A woman’s tweet about helping out a shoeshiner in Mumbai had a rather unexpected result. Twitter user @agentgreenglass posted about meeting a young man who told her he works as a shoeshiner by day and goes to school at night. He went on to request her to buy a proper shoe box so he could earn better to support himself.
Moved by his request, Twitter user @agentgreenglass not only agreed to buy him the box in a few days, but also tweeted asking netizens to help him find a proper job. The tweets struck a chord with many on Twitter and even received a thumbs up from actor Parineeti Chopra.
However, things took a weird turn when many pointed out the whole thing may actually be a scam.
“I met this boy outside McDonalds at Linking Road. He asked me if he could clean my shoes,” Twitter user @agentgreenglass posted, adding that the man spoke with an accent that he had learnt from his father.
In the following tweets, she narrated the story he told her.
{{/usCountry}}In the following tweets, she narrated the story he told her.
{{/usCountry}}She went on to say that while she is ready to buy him the box worth ₹1800, she hopes someone can help him find a better job.
The tweets quickly collected reactions from people who were more than happy to help the man. Actor Parineeti Chopra also tweeted that it was great gesture and offered to help.
However, several people began tweeting that the whole thing may well be a scam.
Many Twitter users posted about hearing the same story followed by the exact same request. Some also cautioned against believing the man by sharing a video that appears to bust the story and exposes the scam:
Meanwhile, Twitter user @agentgreenglass tweeted that while she agrees the whole thing may be a scam, she’d still like to meet him.
What do you think about this?