AITA I’m 18M and I’m confused about how my closest friends reacted to something I thought was helpful. There was a simple referral program on a finance app (DOESN’T WORK ANYMORE, PLEASE DON’T ASK) that let you get €50 with simple requirements . It’s not a huge amount, but at our age it definitely helps. So I told only my closest friends the ones I talk to almost every day. I made around €600 total thanks to it, so I thought they’d appreciate it too. Some of them said they weren’t interested, which is completely fine, at least they replied. I understand these things can sound sketchy at first. But a few of them just opened the message and ignored me. Some still haven’t replied after days.
One friend said:
“If you’re that desperate, I’ll just give you the money.”
Another one said:
“Oh, so this is how you make money?”
That felt really strange, almost like they were either envious or jealous that I had found a way to make something or tought that I was earning on their back. I wasn’t asking anyone for money. I genuinely thought I was helping them out, and I even offered to cover the requirements upfront so they wouldn’t have to risk anything or do it alone. Meanwhile, people I’m not even close to thanked me and were happy about it.
Mind that most of them don’t really have much money at all and right now they’re either studying or working small part-time jobs so I honestly thought €50 would be helpful.
So now I’m wondering… Did I do something wrong just by mentioning it?
P.s I’m probably overthinking it, but it just feels strange because these are the same people who often complain about not having money to go out.
YTA.
You say it was a glitch. Without knowing more, it does sound very sketchy, like, fraud-level sketchy. Where did the €600 come from? A glitch doesn’t create money out of thin air.
I’d be super weirded out if I friend came to be with a scheme like this. Normal people don’t want roped into some sort of fraud scheme.
It was just a simple referral with easy requirements (which have now been changed because they were too easy). I didn’t want this post to sound like spam or promotion, so I avoided mentioning any details to not get banned. That’s also why I offered to help them with the steps even covering the requirements myself so they wouldn’t have to spend anything.
Sorry, I still would react the same way as your friends. A lot of people find many money through referral schemes sketchy. You might not see it that way, but I would not react positively to a friend trying to recruit me for something like that.
Know your audience. You had to know that some friends would be weirded out by this.
Honestly, I understand being skeptical I hate anything that looks like MLM.
It was from Trade Republic a fully regulated European platform (similar to Revolut), so it was safe.
That’s why I told them they could even use my money for the sign-up step, because that was the only “cost,” and I wanted to remove that worry completely, get the money and idk go and eat something out together.
Btw they changed the terms now because it used to be way too easy.
So you can see how it might look sketchy to an outsider? But you’re surprised that some of your friends thought the whole scheme was sketchy and wanted nothing to do with it?
I don’t even really see the conflict here. Unless your friends are holding a grudge against you for bringing this up, just let it go. Don’t make things weird by getting hung up on this.
Glitch? Like the glitch where people were depositing fraudulent checks last year and withdrawing the money immediately? AKA check fraud? Yeah no. Whatever this glitch was, it’s probably more accurate to call it fraud than a glitch. You can’t knowingly exploit a glitch that gives you “free” money. That’s theft. What you did may have been a crime. No wonder they reacted that way. YTA.
It was just a basic referral with very simple requirements (which have now been changed because they were too easy). I didn’t want my post to come across as spam or an ad, so I left out the details to avoid getting banned. That’s also why I offered to walk them through the process even covering the requirements myself so they wouldn’t have to put anything in.
Yeah you sound like a scam artist
People can be weird about legitimate ways of making money that they view as possibly sketchy. There can even be a subconscious bias.
In the late 1980s when mortgage rates where I lived (not US) were over 11%, households with children could get government-subsidized loans starting at 6% and gradually increasing over time. I had an acquaintance who also wanted to buy a house so I told her about it, stating she’d save thousands In interest the first few years. She didn’t believe me so they went through the bank. Ha! Another I told about it thought it was somehow unethical despite it being a legitimate government program. Anyway, some people struggle financially because they wouldn’t know an opportunity if slapped them in the face.
NTA IF it was legitimate.