Max said he went to get cash out to withdraw the money after the woman agreed to give him the cash later in the day
A generous teenager says he was scammed by a stranger who told him she needed money to catch a train.
Max McKenzie, 19, gave the ‘frantic’ young woman £40 after she approached him at Waverley station in Edinburgh on Friday.
Giving her name as ‘Olivia’, she told him that she had saved her train ticket on her mobile phone, but that it had run out of battery.
He went to a cash machine to withdraw the money after asking her several questions and the woman agreed to return the amount later in the day.
However, she has not replied to messages or been in touch since despite the new graduate’s attempts to reach her.
Max, whose autism means he finds social situations difficult and awkward, has been left feeling betrayed and vulnerable, according to Edinburgh Live.
Speaking out to try and stop others being taken advantage of, he said: ‘I feel as though I was taken advantage of.
‘Whilst waiting for my partner’s train to arrive a frantic woman approached us asking for help.
‘She said her ticket was on her phone but her phone had died, and she needed to get to Inverness. I began to ask some questions.
‘The way she worded things almost insinuated she wanted my bank card to tap for a bus.
‘I was also very sceptical because some of the answers given didn’t quite add up.
‘Eventually she asked if I could take money out of the bank machine.
‘I said to her that I would only agree to do it because I did not think anyone else would help her and I trusted that I would get the money back.
‘She was very panicked behind me at the bank machine and when I asked how much she needed she said £40.
‘I handed her my phone to put her details in so that she could pay me back later.’
The woman told Max that she would pay Max back within a few hours, but he is still waiting.
‘I messaged her and have tried to call but there has been no response at all,’ he said. ‘I am autistic, so social interactions are already a very difficult task for me to handle. I merely had no chance to think or speak.
‘It has caused a massive breakdown over the past few days. I have been left crying and panicked due to this. I have been sitting patiently by my phone for the last two days because I trusted people too easily.
‘I feel embarrassed, gullible and frustrated at myself for letting something like this happen to me. Being a new graduate, with no solid employment during the cost of living crisis, that £40 would have gone a long way for me, but now it’s gone.
‘I feel stupid and angry for letting something so vital happen to me. I understand my lesson now, it came from a place of having good intentions of helping people, but this means I cannot do that anymore.
’It breaks my heart that my kindness was taken advantage of. Now I have no way of trusting others who may have needed it.
‘I hope this helps anyone who is feeling the same way, and if it has happened to you, I’m sorry these people took your kindness for granted.’
Max added that they have not reported the matter to the police as the fact he handed over the money willingly means nothing could be done.
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Giving her name as ‘Olivia’, she told him that she had saved her train ticket on her mobile phone, but that it had run out of battery.
