, regulated and taxed but it's a very personal matter.

This is all extremely, extremely dodgy, I would get him out of your life immediately and call the police. If I was the gambling type I'd bet £5k this is either a scam or will get you in some sort of trouble.
Either that or he's the most naive part-time model since the first part-time model thought they could make a living out of it.

eskbanker

tebbins said:

This is all extremely, extremely dodgy, I would get him out of your life immediately and call the police.

While most on here are suspicious about a wad of cash and the other red flags, what evidence is there of an actual crime being committed?

Tranboy

Avoiding paying tax or money laundering......with a Western union money transfer request to follow no doubt.

prowla

£5k isn't a lot of money, so if it is a money-laundering scheme, then it's a pretty mediocre one.

The "I let you hold my money so can you lend me some of yours" ploy is something to keep an eye out for.

The question of whether a valid student can take 2 months out at term-time is a good one.

moneysaver

eskbanker said:

tebbins said:

This is all extremely, extremely dodgy, I would get him out of your life immediately and call the police.

While most on here are suspicious about a wad of cash and the other red flags, what evidence is there of an actual crime being committed?

Cash in hand, not paying tax or NI, the last time I remember is a crime.

He is living in this country & not contributing. We do not need these type of people( cash in hand) coming over here & doing casual work.

Moneysaver

eskbanker

moneysaver said:

eskbanker said:

tebbins said:

This is all extremely, extremely dodgy, I would get him out of your life immediately and call the police.

While most on here are suspicious about a wad of cash and the other red flags, what evidence is there of an actual crime being committed?

Cash in hand, not paying tax or NI, the last time I remember is a crime.

He is living in this country & not contributing. We do not need these type of people( cash in hand) coming over here & doing casual work.

Tax evasion is indeed a crime, but I was asking what evidence OP has - it seems unlikely to be a productive use of anyone's time to rock up to a police station and expect them to show any interest in unsupported allegations about another party's financial affairs.  My strong suspicion is that even if OP had full details of employers, dates, earnings, etc, the police are unlikely to be remotely interested.

'These type of people coming over here' sounds dangerously close to Farage/Daily Mail language, but for someone to be earning money there must be an employer looking for people to do a job, and it's typically the employers that HMRC would be more interested in....

moneysaver

eskbanker said:

moneysaver said:

eskbanker said:

tebbins said:

This is all extremely, extremely dodgy, I would get him out of your life immediately and call the police.

While most on here are suspicious about a wad of cash and the other red flags, what evidence is there of an actual crime being committed?

Cash in hand, not paying tax or NI, the last time I remember is a crime.

He is living in this country & not contributing. We do not need these type of people( cash in hand) coming over here & doing casual work.

Tax evasion is indeed a crime, but I was asking what evidence OP has - it seems unlikely to be a productive use of anyone's time to rock up to a police station and expect them to show any interest in unsupported allegations about another party's financial affairs.  My strong suspicion is that even if OP had full details of employers, dates, earnings, etc, the police are unlikely to be remotely interested.

'These type of people coming over here' sounds dangerously close to Farage/Daily Mail language, but for someone to be earning money there must be an employer looking for people to do a job, and it's typically the employers that HMRC would be more interested in....

The OP already mentioned in the first post, Cash in hand, that seems like evidence to me Unless the OP is telling lies.

As for "These type of people coming over here"  You are trying to twist my words into something they are not. If you read my post & in brackets it's about not paying their way in the UK.  I have paid all my taxes due for over 40yrs & do not appreciate your insinuations.

I do not mind anyone coming to the UK as long as when they work it is legitimate.

Where in my post did I mention the police?

Moneysaver

eskbanker

moneysaver said:

The OP already mentioned in the first post, Cash in hand, that seems like evidence to me Unless the OP is telling lies.

I'm not questioning what OP has been told, I'm just highlighting that on the face of it it's nothing like enough to go to the police with.

moneysaver said:
As for "These type of people coming over here"  You are trying to twist my words into something they are not. If you read my post & in brackets it's about not paying their way in the UK.  I have paid all my taxes due for over 40yrs & do not appreciate your insinuations.

I do not mind anyone coming to the UK as long as when they work it is legitimate.

I'm not twisting anything, just quoting your exact words - happy to acknowledge that the full sentence was "We do not need these type of people( cash in hand) coming over here & doing casual work" if you feel that's significant, although for completeness it should be noted that OP's friend is here as a student.

moneysaver said:
Where in my post did I mention the police?

This whole exchange relates to an earlier poster suggesting that OP calls the police, which I'm suggesting is a waste of time.