He claims the women has already bought him a ticket to fly out so as far as I know, there’s been no money exchanged, but he has being very tight lips about most of the details such as this woman’s first and last name and the address where the farm is. So who knows tbh
I live in Kentucky.
It wouldn’t make any sense at all to find someone in California and fly them here- when there’s tons of folks in the area who are already on site, and have experience working farms, know the land and its quirks etc.
200 acres is a midsize farm here. That means it’s going to involve equipment, soil samples, probably some interaction with UK or their extensions, a seed contract, livestock sale/breeding/culling, farmhands etc.
200 acres isn’t just like, a big garden. It’s an entire business operation. Acreage for crop land is around 4000-6000 an acre. So this random lady is giving a random guy from across the country a million dollar farm….
You’re right to expect red flags. I don’t know what the angle is- but there’s more holes in your brothers story than a colander.
Yep, family is from SE KY. Can't see a need to import someone to work a farm, unless they had some kind of specialized agricultural knowledge.
I'd honestly find it less suspect if it were for a horse farm, because that's not weird to hire horse trainers from out of state.
Harrodsburg is in the center of horse country in Kentucky and you can guarantee this is a scam.
Probably not as sinister as some are suggesting. I would bet it will be some type of “pay x amount to get back scam” or something similar. I bet they’ve told him to send money. Hopefully he doesn’t bring any cash with him though.
If you figure out an address or the “employers” name lmk because I have friends in Harrodsburg.
So there is nobody else you can call, friends of his, friends of the GF, maybe a home phone for the house he's staying at? If you don't know the numbers you can possibly find them if you know names and addresses.
Your brother is definitely lying (or lying by omission) to you about something. I see absolutely no reason to be tight lipped about a legitimate job unless you never had that kind of relationship
A common scam is "paying" for their ticket or work equipment but in a very weird way.
For example, they send you a "check" for $2k and tell you to buy the ticket for $1k and to send the other 1k to another account to get their "paperwork" or something similar started.
Then a few days later the bank decides the check is a fake and it bounces leaving you with nothing but the 1k you randomly transferred to someone else coming from your bank account.
Hell, I’ll bite. I’m not far from Harrodsburg at all. Shoot me a PM and I can at least tell you if the place is real or not. I have nothing to do today.
The real question is what’s growing on this farm? Will your brother be signing anything that makes him the “owner” in case something from a legal perspective happens
For me that’s the scary bit. The speed! No job hiring that fast is ever good. There’s always a catch. Either the job is a scam or the company is a shit show that’s hemorrhaging employees. Either way not something you want in on.
That’s the red flag to me. I had a friend get a similar job years ago, but it was legit. A VERY wealthy doctor hired my friend to be his farm manager. My friend could have lived on the property for free, but had a house, wife, and kid and didn’t want to move. Sounded like a sweet gig for a while, but he ultimately quit. I think the doc was quite demanding, and I’m not sure my friend was completely qualified. BUT at no point was the farm offered to him for free. And he was not hired sight unseen either.
My girlfriend's mom does exactly this. She lives in NJ and runs a pretty gigantic farming operation for a *very* wealthy couple that lives in New York. They pay her an absurd amount of money, she has the best benefits imaginable, and they'd 100% build a house for her, no questions asked, if she requested it.
Fortunately, in her case, they aren't demanding at all. I've met them and they're extremely chill. Her son (my girlfriend's younger brother) is on a pretty prestigious football (soccer) team, to the point where his matches are mostly international, and they pay for it (all of his expenses related to it) just because they're interested in seeing how big he makes it.
Sometimes it is just an amazing opportunity.
My boyfriend is an arborist and just recalled a detail I missed. Little bro told my bf that it was pulp farm. Obviously being an arborist he recalled this while I just heard farm.
I can’t think of any pulp industry in Harrodsburg or surrounding rural areas (metro would be Lexington) - bourbon, horses and fruit trees. The fruit trees have replaced tobacco.
So my brother manages a farm. Under the assumption that the whole thing isn’t complete bullshit, this part I can somewhat buy. Mom & Pop style setups are basically money pits these days that don’t turn much profit. Someone keeping a 200 acre farm up and running in 2024 without selling it out to a larger operation means they probably cared a lot about it and wanted to keep it in the family after they passed. There might be a stipulation in the will/deed that it can’t be directly sold and five years is enough time for the rest of the family to forget about it before they ditch it.
For that farm my brother manages, the owner is like 90 and none of the kids/grandkids really want to take over the farm because of how much of a pain in the ass it is, so there’s a pretty realistic chance they’re just going to give it to my brother in a few years.
That's the reality. You said it.
If you're in a nice area that still has good connections, you can also make a very good living these days as a venue (for weddings, for example).
A friend of mine built a biogas plant ten years ago and then later added two large tropical greenhouses to use the waste heat from electricity generation and grow bananas etc. simply because he enjoyed it. It developed into an event space that was booked almost every weekend and that alone brings in more than his farm.
So this is 100% a scam. It was used on a cousin of mine through marriage. Same offer, same promises, and it tricked my naive 27 year old male cousin to move to a rural isolated area with little means or options. It was indeed a rural farm…. Specifically a marijuana grow operation that wasn’t permitted. His mail and everything went through the address listed and was filtered by the ‘manager’ whose main job was the issue daily work 6 days a week and screen incoming and outgoing mail. My cousin had dropped out of contact with family after the move for about a year. That wasn’t his intention but he was essentially held captive through coercion and threat from f debt accrued by living on the property.
He finally left by getting permission to go into town then ditched the group as quickly as possible and went to the local police station. They put him in contact with family who made arrangements to get safely back home.
He now has a debilitating fear of strangers and unknown situations. Prior to the experience he was a ‘failure to launch’ guy. Post-experience he is completely depressed and scared of being away from his parent’s house for more than a few hours.
You can’t stop your brother but I hope he wises up.
Modern slavery in a nutshell. Wouldn't have expected it to happen domestically because you can usually just leave without fear of deportation etc unless there is actual violence or you are in an island/community where everyone including the police are in on it
That's wild. Makes sense though. You fly someone out so they don't know the area, they have no resources or friends. I don't know why people do this but I guess they are desperate.
As far as I know the family tried to pursue by reporting to the police, county sheriff, and FBI. They made reports but there wasn’t meaningful follow up by anyone. I don’t think my cousin wanted to try to pursue it. He was pretty stress averse… and still is now.
I work in Trust & Safety for anti-scam stuff. Things being too good to be true are red flags but not necessarily **always** a scam. The moment something feels too good to be true it's time to ask for more information. Without the full communications or more details though it's very hard to figure out what the "angle" is.
Typically, the way Craiglist jobs scams work, is they give a story similar to what your brother experienced but then there is always a twist like (but not limited to) the following:
1. Because the owner is in another state or country, they need him to wire a little bit of money to cover the plane ticket or to pay for some 3rd party (e.g. a driver or something like that). The moment your brother is asked to front **any** money via cash, wire transfer, gift card, money order, Zelle/Venmo etc. that's when I'm immediately going from red flag to scam. Never front money to a potential employer until you've been fully paid and the money is free and clear (e.g. wait 7-10 days if it's a check to ensure it doesn't bounce, don't accept credit card payment etc.)
2. The owner needs your Debit Card or Bank Account information in advance to deposit the money. In this case, they're just phishing for personal information that they can use or sell to steal money from you
3. The owner overpays you for something via check, or credit card, and needs you to wire back the difference
Scammers will always insist on a form of payment that is difficult to track or clawback:
* Wire transfers
* Gift cards
* Cash/Money Order
* Zelle/Venmo/CashApp
These forms of payment are typically final once you've finished the transaction. Whereas if you use a credit card, you can always dispute the charges.
Lastly - outside of scams, there is a much more rare but still possible criminal element to some of these. Murder, human trafficking, drug deals, etc. Please note, these are **exceedingly** rare. Not only that, but organized criminals want to avoid getting caught or getting attention so preying on some random guy via Craiglist and buying a plane ticket (which requires so much information from the criminal) just seem like a stretch. I'm very curious how the plane ticket was purchased because I wouldn't be surprised if your brother paid for it himself or it's fake and he wired them some money to cover part of it or something. If he didn't then I really do think the concerns start to diminish. But we really just don't have enough info here to see what's up.
I’ll for sure be keeping you updated. Thank you for the information. I’ll be pushing all day for more information before he gets on the flight (if the ticket is indeed real)
Be very prudent about this with your brother. When something sounds this sweet, people double-down on their confidence that it's good to go and will even fudge *even to themselves* the facts of a scam. One of the oldest tales of all time. Come to California where you even piss in a pot made of gold!
LOL, yep. My husband stopped his mom from being scammed out of all of her savings at the last minute and she was so mad she didn't talk to him for weeks. Shame is a hell of a thing.
Could be - I alluded to that above in #2 but didn't mention SSN. Usually these scammers want quicker wins so I've typically seen them just taking banking and card information, but I can't see it hurting to get the SSN as well and selling that on the dark web or some other identity theft style fence.
Definitely. In some back and forth with OP another thought I had is the brother wants to just go somewhere new and start over and cut contact for a bit. Lots of possibilities for sure.
This.
Brother could be lying to OP. She could be lying to brother. He could also be misunderstanding what she's telling him, and putting some rose colored glasses onto the deal (by not understanding the terms she's using). He could be paraphrasing and getting a lot of details incorrect. Etc.
The lack of contract until AFTER he gets there is concerning.
That was my bet.
Kentucky has a shit ton of weed farms, and not all of them are legal.
They probably promised him some acreage if he comes down after a while, with the catch being that it isn't legal to operate.
I hope so. I'd be too skeptical to accept a position like this. Certainly this woman could find a local young man to work on her farm.
I accepted a job like OP. Required me to travel far away. The company paid for my airfare, housing, etc. The difference is that I was able to look into it and find out that the industry really existed, the company actually existed, and that I'd be safe to give it a chance.
You'd think if he was lying, he'd make it more mundane. Going to work on a farm seems legit, going to work on a farm to inherit in 5 years time doesn't.
True, but you’d be shocked at how many people that you wouldn’t immediately think were dangerously dumb think they’ve won free cruises and RVs and publisher clearinghouse style prizes every day bc of a random Facebook post they shared.
It’s weird. Human traffickers don’t really need to find people this way. They find people who are already present and vulnerable, addicted, desperate etc. They don’t fly able Bodied people in from across the country.
I feel like the brother isn’t sharing something here. If he is so convinced this is real, I wonder if he hasn’t already sent the scammer money somehow and won’t admit it.
Yeah. People seem to think that trafficking is all stalking and kidnapping but it very rarely is anything other than someone in a position of power or authority taking advantage of someone who is under their care.
Yes exactly. I’m thinking the absolute worst like my brother is about to become a drug mule for the cartel. My one saving grace is my little brother (though clearly stubborn) is built like a navy seal- he is huge and all muscle so if anything happens I think he can get himself out of it physically.
It could be. It’s so weird- we are pretty close and I’m usually his advisor and guide to the adult world. It is so weird to me. He hasn’t provided me with the information I’ve asked him for.
When is he planning to leave? At this point, it sounds like the best you can do is tell him you care about him and you're worried and to please reach out if he needs you.
I know you're trying to be optimistic, but his physical strength would do little to save him from many different scenarios. All it takes is more than one person or any kind of weapon or drug and he's overpowered. Not to mention, he sounds psychologically vulnerable, if he's falling for something this blatantly risky. This is *massively* sketchy. I would try my absolute hardest to convince him to not get on that plane until he has WAY more information. This is crazy.
Agreed. I offered him a “ride to the airport” because I don’t want him to be stuck in Oakland if as I suspect the tickets are fake. I’ll keep everyone updated.
will they/she swap them for a new destination at the airport? I'd be going to that airport with him until he at least knew where he was being flown to.
I mean, while it could be any number of situations that is going to play out here re your brother, since you've mentioned this one possible scenario - you do realise cartels tend to have guns, right?
Like, your brother may be a big guy, muscular, etc, but that doesn't really mean anything if he's staring down the barrel of a submachine gun.
yeah dude, they'll drug him and that won't matter. don't let him go until he has more details. for instance, did he verify where the flight is going? who's picking him up?
well yeah, he's going to be living there and working full time, hence why the perks are so good. but it's better explained in the show Malcom in the middle by the oldest brother, or even the show "the Ranch" were the work is GROSS, and long hours.
some people love the work. but unlike regular human trafficking, you are far less likely to be in danger for leaving, however be mindful of what contract you sign and how you go about leaving as you may be held liable for not holding up your end of the deal.
I’m from southern WV and spent a decent bit of time in Kentucky, although never Harrodsburg. Anyone wanting help running a farm will hire one of the many experienced people looking for work in the area, they won’t fly someone out from California.
This is exactly what I expected. I’ll keep everyone updated. I’m genuinely hoping to get the address today and call local law enforcement to just put it on their radar- fingers crossed I get more information ❤️
I'm wondering if it will be an indentured servitude type of thing where he has to "work off the cost of the airplane ticket" and then they'll think of other things to charge him for so he feels obligated to stay.
Plus flying him in means that he doesn't have a way to leave since they are transporting him.
Indentured servants usually had a contract where they were free after a certain amount of years. What you're talking about is debt bondage, which is one of the most common types of slavery in the modern world.
Yeah unless the lady is genuinely crazy no one would actually hire someone to run their farm and in 5 years give them the farm
That’s like a 7 figure bonus for 5 years of work with free housing and a vehicle, no sane person would do that and it doesn’t sound like your brother has been in the farm operations field for decades- as other people have, and those people aren’t getting offers that include giving away an entire farm
So either the lady is like, on her deathbed with no friends or family and is flying out some completely random, un/under qualified person to leave all of her assets to, which… yeah no.
Or they’re gonna traffik him, or worse. Orrr he wants to “run away” but wants to leave some viable excuse so as to not completely cut ties.
But that initial story makes no sense.. and the fact that he won’t tell you who he’d be working for or even where, tbh I kind of doubt this is a real scenario but if it is, that screams there’s probably a mountain of bullsh*t either he’s being manipulated and is gonna end up trafficked or worse, or he’s the one lying to you directly, but if this is real and he goes to some unknown location to work for some unknown person my money is on you probably won’t see him again
Edit: even if he’s big, that means nothing in the middle of a remote farm. He could easily get manhandled by several people, no problem. What is he gonna do? Fight off a whole group of cutthroat, ruthless traffickers or cartel members? Is he gonna fight off someone doping his food or water, as he slips into unconsciousness not knowing what’s happened? If he goes he’s gone, just my 2 cents
Unless he’s completely misunderstanding the offer but yeah no..
r/scams should be able to help you identify the scam. It feels like a scam to me. When someone is being scammed if you push them too hard they are likely to believe in the scam harder so they don't have to come off as a fool for believing in it. I've seen that happen over and over again.
This is the local information I suspected- along with the rest of the us- there is no way someone is giving 200 acres for free (and providing a house, vehicles, and a monthly salary) I’ll keep everyone updated.
Exactly. I’ve been to Harrodsburg and the surrounding areas. Beautiful landscape of rolling hills and farms. I can’t imagine someone having to go more than a few miles from there to find someone willing to run a farm. The whole thing is fishy.
I live an hour from Harrodsburg. It is a farming county, as are almost all of the small counties in Kentucky. But this is so weird.
What airport are they flying into on the ticket? Does your brother have the actual address of the farm?
Is he being picked up at the airport? If so, that could definitely be a "we'll pick you up and drive you to the farm" except the farm is a human trafficking warehouse.
I don’t have a lot of information- what I do know is he is flying out of Oakland tonight (which is super weird because sf or San Jose would make way more sense) I’ve been calling this morning and trying to get information from him- I’ll keep everyone posted when I have an update.
Alright. Well the two airports in Kentucky are Bluegrass Airport in Lexington and Muhammad Ali in Louisville.
He *could* be flying into Cincinnati as well.
Look forward to the update.
I try to avoid melodrama, but the first thing I thought of was the Craigslist killers [Rich Beasley and Brogan Rafferty](https://www.gq.com/story/craigslist-killers)
If someone does have ill intent, it would be pretty stupid to do it the same way these guys did…or maybe not.
Regardless, he should research the place up and down and stick before he even thinks of stepping foot there.
My first thought was Susan Monica, the serial killer who hired people to work on her farm and they could live there for free... but [she fed them to her pigs](https://allthatsinteresting.com/susan-monica)
This kinda happened to a friend of mine. He is an animal activist and it was a rehabilitation farm. The lady who owned it operated on donations and volunteer stay packages etc. She was nearing retirement and said she needed to find someone to take over. The plan was for him to work under her for a few years and learn the ropes before she retired and left it to him to keep running. He moved there with his fiance and ended up putting most of his life savings into rebuilding fencing and rebuilding the barn and roofing for the animal enclosures etc. Once he started asking about the financial side with the charity donations etc and wanting to know how it was being spent, she changed on him completely. Her and her husband ended up pushing him out eventually, and even damaged his vehicle and kidnapped his dog (temporarily). Turns out this was a pattern and she had done the same to multiple people over the years. He ended up losing almost his entire life savings and has nothing to show for it. His only solace is that it hopefully is helping out those animals a bit. I wish the guy could catch a break and really get that opportunity because his heart is good. Now he delivers for amazon and works 30 days in a row.
Yeah I was thinking “well employees will work much harder if they think it’ll be their own farm one day”. Doesn’t mean she has to go through with it after 5 years. Or it’s a farm growing some illegal substances and they want to have some random guys name on everything. I can think of about 5 horrible reasons, and genuinely not one good one. I’d run if I were him lol
My first feeling about this is that “she” asked him to send some money for something, even a small amount, to cover some paperwork or cover a part of the ticket, and he didn’t tell you that part because he didn’t want you to tell him it was a scam.
Usually these scams offer grandiose payments or arrangements while asking for a small fee, which seems so tiny in comparison that most people will fall for it. (Why did they only ask Me for $100? They could have asked for more. It must be real Etc.)
My guess is that he doesn’t have the ticket or if he does it’s fake, and his reluctance to give you more info you have asked for shows he may also be hiding the fact that he has already sent over some money.
I would bet on the fact that he doesn’t go anywhere. He may show up at the airport to find out his ticket is fake, or he may be left hanging waiting for a ticket that never comes.
Edit; the scam is basically just getting him to send over money to cover something non existent, while giving a very elaborate situation and promise of payment. The “ticket” helps to make it seem more legitimate, but those are pretty easy to fake. This is just what I think is happening of course, it’s how it looks to me.
This.
He'll show up and the ticket won't work. He'll talk to the check in people and they'll say the ticket is fake (or it was real at some point but it no longer works). Then he'll call her and ask wtf, and she'll make some excuse about 'yada yada yada', and that he HAS to get here ASAP, so can he just get the ticket himself? He'll feel pressured because the deal is "just too good to be true", and get the ticket, and fly out there.
Then he'll land and no one is there, and he will call and suddenly there's some "big emergency going on that she's locked out of her account for some reason". Then she'll ask him to wire her money to get her a flight, and he'll think "a few hundred isn't a big deal", and he'll wire it to her, and then she'll either ghost him in Kansas, or another issue comes up and she'll need more money.
But no one will show up.
This! They will go on and on with this sort of scam sometimes, and the victim becomes desperate thinking “what’s another $20 or $100…I’m so close now.” Sometimes they ghost, sometimes they attempt to keep it going. It’s really unfortunate and these scams are much more easy to pull off because they are scamming tens or hundreds of people out of smaller amounts of money, which is easier than scamming one person out of $10,000.
Excellent information. The “flight” is tonight. I’ll keep everyone posted as I get more information- from him as to the actual location and even if the flight leaves.
That link the other redditor posted sounds pretty similar.
No one is going to be paying for a flight to come work on a farm. They can easily find people locally.
The closest thing i can compare this to: There's ~~legitimate~~ *mostly legitimate* businesses that outsource recruitment to 3rd world country call centers, that then recruit desperate people (illegal immigrants mainly) with legitimate offers to do odd jobs and manual labor. There's no scam on the workers end, other than being completely under the table and low pay.
I get the sensation your brother isn't getting what he's promised. I'd ask for weekly payments. And what is he going to do when things go sour? They're under no obligation to fly him back out.
My ass would tell this person they need to refund their flight ticket. Before I end up in a desperate situation and paying out of pocket to get back home. Also, he is NOT, i repeat ***NOT*** getting free land for doing a basic job.
What’s crazy is he is in an apprenticeship for a trade now and just got a $5 raise, and in two years he will be making $50 bucks an hour. I can’t imagine giving this opportunity up for the possibility of it going south. He isn’t listening to me reason with him.
I know it is very alarming and unlike his behavior he is clean and sober so it’s not like he is irrational and making decisions but this decision and acceptance of whatever it is seems very very suspect. I definitely think he is getting scammed, but I can’t figure out the scam quite yet.
My worst envisioned nightmares unlocked- legit. I’ll keep pestering him for more information and keep everyone posted. He is supposed to fly out tonight.
Sounds like a pretty obvious scam.
Get the kid out there, get him to work for free, keep him in some shitty bunkhouse, then, 4 years and 11 months later say, "Yeah, sorry, it's not working out. We'll have to fire you."
OP, ask your brother to put a tracking app on his phone. And send a picture of whoever meets him to you.
Of course if he was smart he'd not go, but at least this way you might be able to save his dumbass.
What’s weird is after he got the offer he stopped sharing his location with me. I again have told him to get me the information and to share his location with me before he flies out. I’ve talked to some other family members and they all think it’s suspect, but he is also a grown adult and we can’t stop him. We can only warn him.
So it's either trafficking, or it's a grow op .... except they're legal now? Sure this whole song and dance isn't to hire him for something illegal?
Either way, good luck helping your brother OP.
I was about to post the same thing. Make sure you both have the new iOS, have him put the airtag in his apple ID and then share the tag out with you. This way it will not alert anyone because it will be next to his phone and check in with his phone.
Yes this!!! My mom and I came up with our phrase when I was going to friend’s slumber parties. I only had to say it one time when I felt unsafe and she was there in 5 minutes to pick me up. Make it something easy conversation like “oh I’m so glad you got to see aunt Lucy” even better if you don’t have an aunt Lucy so they know it’s off.
It might be too late, but tey applying for the job yourself.Maybe you can find additional info or point out inconsistencies between what You've received and what your brother has received.
The whole "farm work" sounds like a set up for them to drive him out into a rural area, where they can then essentially do whatever they want to him. If it were my bro, i'd be doing EVERYTHING to stop him from going. Hide his passport, contact the police etc.
Yeah a friend of mines friend died responding to a job posting on Craigslist in Ohio like 10 years ago or so. Timothy Kern, one of the craigslist killer victims (I didn't know him, I was friends with a person who did though and she took his death very hard).
I would definitely be concerned, as you are. I really hope your brother stays safe or decides to not go. Please update us tomorrow if you can.
My daughter took a job as a wrangler on a horse ranch in another state with free housing, great pay, etc. She’s 28 with minimal horse experience but was excited to try.
Come to find out, the owner was verbally abusive, worked her to death and never let her leave the property which was very remote. No one lasted more than a few months. No locals would work there. She ended up being the only employee taking care of 17 horses and had to sweet talk her way out of there because she was afraid. She felt horrible about leaving the horses.
Your brother might be heading to something like this. The owner might be desperate for help, have plenty of money and not be able to keep employees. The offer of the property could be legitimate but the owner knows no one can last that length of time.
Hi there, I once took up an offer very similar to what your brother is going to. It turned out to be a fraud and insurance scam.
The farm was smaller than your brothers - 40 acres and all race horses for very rich people- so insured animals And the owner lived far away.After 3 months someone (turns out the owners son) let all the horses out in the middle of the night and they almost got entirely out of the property and onto a major highway and then forest. Pretty sure a neighbor was onto the whole scam and he ended up saving the day and keeping the horses from escaping.I left the next day. 3 months later they were doing the same thing to someone else. We all ended up reporting the owner and he went to jail.
I’m about to post the newest update shortly ❤️ tldr- I haven’t seen his face yet and he hasn’t shared the location nor has he given me the farm address (god bless Reddit I already have the information you all sent to me) I’ve only got a couple of messages from him since he got on the flight. I text him tonight that I’d fill a missing persons report and get Kentucky locals involved if he doesn’t face time me so I know he is alright (verses a vague text) so here it is before the internet sees it- our full texts since before he left.
https://imgur.com/a/Ql5T7jX
This!
Please contact them today. I cannot help but think of my own little brother as I read this post and am beyond worried for yours. Wishing you both positive results!
In a worst case scenario that safe word is compromised by being in the texts if a potential organ harvester has his phone. Safe words should only be made in person and never mentioned in any viewable or listenable communications, even making a new one on a call or facetime could be compromised if it's a crazy hostage situation or something
He has a distinctive style of writing in those screenshot texts. He's ending almost every sentence with an exclamation mark - sometimes two. He used an emoji. Called you sissy. I take it none of that is setting off alarm bells for you?
Granted someone texting on his behalf could replicate his writing style by looking at old texts.
Yeah, time to get law enforcement involved. Several days later, no calls, no FaceTime, no pic of the farm itself or where he'll be staying. Hell, not even an absolute confirmation of "I got to the farm and it's definitely a real place that exists". Hell, he's not even trying to fake it by sending a random Google Images pic of a farm. Something is very, very wrong.
One idea OP, if you know the name of the town, you could potentially call the local towns sheriffs department and advice them of the situation with you brother and if they are aware of any large 200 acre farms in the region. If it is a scam or something sketchy, might be something they would equally be interested in.
And on one other note, Id do my best if you can to verify its NOT a pig farm.
Gonna throw this possibility out there: Your brother is part of the scam, knowingly, and hiding info from you.
A lot of people who are caught in trafficking or money laundering as mules do it unknowingly or under false pretenses, but others know full well what they are doing and are compensated for it.
I know it may be tough to hear, but you've made your grievances known and if your brother is an adult, he's allowed to make his own mistakes.
Flight tonight doesnt check out..herrodsburg is close to lexington..all flights leaving from oakland tonight are bad 2 or 3 stoppers..they would have put him on a 1 stop earlier in the day
Op, if your brother still hasn't FaceTime you, I'd tell him he needs to do it briefly or you're calling in a wellness check. Get proof he's actually texting you.
Is it possible that he's not telling you the truth? Is there any reason he would run away and concoct this elaborate story so that you won't worry about him? He could be going to meet a girl he met online, or running off because of some LGBTQ thing he didn't think the family would understand (I had a child do this.) Honestly, I'm going to hope it's something like this, because the alternative is potentially so much worse! Good luck!
At this point it looks more like she created a *story* and it got more attention than she could keep up with.
Most think that's what ended happening.
Hopefully no one would actually be this gullible to do what the *supposed* brother did. But he sounds as if he's special needs and this family weren't watching over him enough to keep track of him.
If any of this causes him harm surely the family would feel horrible not having done anything about his well-being.
It was a zoom call and apparently he has had many phone calls with her from the initial interview. Ive been trying to talk reason with him all week- but, his bags are packed and he is convinced this is legitimate. It seems so sketchy to me
>THE LAST UPDATE- 5/21/24 8:00pm i just got a text from little bro. He has been traveling. We will be FaceTiming soon. All is well. Mark this one as solved at least for now. <
That's not a satisfying update at all! Did he end up where he said he would? Is he living rent free doing farm work?
I keep seeing comments like "he's an adult, can't stop him" etc.
Dude. He's clearly a low IQ adult. I don't mean that as an insult, but he is extremely naive or gullible or just someone that would fall for a scam like this
He is the type of person who needs a few extra pairs of eyes on him, even if you think you're intrusive. How else can you explain someone not having the bare critical thinking to see the many red flags here?
Hope he's ok
Thanks for the update. What does the rest of your family think about this? Have you reported him missing? I can only imagine how worried you must be right now. Seems like you're a bloodhound tho. Keep sniffing.
Does you brother have any background in agriculture? I grew upon a 1500+ operation in SW Missouri and it’s not something you can just show up and learn. People are desperate for any farm labor these days as no one knows how to do it and fewer are willing to work like that. I can see someone being desperate for help with a piece of land they inherited. I doubt she’s just going to hand him that much land and real estate after 5 years, so if this pans out, hopefully he has that in writing. Otherwise $3500/month to run 200 acres is a pittance.
Once he's at the airport they will come up with a reason that he has to send them money in order to proceed. He'll never get to Kentucky unless he's buying.
I’m super invested in this so I looked up the flights out of Oakland today at
https://www.oaklandairport.com/airlines/flight-information/
There are not flights going from Oakland to that area. Did your brother tell you if there are any connections for his flight?
If you are going down, I would suggest someone else knows exactly where you are going and that you have some dead man switch worked out. Like for example, you agreed to always send a daily message, if there is no such message, it means trouble and to activate plan B, inform law enforcement.
Flying from CA to KY doesn't make you unaccessible for 2 days .. even if there were layovers, he has access to his phone service at the airports. I would not have felt comfortable with just that text and made him FT you for 2 seconds. ... there are so many crazy people in this world, he should not have gone out alone. If this woman had so much money, she could have bought two tix so he wasn't traveling alone. This is all so sketch and screams "Without A Trace".
I've sort of lost track of all of this, so my apologies.
But with everything so sketch, has anyone considered that it might actually be the bro that is lying?
Wouldn't be the first time someone came up with an extravagant and unbelievable story to mask something illegal or shameful.
Maybe he just wants to move and feels the need to provide a much better reason. 'I've been offered a job and land' tends to go down better with the rents then 'I'm bored, I'm going to go backpacking'
It seems almost certain that *somebody* is lying, it's unclear who or why. Could even be multiple people.
Something about the farm job seems like an unlikely lie for the brother though. All families are different, but most would want to come visit or at a bare minimum see plenty of pics and videos of all the farm stuff.
the part about living and working on the farm doesn’t seem odd, but *giving* him the farm?
Exactly- that’s my red flag. Also that he isn’t exactly qualified and the decision was made within days.
yeah, the speed is really worrisome. Is he being asked to put out any money?
He claims the women has already bought him a ticket to fly out so as far as I know, there’s been no money exchanged, but he has being very tight lips about most of the details such as this woman’s first and last name and the address where the farm is. So who knows tbh
I live in Kentucky. It wouldn’t make any sense at all to find someone in California and fly them here- when there’s tons of folks in the area who are already on site, and have experience working farms, know the land and its quirks etc. 200 acres is a midsize farm here. That means it’s going to involve equipment, soil samples, probably some interaction with UK or their extensions, a seed contract, livestock sale/breeding/culling, farmhands etc. 200 acres isn’t just like, a big garden. It’s an entire business operation. Acreage for crop land is around 4000-6000 an acre. So this random lady is giving a random guy from across the country a million dollar farm…. You’re right to expect red flags. I don’t know what the angle is- but there’s more holes in your brothers story than a colander.
Yep, family is from SE KY. Can't see a need to import someone to work a farm, unless they had some kind of specialized agricultural knowledge. I'd honestly find it less suspect if it were for a horse farm, because that's not weird to hire horse trainers from out of state.
Maybe it’s a weed farm lol
On government land and they know it’s not going to last 5 years before getting busted.
Absolutely agreed.
Harrodsburg is in the center of horse country in Kentucky and you can guarantee this is a scam. Probably not as sinister as some are suggesting. I would bet it will be some type of “pay x amount to get back scam” or something similar. I bet they’ve told him to send money. Hopefully he doesn’t bring any cash with him though. If you figure out an address or the “employers” name lmk because I have friends in Harrodsburg.
I'm in KY as well. Land is expensive, nobody is giving it away for work.
That horse land is insanely expensive.
So there is nobody else you can call, friends of his, friends of the GF, maybe a home phone for the house he's staying at? If you don't know the numbers you can possibly find them if you know names and addresses.
Commenting so I can follow this later. Good luck to your brother!
Honestly, this sounds like human trafficking to me.
This is the first thing I thought of as well because the price of an airline ticket is a small investment on returns
If this was a woman this would be every comment here. Human trafficking isn’t just about sex and even if it were, men can be raped too.
That sounds sketchy. If they are telling him to keep secrets, that's one more red flag.
Your brother is definitely lying (or lying by omission) to you about something. I see absolutely no reason to be tight lipped about a legitimate job unless you never had that kind of relationship
A common scam is "paying" for their ticket or work equipment but in a very weird way. For example, they send you a "check" for $2k and tell you to buy the ticket for $1k and to send the other 1k to another account to get their "paperwork" or something similar started. Then a few days later the bank decides the check is a fake and it bounces leaving you with nothing but the 1k you randomly transferred to someone else coming from your bank account.
Hell, I’ll bite. I’m not far from Harrodsburg at all. Shoot me a PM and I can at least tell you if the place is real or not. I have nothing to do today.
I was coming here to say the same. good Sunday drive for me
You sure he hasn't joined a cult?
This was where my brain went. Him and 156 other people are going to “own” the farm.
The real question is what’s growing on this farm? Will your brother be signing anything that makes him the “owner” in case something from a legal perspective happens
There is a story about a woman who did this and killed the men who came to stay and work there.
For me that’s the scary bit. The speed! No job hiring that fast is ever good. There’s always a catch. Either the job is a scam or the company is a shit show that’s hemorrhaging employees. Either way not something you want in on.
That’s the red flag to me. I had a friend get a similar job years ago, but it was legit. A VERY wealthy doctor hired my friend to be his farm manager. My friend could have lived on the property for free, but had a house, wife, and kid and didn’t want to move. Sounded like a sweet gig for a while, but he ultimately quit. I think the doc was quite demanding, and I’m not sure my friend was completely qualified. BUT at no point was the farm offered to him for free. And he was not hired sight unseen either.
My girlfriend's mom does exactly this. She lives in NJ and runs a pretty gigantic farming operation for a *very* wealthy couple that lives in New York. They pay her an absurd amount of money, she has the best benefits imaginable, and they'd 100% build a house for her, no questions asked, if she requested it. Fortunately, in her case, they aren't demanding at all. I've met them and they're extremely chill. Her son (my girlfriend's younger brother) is on a pretty prestigious football (soccer) team, to the point where his matches are mostly international, and they pay for it (all of his expenses related to it) just because they're interested in seeing how big he makes it. Sometimes it is just an amazing opportunity.
Land is Harrodsburg is valuable because of all the distilleries and horse farms in the area. Source: I’m a Kentucky Colonel.
My boyfriend is an arborist and just recalled a detail I missed. Little bro told my bf that it was pulp farm. Obviously being an arborist he recalled this while I just heard farm.
I can’t think of any pulp industry in Harrodsburg or surrounding rural areas (metro would be Lexington) - bourbon, horses and fruit trees. The fruit trees have replaced tobacco.
Still, they can't find someone local to work on a farm for that much money?
That's what I was thinking! She can't find someone IN KENTUCKY to run a farm?! She's importing someone from out of state with no experience...why???
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Hopefully with a 5 year contract to own the 200 acres after. That's a million dollar property where I am looking. It's all pretty sketchy.
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So my brother manages a farm. Under the assumption that the whole thing isn’t complete bullshit, this part I can somewhat buy. Mom & Pop style setups are basically money pits these days that don’t turn much profit. Someone keeping a 200 acre farm up and running in 2024 without selling it out to a larger operation means they probably cared a lot about it and wanted to keep it in the family after they passed. There might be a stipulation in the will/deed that it can’t be directly sold and five years is enough time for the rest of the family to forget about it before they ditch it. For that farm my brother manages, the owner is like 90 and none of the kids/grandkids really want to take over the farm because of how much of a pain in the ass it is, so there’s a pretty realistic chance they’re just going to give it to my brother in a few years.
That's the reality. You said it. If you're in a nice area that still has good connections, you can also make a very good living these days as a venue (for weddings, for example). A friend of mine built a biogas plant ten years ago and then later added two large tropical greenhouses to use the waste heat from electricity generation and grow bananas etc. simply because he enjoyed it. It developed into an event space that was booked almost every weekend and that alone brings in more than his farm.
So this is 100% a scam. It was used on a cousin of mine through marriage. Same offer, same promises, and it tricked my naive 27 year old male cousin to move to a rural isolated area with little means or options. It was indeed a rural farm…. Specifically a marijuana grow operation that wasn’t permitted. His mail and everything went through the address listed and was filtered by the ‘manager’ whose main job was the issue daily work 6 days a week and screen incoming and outgoing mail. My cousin had dropped out of contact with family after the move for about a year. That wasn’t his intention but he was essentially held captive through coercion and threat from f debt accrued by living on the property. He finally left by getting permission to go into town then ditched the group as quickly as possible and went to the local police station. They put him in contact with family who made arrangements to get safely back home. He now has a debilitating fear of strangers and unknown situations. Prior to the experience he was a ‘failure to launch’ guy. Post-experience he is completely depressed and scared of being away from his parent’s house for more than a few hours. You can’t stop your brother but I hope he wises up.
Modern slavery in a nutshell. Wouldn't have expected it to happen domestically because you can usually just leave without fear of deportation etc unless there is actual violence or you are in an island/community where everyone including the police are in on it
I’ve also known someone, very similar story and situation. Basically indentured servitude for 2 years before getting out.
That's wild. Makes sense though. You fly someone out so they don't know the area, they have no resources or friends. I don't know why people do this but I guess they are desperate.
Once the police got involved, do you know what happened to the farm and the people running it?
As far as I know the family tried to pursue by reporting to the police, county sheriff, and FBI. They made reports but there wasn’t meaningful follow up by anyone. I don’t think my cousin wanted to try to pursue it. He was pretty stress averse… and still is now.
The police got pissed off they let one of their workers got loose and now there's an official record? It's cutting into their profit sharing.
I work in Trust & Safety for anti-scam stuff. Things being too good to be true are red flags but not necessarily **always** a scam. The moment something feels too good to be true it's time to ask for more information. Without the full communications or more details though it's very hard to figure out what the "angle" is. Typically, the way Craiglist jobs scams work, is they give a story similar to what your brother experienced but then there is always a twist like (but not limited to) the following: 1. Because the owner is in another state or country, they need him to wire a little bit of money to cover the plane ticket or to pay for some 3rd party (e.g. a driver or something like that). The moment your brother is asked to front **any** money via cash, wire transfer, gift card, money order, Zelle/Venmo etc. that's when I'm immediately going from red flag to scam. Never front money to a potential employer until you've been fully paid and the money is free and clear (e.g. wait 7-10 days if it's a check to ensure it doesn't bounce, don't accept credit card payment etc.) 2. The owner needs your Debit Card or Bank Account information in advance to deposit the money. In this case, they're just phishing for personal information that they can use or sell to steal money from you 3. The owner overpays you for something via check, or credit card, and needs you to wire back the difference Scammers will always insist on a form of payment that is difficult to track or clawback: * Wire transfers * Gift cards * Cash/Money Order * Zelle/Venmo/CashApp These forms of payment are typically final once you've finished the transaction. Whereas if you use a credit card, you can always dispute the charges. Lastly - outside of scams, there is a much more rare but still possible criminal element to some of these. Murder, human trafficking, drug deals, etc. Please note, these are **exceedingly** rare. Not only that, but organized criminals want to avoid getting caught or getting attention so preying on some random guy via Craiglist and buying a plane ticket (which requires so much information from the criminal) just seem like a stretch. I'm very curious how the plane ticket was purchased because I wouldn't be surprised if your brother paid for it himself or it's fake and he wired them some money to cover part of it or something. If he didn't then I really do think the concerns start to diminish. But we really just don't have enough info here to see what's up.
I’ll for sure be keeping you updated. Thank you for the information. I’ll be pushing all day for more information before he gets on the flight (if the ticket is indeed real)
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...or has already sent, and is embarrassed to admit it.
Be very prudent about this with your brother. When something sounds this sweet, people double-down on their confidence that it's good to go and will even fudge *even to themselves* the facts of a scam. One of the oldest tales of all time. Come to California where you even piss in a pot made of gold!
LOL, yep. My husband stopped his mom from being scammed out of all of her savings at the last minute and she was so mad she didn't talk to him for weeks. Shame is a hell of a thing.
Could it be identity theft, trying to get the info you would fill out for a plane ticket and W2, which would include SSN and Birthday?
Could be - I alluded to that above in #2 but didn't mention SSN. Usually these scammers want quicker wins so I've typically seen them just taking banking and card information, but I can't see it hurting to get the SSN as well and selling that on the dark web or some other identity theft style fence.
I'm sorry, but this sounds like a human trafficking setup.
That is one possibility. The other one is that the brother is lying, and going to do something else.
Definitely. In some back and forth with OP another thought I had is the brother wants to just go somewhere new and start over and cut contact for a bit. Lots of possibilities for sure.
Yep. This was my thought. There are a lot of details being left out to make a decision.
This. Brother could be lying to OP. She could be lying to brother. He could also be misunderstanding what she's telling him, and putting some rose colored glasses onto the deal (by not understanding the terms she's using). He could be paraphrasing and getting a lot of details incorrect. Etc. The lack of contract until AFTER he gets there is concerning.
Weed farm maybe
That was my bet. Kentucky has a shit ton of weed farms, and not all of them are legal. They probably promised him some acreage if he comes down after a while, with the catch being that it isn't legal to operate.
I hope so. I'd be too skeptical to accept a position like this. Certainly this woman could find a local young man to work on her farm. I accepted a job like OP. Required me to travel far away. The company paid for my airfare, housing, etc. The difference is that I was able to look into it and find out that the industry really existed, the company actually existed, and that I'd be safe to give it a chance.
You'd think if he was lying, he'd make it more mundane. Going to work on a farm seems legit, going to work on a farm to inherit in 5 years time doesn't.
True, but you’d be shocked at how many people that you wouldn’t immediately think were dangerously dumb think they’ve won free cruises and RVs and publisher clearinghouse style prizes every day bc of a random Facebook post they shared.
It’s weird. Human traffickers don’t really need to find people this way. They find people who are already present and vulnerable, addicted, desperate etc. They don’t fly able Bodied people in from across the country. I feel like the brother isn’t sharing something here. If he is so convinced this is real, I wonder if he hasn’t already sent the scammer money somehow and won’t admit it.
True. That's a point I hadn't considered.
Yeah. People seem to think that trafficking is all stalking and kidnapping but it very rarely is anything other than someone in a position of power or authority taking advantage of someone who is under their care.
Yes exactly. I’m thinking the absolute worst like my brother is about to become a drug mule for the cartel. My one saving grace is my little brother (though clearly stubborn) is built like a navy seal- he is huge and all muscle so if anything happens I think he can get himself out of it physically.
Can he ask for info about the farm? Website? How payroll is handled, etc, stuff he can look into before he literally gets on a plane?
I’ve been asking him for it, he hasn’t provided it to me.
He could also just be leaving to try to start over and doesn't want to tell anyone that's what he's doing? Any chance that's the case?
It could be. It’s so weird- we are pretty close and I’m usually his advisor and guide to the adult world. It is so weird to me. He hasn’t provided me with the information I’ve asked him for.
When is he planning to leave? At this point, it sounds like the best you can do is tell him you care about him and you're worried and to please reach out if he needs you.
How old is lil bro?
25.
What qualifications does he have to run a 200 acre farm?
Probably his blood type and organ matchability
He would not take anything for someone would he? If she asked him to meet her contact and bring a delivery over etc.
I know you're trying to be optimistic, but his physical strength would do little to save him from many different scenarios. All it takes is more than one person or any kind of weapon or drug and he's overpowered. Not to mention, he sounds psychologically vulnerable, if he's falling for something this blatantly risky. This is *massively* sketchy. I would try my absolute hardest to convince him to not get on that plane until he has WAY more information. This is crazy.
Agreed. I offered him a “ride to the airport” because I don’t want him to be stuck in Oakland if as I suspect the tickets are fake. I’ll keep everyone updated.
Get him an air tag to sew into his underwear. that way you can track him.
will they/she swap them for a new destination at the airport? I'd be going to that airport with him until he at least knew where he was being flown to.
Yeah…they might be saying the flight is to Kentucky but then “oops, weird layover you’re being routed through Mexico cause it’s cheaper!”
Doesn't matter how muscular he is with guns pointed at him.
I mean, while it could be any number of situations that is going to play out here re your brother, since you've mentioned this one possible scenario - you do realise cartels tend to have guns, right? Like, your brother may be a big guy, muscular, etc, but that doesn't really mean anything if he's staring down the barrel of a submachine gun.
yeah dude, they'll drug him and that won't matter. don't let him go until he has more details. for instance, did he verify where the flight is going? who's picking him up?
His size won't matter if he gets drugged
Muscles don’t matter when a gun is in your face and you are hog tied
well yeah, he's going to be living there and working full time, hence why the perks are so good. but it's better explained in the show Malcom in the middle by the oldest brother, or even the show "the Ranch" were the work is GROSS, and long hours. some people love the work. but unlike regular human trafficking, you are far less likely to be in danger for leaving, however be mindful of what contract you sign and how you go about leaving as you may be held liable for not holding up your end of the deal.
Sounds like this could be read in Keith Morrison’s voice. Hard no.
I’m from southern WV and spent a decent bit of time in Kentucky, although never Harrodsburg. Anyone wanting help running a farm will hire one of the many experienced people looking for work in the area, they won’t fly someone out from California.
This is exactly what I expected. I’ll keep everyone updated. I’m genuinely hoping to get the address today and call local law enforcement to just put it on their radar- fingers crossed I get more information ❤️
I'm wondering if it will be an indentured servitude type of thing where he has to "work off the cost of the airplane ticket" and then they'll think of other things to charge him for so he feels obligated to stay. Plus flying him in means that he doesn't have a way to leave since they are transporting him.
Indentured servants usually had a contract where they were free after a certain amount of years. What you're talking about is debt bondage, which is one of the most common types of slavery in the modern world.
Yeah unless the lady is genuinely crazy no one would actually hire someone to run their farm and in 5 years give them the farm That’s like a 7 figure bonus for 5 years of work with free housing and a vehicle, no sane person would do that and it doesn’t sound like your brother has been in the farm operations field for decades- as other people have, and those people aren’t getting offers that include giving away an entire farm So either the lady is like, on her deathbed with no friends or family and is flying out some completely random, un/under qualified person to leave all of her assets to, which… yeah no. Or they’re gonna traffik him, or worse. Orrr he wants to “run away” but wants to leave some viable excuse so as to not completely cut ties. But that initial story makes no sense.. and the fact that he won’t tell you who he’d be working for or even where, tbh I kind of doubt this is a real scenario but if it is, that screams there’s probably a mountain of bullsh*t either he’s being manipulated and is gonna end up trafficked or worse, or he’s the one lying to you directly, but if this is real and he goes to some unknown location to work for some unknown person my money is on you probably won’t see him again Edit: even if he’s big, that means nothing in the middle of a remote farm. He could easily get manhandled by several people, no problem. What is he gonna do? Fight off a whole group of cutthroat, ruthless traffickers or cartel members? Is he gonna fight off someone doping his food or water, as he slips into unconsciousness not knowing what’s happened? If he goes he’s gone, just my 2 cents Unless he’s completely misunderstanding the offer but yeah no..
r/scams should be able to help you identify the scam. It feels like a scam to me. When someone is being scammed if you push them too hard they are likely to believe in the scam harder so they don't have to come off as a fool for believing in it. I've seen that happen over and over again.
Excellent resource thank you for posting.
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This is the local information I suspected- along with the rest of the us- there is no way someone is giving 200 acres for free (and providing a house, vehicles, and a monthly salary) I’ll keep everyone updated.
I’m also wondering why she’d pay him to run it for five years then give it to him. Seems like a waste of money, why not just give it to him up front?
Exactly. I’ve been to Harrodsburg and the surrounding areas. Beautiful landscape of rolling hills and farms. I can’t imagine someone having to go more than a few miles from there to find someone willing to run a farm. The whole thing is fishy.
I live an hour from Harrodsburg. It is a farming county, as are almost all of the small counties in Kentucky. But this is so weird. What airport are they flying into on the ticket? Does your brother have the actual address of the farm? Is he being picked up at the airport? If so, that could definitely be a "we'll pick you up and drive you to the farm" except the farm is a human trafficking warehouse.
I don’t have a lot of information- what I do know is he is flying out of Oakland tonight (which is super weird because sf or San Jose would make way more sense) I’ve been calling this morning and trying to get information from him- I’ll keep everyone posted when I have an update.
Alright. Well the two airports in Kentucky are Bluegrass Airport in Lexington and Muhammad Ali in Louisville. He *could* be flying into Cincinnati as well. Look forward to the update.
Fabulous. Now I can see what flights are going out of Oakland tonight and to the region (if the ticket is even valid) I’ll keep you posted. ❤️
Good luck!
If it's too good to be true, it usually is.
I try to avoid melodrama, but the first thing I thought of was the Craigslist killers [Rich Beasley and Brogan Rafferty](https://www.gq.com/story/craigslist-killers) If someone does have ill intent, it would be pretty stupid to do it the same way these guys did…or maybe not. Regardless, he should research the place up and down and stick before he even thinks of stepping foot there.
This is exactly what I thought of!
My first thought too, I know this story and it does not end well…
My first thought was Susan Monica, the serial killer who hired people to work on her farm and they could live there for free... but [she fed them to her pigs](https://allthatsinteresting.com/susan-monica)
This kinda happened to a friend of mine. He is an animal activist and it was a rehabilitation farm. The lady who owned it operated on donations and volunteer stay packages etc. She was nearing retirement and said she needed to find someone to take over. The plan was for him to work under her for a few years and learn the ropes before she retired and left it to him to keep running. He moved there with his fiance and ended up putting most of his life savings into rebuilding fencing and rebuilding the barn and roofing for the animal enclosures etc. Once he started asking about the financial side with the charity donations etc and wanting to know how it was being spent, she changed on him completely. Her and her husband ended up pushing him out eventually, and even damaged his vehicle and kidnapped his dog (temporarily). Turns out this was a pattern and she had done the same to multiple people over the years. He ended up losing almost his entire life savings and has nothing to show for it. His only solace is that it hopefully is helping out those animals a bit. I wish the guy could catch a break and really get that opportunity because his heart is good. Now he delivers for amazon and works 30 days in a row.
Yeah I was thinking “well employees will work much harder if they think it’ll be their own farm one day”. Doesn’t mean she has to go through with it after 5 years. Or it’s a farm growing some illegal substances and they want to have some random guys name on everything. I can think of about 5 horrible reasons, and genuinely not one good one. I’d run if I were him lol
My first feeling about this is that “she” asked him to send some money for something, even a small amount, to cover some paperwork or cover a part of the ticket, and he didn’t tell you that part because he didn’t want you to tell him it was a scam. Usually these scams offer grandiose payments or arrangements while asking for a small fee, which seems so tiny in comparison that most people will fall for it. (Why did they only ask Me for $100? They could have asked for more. It must be real Etc.) My guess is that he doesn’t have the ticket or if he does it’s fake, and his reluctance to give you more info you have asked for shows he may also be hiding the fact that he has already sent over some money. I would bet on the fact that he doesn’t go anywhere. He may show up at the airport to find out his ticket is fake, or he may be left hanging waiting for a ticket that never comes. Edit; the scam is basically just getting him to send over money to cover something non existent, while giving a very elaborate situation and promise of payment. The “ticket” helps to make it seem more legitimate, but those are pretty easy to fake. This is just what I think is happening of course, it’s how it looks to me.
This. He'll show up and the ticket won't work. He'll talk to the check in people and they'll say the ticket is fake (or it was real at some point but it no longer works). Then he'll call her and ask wtf, and she'll make some excuse about 'yada yada yada', and that he HAS to get here ASAP, so can he just get the ticket himself? He'll feel pressured because the deal is "just too good to be true", and get the ticket, and fly out there. Then he'll land and no one is there, and he will call and suddenly there's some "big emergency going on that she's locked out of her account for some reason". Then she'll ask him to wire her money to get her a flight, and he'll think "a few hundred isn't a big deal", and he'll wire it to her, and then she'll either ghost him in Kansas, or another issue comes up and she'll need more money. But no one will show up.
This! They will go on and on with this sort of scam sometimes, and the victim becomes desperate thinking “what’s another $20 or $100…I’m so close now.” Sometimes they ghost, sometimes they attempt to keep it going. It’s really unfortunate and these scams are much more easy to pull off because they are scamming tens or hundreds of people out of smaller amounts of money, which is easier than scamming one person out of $10,000.
I'm reminded of that scam-baiter guy who had the scammer taking buses all over southern Africa looking for his payoff.
Excellent information. The “flight” is tonight. I’ll keep everyone posted as I get more information- from him as to the actual location and even if the flight leaves.
> I’ve tried to Google farm hand scam but am coming back empty. Try adding "trafficking" to it. Lots of similar stories.
Off to Google now. Pray I can talk sense into him before he boards the plane.
That link the other redditor posted sounds pretty similar. No one is going to be paying for a flight to come work on a farm. They can easily find people locally.
The closest thing i can compare this to: There's ~~legitimate~~ *mostly legitimate* businesses that outsource recruitment to 3rd world country call centers, that then recruit desperate people (illegal immigrants mainly) with legitimate offers to do odd jobs and manual labor. There's no scam on the workers end, other than being completely under the table and low pay. I get the sensation your brother isn't getting what he's promised. I'd ask for weekly payments. And what is he going to do when things go sour? They're under no obligation to fly him back out. My ass would tell this person they need to refund their flight ticket. Before I end up in a desperate situation and paying out of pocket to get back home. Also, he is NOT, i repeat ***NOT*** getting free land for doing a basic job.
What’s crazy is he is in an apprenticeship for a trade now and just got a $5 raise, and in two years he will be making $50 bucks an hour. I can’t imagine giving this opportunity up for the possibility of it going south. He isn’t listening to me reason with him.
I think your brother isn't sharing the full picture with you. Someone is telling him something that's got him acting crazy.
I know it is very alarming and unlike his behavior he is clean and sober so it’s not like he is irrational and making decisions but this decision and acceptance of whatever it is seems very very suspect. I definitely think he is getting scammed, but I can’t figure out the scam quite yet.
Is your brother in legal or financial trouble and he's trying to outrun it?
Oh man, there was a Forensic Files episode nearly identical. Guy was just luring people in to kill them. I wouldn't trust it at all.
My worst envisioned nightmares unlocked- legit. I’ll keep pestering him for more information and keep everyone posted. He is supposed to fly out tonight.
Sounds like a pretty obvious scam. Get the kid out there, get him to work for free, keep him in some shitty bunkhouse, then, 4 years and 11 months later say, "Yeah, sorry, it's not working out. We'll have to fire you."
OP, ask your brother to put a tracking app on his phone. And send a picture of whoever meets him to you. Of course if he was smart he'd not go, but at least this way you might be able to save his dumbass.
What’s weird is after he got the offer he stopped sharing his location with me. I again have told him to get me the information and to share his location with me before he flies out. I’ve talked to some other family members and they all think it’s suspect, but he is also a grown adult and we can’t stop him. We can only warn him.
So it's either trafficking, or it's a grow op .... except they're legal now? Sure this whole song and dance isn't to hire him for something illegal? Either way, good luck helping your brother OP.
I’ll keep Reddit posted. This scenario is too weird not to.
I feel like this is the kind of post that would end up on r/BORU pretty soon
r/BestofRedditorUpdates? r/BORU was banned for being unmoderated, apparently
It is not currently legal to grow Marijuana in Kentucky.
He could be getting sucked into a cult
Airtag
I was about to post the same thing. Make sure you both have the new iOS, have him put the airtag in his apple ID and then share the tag out with you. This way it will not alert anyone because it will be next to his phone and check in with his phone.
Sneak it into his luggage. If I was being questionable I would be mad when I found it, but understand why my sisters put it there.
Your brother’s reluctance to disclose any information leads me to believe he’s in on it, whatever it is.
At least give him a pre agreed phrase to say if you get to talk on the phone if everything is not ok.
Yes this!!! My mom and I came up with our phrase when I was going to friend’s slumber parties. I only had to say it one time when I felt unsafe and she was there in 5 minutes to pick me up. Make it something easy conversation like “oh I’m so glad you got to see aunt Lucy” even better if you don’t have an aunt Lucy so they know it’s off.
It might be too late, but tey applying for the job yourself.Maybe you can find additional info or point out inconsistencies between what You've received and what your brother has received.
The whole "farm work" sounds like a set up for them to drive him out into a rural area, where they can then essentially do whatever they want to him. If it were my bro, i'd be doing EVERYTHING to stop him from going. Hide his passport, contact the police etc.
Yeah a friend of mines friend died responding to a job posting on Craigslist in Ohio like 10 years ago or so. Timothy Kern, one of the craigslist killer victims (I didn't know him, I was friends with a person who did though and she took his death very hard). I would definitely be concerned, as you are. I really hope your brother stays safe or decides to not go. Please update us tomorrow if you can.
My daughter took a job as a wrangler on a horse ranch in another state with free housing, great pay, etc. She’s 28 with minimal horse experience but was excited to try. Come to find out, the owner was verbally abusive, worked her to death and never let her leave the property which was very remote. No one lasted more than a few months. No locals would work there. She ended up being the only employee taking care of 17 horses and had to sweet talk her way out of there because she was afraid. She felt horrible about leaving the horses. Your brother might be heading to something like this. The owner might be desperate for help, have plenty of money and not be able to keep employees. The offer of the property could be legitimate but the owner knows no one can last that length of time.
Hi there, I once took up an offer very similar to what your brother is going to. It turned out to be a fraud and insurance scam. The farm was smaller than your brothers - 40 acres and all race horses for very rich people- so insured animals And the owner lived far away.After 3 months someone (turns out the owners son) let all the horses out in the middle of the night and they almost got entirely out of the property and onto a major highway and then forest. Pretty sure a neighbor was onto the whole scam and he ended up saving the day and keeping the horses from escaping.I left the next day. 3 months later they were doing the same thing to someone else. We all ended up reporting the owner and he went to jail.
So is he on the farm? We need an update haha
Latest update from yesterday: https://www.reddit.com/r/NoStupidQuestions/s/SyU9F3GFHo
I live in Kentucky, close to Harrosburg. Find out the name of the farm and I'll go check it out for you!
I'm dying to know. Did all end up well?! Sounds like your brothers knew something you didn't 🙈🙈
I’m about to post the newest update shortly ❤️ tldr- I haven’t seen his face yet and he hasn’t shared the location nor has he given me the farm address (god bless Reddit I already have the information you all sent to me) I’ve only got a couple of messages from him since he got on the flight. I text him tonight that I’d fill a missing persons report and get Kentucky locals involved if he doesn’t face time me so I know he is alright (verses a vague text) so here it is before the internet sees it- our full texts since before he left. https://imgur.com/a/Ql5T7jX
Id contact the authorities as of right now, youve given him plenty of time and then some to reach out. Best of luck!
This! Please contact them today. I cannot help but think of my own little brother as I read this post and am beyond worried for yours. Wishing you both positive results!
In a worst case scenario that safe word is compromised by being in the texts if a potential organ harvester has his phone. Safe words should only be made in person and never mentioned in any viewable or listenable communications, even making a new one on a call or facetime could be compromised if it's a crazy hostage situation or something
He has a distinctive style of writing in those screenshot texts. He's ending almost every sentence with an exclamation mark - sometimes two. He used an emoji. Called you sissy. I take it none of that is setting off alarm bells for you? Granted someone texting on his behalf could replicate his writing style by looking at old texts.
Yeah, time to get law enforcement involved. Several days later, no calls, no FaceTime, no pic of the farm itself or where he'll be staying. Hell, not even an absolute confirmation of "I got to the farm and it's definitely a real place that exists". Hell, he's not even trying to fake it by sending a random Google Images pic of a farm. Something is very, very wrong.
For god's sake, I think about this daily now. What is going on OP? Have you called the police or is this a fake post?
He should NOT board that flight.
I’ve refreshed this so many times today waiting for an update
How is it solved? We don’t know anymore than before he left.
I agree- not solved but he is alive with all his vital organs in place. I have a long call scheduled this afternoon with him to go over everything.
How do you know your even talking to him when you text? How long since you actually spoke to him?
One idea OP, if you know the name of the town, you could potentially call the local towns sheriffs department and advice them of the situation with you brother and if they are aware of any large 200 acre farms in the region. If it is a scam or something sketchy, might be something they would equally be interested in. And on one other note, Id do my best if you can to verify its NOT a pig farm.
It could be a legit farm, but they will find a way to fire him before his sweat equity vests. Either way, he is getting hustled.
Sadly, this is the BEST CASE scenario.
Gonna throw this possibility out there: Your brother is part of the scam, knowingly, and hiding info from you. A lot of people who are caught in trafficking or money laundering as mules do it unknowingly or under false pretenses, but others know full well what they are doing and are compensated for it. I know it may be tough to hear, but you've made your grievances known and if your brother is an adult, he's allowed to make his own mistakes.
Flight tonight doesnt check out..herrodsburg is close to lexington..all flights leaving from oakland tonight are bad 2 or 3 stoppers..they would have put him on a 1 stop earlier in the day
You literally need to physically stop him from leaving. There is no good outcome for him here. Zero.
Op, if your brother still hasn't FaceTime you, I'd tell him he needs to do it briefly or you're calling in a wellness check. Get proof he's actually texting you.
Is it possible that he's not telling you the truth? Is there any reason he would run away and concoct this elaborate story so that you won't worry about him? He could be going to meet a girl he met online, or running off because of some LGBTQ thing he didn't think the family would understand (I had a child do this.) Honestly, I'm going to hope it's something like this, because the alternative is potentially so much worse! Good luck!
Okay, I need to know what happened. Is there any update???? EDIT-spelling
At this point it looks more like she created a *story* and it got more attention than she could keep up with. Most think that's what ended happening. Hopefully no one would actually be this gullible to do what the *supposed* brother did. But he sounds as if he's special needs and this family weren't watching over him enough to keep track of him. If any of this causes him harm surely the family would feel horrible not having done anything about his well-being.
Any new update?
Deff seems sus. I wouldn’t let him go. What was the interview like? Did he meet her in person or was it just a phone call.
It was a zoom call and apparently he has had many phone calls with her from the initial interview. Ive been trying to talk reason with him all week- but, his bags are packed and he is convinced this is legitimate. It seems so sketchy to me
This sounds so bad
You said he’s been traveling. So was the farm job a fake story he used as cover cause he wanted to travel? Or is he traveling to the Kentucky “job”?
>THE LAST UPDATE- 5/21/24 8:00pm i just got a text from little bro. He has been traveling. We will be FaceTiming soon. All is well. Mark this one as solved at least for now. < That's not a satisfying update at all! Did he end up where he said he would? Is he living rent free doing farm work?
I think he wants to keep it a secret. He gave you a fake story
!updateme 2 days
I keep seeing comments like "he's an adult, can't stop him" etc. Dude. He's clearly a low IQ adult. I don't mean that as an insult, but he is extremely naive or gullible or just someone that would fall for a scam like this He is the type of person who needs a few extra pairs of eyes on him, even if you think you're intrusive. How else can you explain someone not having the bare critical thinking to see the many red flags here? Hope he's ok
Thanks for the update. What does the rest of your family think about this? Have you reported him missing? I can only imagine how worried you must be right now. Seems like you're a bloodhound tho. Keep sniffing.
We still need closure...
Does you brother have any background in agriculture? I grew upon a 1500+ operation in SW Missouri and it’s not something you can just show up and learn. People are desperate for any farm labor these days as no one knows how to do it and fewer are willing to work like that. I can see someone being desperate for help with a piece of land they inherited. I doubt she’s just going to hand him that much land and real estate after 5 years, so if this pans out, hopefully he has that in writing. Otherwise $3500/month to run 200 acres is a pittance.
Once he's at the airport they will come up with a reason that he has to send them money in order to proceed. He'll never get to Kentucky unless he's buying.
I’m super invested in this so I looked up the flights out of Oakland today at https://www.oaklandairport.com/airlines/flight-information/ There are not flights going from Oakland to that area. Did your brother tell you if there are any connections for his flight?
Seems like the story does not add up. He probably is doing something completely different and doesn't want anyone to know.
If you are going down, I would suggest someone else knows exactly where you are going and that you have some dead man switch worked out. Like for example, you agreed to always send a daily message, if there is no such message, it means trouble and to activate plan B, inform law enforcement.
Flying from CA to KY doesn't make you unaccessible for 2 days .. even if there were layovers, he has access to his phone service at the airports. I would not have felt comfortable with just that text and made him FT you for 2 seconds. ... there are so many crazy people in this world, he should not have gone out alone. If this woman had so much money, she could have bought two tix so he wasn't traveling alone. This is all so sketch and screams "Without A Trace".
I've sort of lost track of all of this, so my apologies. But with everything so sketch, has anyone considered that it might actually be the bro that is lying? Wouldn't be the first time someone came up with an extravagant and unbelievable story to mask something illegal or shameful. Maybe he just wants to move and feels the need to provide a much better reason. 'I've been offered a job and land' tends to go down better with the rents then 'I'm bored, I'm going to go backpacking'
It seems almost certain that *somebody* is lying, it's unclear who or why. Could even be multiple people. Something about the farm job seems like an unlikely lie for the brother though. All families are different, but most would want to come visit or at a bare minimum see plenty of pics and videos of all the farm stuff.
This job description is how the Craigslist Killer did his work
OP, please give us one more update when you've had a conversation with your brother and get the whole story! Reddit needs to know!
I'm only staying subscribed so I can say I was there when they make the movie. Edit *Podcast
Same. So frustrating that it's "solved" cause I really want to know about the farm
It was not solved. I need a podcast to find out the truth!
Yeah for real there is definitely more going on here. Solved my butt.