Atlanta's local "water boys" strike again! They say beware of the teenagers who walk around the city selling waters, Gatorade and other cold beverages...especially on a hot summer day. For those who might be wondering what threat these so-called innocent young men could possibly pose, take a look at one woman who claimed she was conned out of over $1,000.
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Tristen Richardson pulled her vehicle to a stop when a group of water boys approached her car, asking if she wanted to buy a bottle of water from them. Like many of these victims, Richardson figured it couldn't hurt to support these Black boys hustling under the vicious Georgia sun.
But after realizing she didn't have cash on her to pay, she offered to Cash App them the $2 instead...rookie mistake no. 1.
"He took the phone. He was like, nah, let me just, let me just type in the right [username]," Richardson said according to Fox 5 News. Now, this was yet another rookie mistake. "When he gave the phone back to me, and I sent the payment, it was [for] $1,100," she continued. The boys even labeled the transaction "for rent."
After realizing she had just purchased arguably the world's most expensive water bottle, Richardson said she was in total shock. "My heart sank because I was like, oh my God, that's like a big chunk of money," she continued.
The Atlanta water boys have built up quite the reputation in the city. Most locals know to approach the teens with high caution and to never hand them your phone to transfer money... but you'd be surprised just how many people still fall victim to the well-known scam.
The same week Richardson got conned, another man filed a police report revealing the same exact thing happened to him at the exact... same... intersection. "I hate to wish bad on people, especially Black boys because a lot of times, they be needing our support the most. But the fact that they just stole from me-- a Black woman," an emotional Richardson said on TikTok after the incident.
Unfortunately, Richardson's story is one of dozens seen in the city, but although the water boys get a bad rep, many of them aren't scamming people. Instead, they're simply doing what they can to make a quick buck.
"When we were out there on the corner, we were getting labeled as one thing, and we were not out there doing all the illegal things, we were trying to make a legal way," Mekhai Wilson told Fox 5 News. He and two other teens transformed their casual water selling hustle into a full blown business. Now, they sell their own water under the LLC "Water Boyz in the Hood." The company was even stamped by Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens.
Since the incident, Richardson said she filed a police report and a fraud report. Cash App told her told her she couldn't get her money back, but the woman started a GoFundMe, which has helped cover her loss.
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