A Mom Agrees To Help Pay For Another Woman's Groceries Before Realizing Something Darker Might Be Going On
The mom just wanted to do a good deed.
Drazen Zigic / Shutterstock A mom was willing to help another woman pay for her groceries out of the goodness of her heart, but after the woman and her sister insisted on giving the mom a pair of new Airpod Pros, she became suspicious of their intentions.
The mom took to TikTok to warn others about her strange encounter.
Allison Marie, a mom of two boys, detailed her unsettling experience at an Ingles supermarket in Dallas, North Carolina, to raise awareness of what may signify a darker reality.
Marie and her family stopped at Ingles to eat after church. Before they left, as she waited with her baby for her husband and oldest son to finish using the bathroom, a "very well-dressed" woman approached her, complimenting her and her baby.
She explained she was from Dubai and had lost her wallet, and she had six kids to feed at home. She then asked if Marie would be willing to purchase the food in her cart.
In her shopping cart were bread, cheese, tomatoes, water bottles, and herbs. Marie saw no harm and agreed to help her, and the woman showered her with gratitude.
Marie told the woman she needed to wait for her husband, but she was already motioning her to the register. As Marie slowly followed her to check out, another woman who had Airpod Pros approached her, claiming to be the woman’s sister.
The sister said she wanted to gift Marie the Airpod Pros in exchange for the groceries, but Marie rejected their offer, stating she didn’t need anything in return. The sister insisted that she take the Airpod Pros, even going as far as tyring to shove them into Marie’s crossbody purse.
At this point, Marie felt uneasy about the strangers’ behaviors, and she informed them she wouldn’t purchase anything for them until her husband returned.
She stepped back and called her husband, and he quickly rejoined her. He wasn’t fully aware of the details of the situation other than the woman’s request for their assistance in paying for her groceries, which they proceeded with anyway.
They approached the register and began scanning the items.
“I didn't see any harm in just helping somebody buy something, even if it felt a little off for some reason,” Marie explained.
Halfway through their checkout, the woman’s sister brought her cart of items over, and the woman told her to add them to the belt as well, to which Marie’s husband firmly refused, explaining he would only be helping one of them with their groceries.
Photo: SCREEN POST / Pexels
To this, the sister persisted in offering them the Airpod Pros, suggesting she would gift them to the couple if they also bought her groceries.
Marie and her husband adamantly turned her down, and the two women began to argue angrily in their language. The sister then had the audacity to try to give Marie's oldest son the Airpod Pros.
Having had enough, Marie let her husband finish checking out and walked away with her kids.
After her husband paid, he kept the receipt in case the women planned to scam the store by returning the groceries. The women quickly left as soon as he paid.
As Marie and her family left the store, her oldest son made an unsettling point about the women’s persistence with the Airpod Pros.
He told Marie he was glad they didn’t agree to take them, explaining how he heard on Instagram reels that scammers are using them to track others' location.
“That started making sense to me,” Marie stated with a disturbed expression.
She did some digging online after they got home and found out her son was right — it was a dangerous scam.
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“Don’t take the Airpods,” she emphasized. “I’m glad that we didn’t. I really believe that we probably avoided a human trafficking situation.”
Whatever the women’s true intentions were, it’s certainly unusual that they were so determined to convince Marie’s family to take the AirPods. It’s likely they were, in fact, hoping to track their location for suspicious reasons.
Whether they really were involved in human trafficking or they were planning to rob Marie’s family in the near future, they seemed to be up to something unlawful. Marie made sure to inform the grocery store of this potentially dangerous incident. She is lucky she and her husband were alert and wary of the women.
Always be cautious before trusting strangers, especially those who appear particularly pushy.
Marie’s story is a reminder always to be mindful of strangers.
It’s admirable to be generous and giving to those who are less fortunate, and there are individuals out there who genuinely desire support and help. But it's also imperative to be cautious and mindful of scammers who will take advantage of kindness.
“Honestly, my safety comes first. I just never interact with people asking for anything. Hearing this affirms my personal rule,” one person shared in the comments.
Additionally, several individuals have taken to TikTok to share the unsettling notifications they have received about being tracked by mysterious Airpods through their Find My app despite not having Airpods. They have struggled to locate where these Airpods are, leading them to feel unsafe and wary of their surroundings.
As our society continues to adapt to technological advancements, the risks of human trafficking instances continue to rise as well.
New data suggests there are at least one million human trafficking victims in the U.S. currently, which is why it’s vital to be wary of the various ways human traffickers attempt to lure innocent individuals, both physically and digitally.
Another woman made a TikTok in response to Marie's video addressing the topic and debunking this Airpod human trafficking debacle.
The woman, Erika Christiansen, explained that the women from Dubai were only trying to scam Marie with fake Airpods that cost significantly less than the groceries they were asking her family to buy. She added that they were likely not involved in any kind of human trafficking, kidnapping, or even trying to track her location. This is a prevalent scam based out of Dubai, where individuals attempt to sell or give away counterfeit Airpods.
Nonetheless, if this were the case, why were the women so pushy about Marie taking the Airpods? The fact that she was willing to purchase their groceries with nothing in return was essentially in their favor.
Regardless of what was really going on, this does not negate the fact that individuals are still illegally using Airpods to track and follow others. With this in mind, it might be safest to turn off your location services.
Always pay attention to the behaviors, mannerisms, and appearances of strangers who approach you in public, and trust your instincts when something feels odd. Prioritize safety above all else, and never be too trusting of strangers.
Francesca Duarte is a writer on YourTango's news and entertainment team based in Orlando, FL. She covers lifestyle, human interest, adventure, and spirituality topics.