• Home
  • Mail
  • Tumblr
  • News
  • Sports
  • Finance
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • Answers
  • Groups
  • Mobile
  • More
Yahoo
    • Skip to Navigation
    • Skip to Main Content
    • Skip to Related Content
    • Mail
    Lifestyle Home
    Follow Us
    • Style
    • Beauty
    • Wellness
    • Pop Culture
    • Shopping
    • News
    • Horoscope
    • Video
    • NowWith

    Here's one true-life internet spam scam that will make your heart happy

    Raechal Shewfelt
    Editor, Yahoo Entertainment
    Yahoo TVMarch 29, 2018
    Reblog
    Share
    Tweet
    Share

    How long would it take you to delete a Facebook message asking for “assistance from u, business or financial assistance dat will help empower me pls”?

    Ben Taylor of Ogden, Utah, actually responded to that very message. Now the lives of kids on the other side of the world are better because of it.

    CBS Evening News With Jeff Glor is scheduled to air the inspiring story Thursday and Friday as part of its long-running “On the Road” segment. It’s the first of such stories to be told in two parts. Correspondent Steve Hartman, who followed Ben as he went to meet his so-called spammer, Joel, in Liberia, tells the story.

    “It seemed like a movie, I guess. It seems unbelievable,” Hartman tells Yahoo Entertainment. “Because when you think of an internet scammer, or somebody who’s a hustler trying to get money out of you, the last thing you’d ever expect is for somebody to befriend that guy and let alone go visit him. So that’s what really shocked me. The other reason this appealed to me is because I’ve always had this deep held belief that everyone is good. The Hitlers and those other outliers aside, I think the vast majority of people at their core are good.”

    And both Ben and Joel come out very good in this story. Here’s what happened:

    Last year, Joel reached out to Ben through that “People You May Know” feature on Facebook, asking for help supporting his family.

    “And Joel in Liberia had done this maybe 50 times before, just reaching out to people asking for money,” Hartman says. “He wanted people to send him electronics. He would sell them, and then he’d send you some of the money back. I think he really thought that business model would work, but when you factor in shipping and whatever, it was never gonna work. I give him the benefit of the doubt with that one.”

    No one had ever answered. But Ben took Joel up on his offer, sent him a cheap camera, and asked him to send photos of the sunset and then other things. Really, it was a way of trolling him; he never thought he’d get a response. But Joel came through.

    Ben Taylor shows Steve Hartman the original photos that Joel took for him. (Photo: CBS Evening News)
    View photos
    Ben Taylor shows Steve Hartman the original photos that Joel took for him. (Photo: CBS Evening News)

    Eventually Ben realized Joel was for real. He got the idea to bundle together some of Joel’s photos (they were getting better and better) and sell them in a 16-page book. Ben sold an impressive 1,000 copies through a crowdfunding campaign. He split the proceeds with his new business partner and vowed to fork over his own half if Joel was willing to donate it to charitable causes.

    Steve Hartman discusses this unlikely story with Joel in Liberia. (Photo: CBS Evening News)
    View photos
    Steve Hartman discusses this unlikely story with Joel in Liberia. (Photo: CBS Evening News)

    The result is that Ben — who Hartman says had never before been out of the country — flew to Liberia to meet Joel. The two also saw some of the good work that their money was doing in the community, such as providing kids with backpacks and other school supplies.

    And that’s when you’re going to need a tissue in this story. Actually, a lot of Hartman’s “On the Road” stories end that way.

    “People accuse me of being in cahoots with Kleenex, but it’s never my intention to make people cry,” Hartman says. “I’m actually trying to make people happy. News does a good job with quite a few emotions; we do a good job with anger and fear, but we don’t do a good-enough job with joy. So we do a horrible job with overwhelming joy and making people happy to the point where they cry.”

    Ben and Joel’s story is another step toward rectifying that.

    Watch the full story on CBS Evening News With Jeff Glor at 6:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday.

    Read more from Yahoo Entertainment:

    • The surprising movies Steven Spielberg asked his young ‘Ready Player One’ stars to watch
    • Taraji P. Henson has a message for men in the #TimesUp era: ‘Speak up’
    • Everything you didn’t know about ‘Beetlejuice,’ from the dark original ending to the cut characters

    Reblog
    Share
    Tweet
    Share

    What to Read Next

    • Woman tells Spanish-speaking Mexican restaurant employees: 'Get the f*** out of my country'

      Yahoo Lifestyle
    • Burberry 'Deeply Sorry' For Sending Model Wearing Noose Down Runway

      HuffPost
    • Sarah Hyland Cracks Joke About Khloé Kardashian's Alleged Cheating Drama with Tristan Thompson

      People
    • Hiker stuck in quicksand for 10 hours before being rescued: 'It was just a freak accident'

      Yahoo Lifestyle
    • Elderly Man Buys Used VHS Player on eBay, Goes Viral for Tear-Jerking “Thank You” Note

      Best Life
    • Bret Michaels on the challenges of life with diabetes: 'It motivates me to work harder rather than give up’

      Yahoo Lifestyle
    • Man allegedly pulls gun on couple wearing MAGA hats at Sam's Club: 'This is a good day for you to die'

      Yahoo Lifestyle
    • 6 Signs Jordyn Woods and Tristan Thompson Did In Fact Hook Up

      Seventeen
    • The Biggest Supermoon of the Year is Happening Tonight – Here’s How to Watch

      Fatherly
    • Tristan Thompson Tweets, Deletes Reaction to Cheating Rumors

      InStyle
    • Why Millennials Aren't Using Top Sheets on Beds

      House Beautiful
    • Teen in viral video sues Washington Post for $250 million

      Reuters
    • 7-year-old boy allegedly called 'little Hitler' for raising money to go toward Trump's border wall

      Yahoo Lifestyle
    • 5 Reasons You’re Having Enough Sex, According to Science

      Fatherly
    • This Is the Real Reason Jeans Have Those Tiny Pockets

      Reader's Digest
    • Meghan Markle and Serena Williams Just Reunited for Dinner in NYC

      Harper's Bazaar

    Lara Trump: Americans need to take the dangers of socialism very seriously

    Dean: We're supposed to take Lara Trump and Eric Trump seriously? Not to mention Hannity.. SMH

    Join the Conversation
    1 / 5

    270

    • Meghan Markle Wore $70 Le Specs Sunglasses for Her NYC Baby Shower

      Marie Claire
    • Interior Designers Always Notice These Bedroom Decorating Mistakes

      MyDomaine
    • The 15 Best Mascaras, So You Don't Have to Waste Your Money on Lash Extensions

      Who What Wear
    • The Dos and Don'ts of Wearing Skinny Jeans in 2019

      Who What Wear
    • Another U.S. high school student in hot water after being caught distributing 'N-word passes'

      Yahoo Lifestyle
    • This Is Why Meghan Markle Is Having a Baby Shower—but Kate Middleton Didn’t

      Reader's Digest
    • Katy Perry's Engagement Ring From Orlando Bloom Looks Just Like the One He Gave Miranda Kerr

      Brides
    • Pregnant Meghan Markle Steps Out with Serena Williams for Night on the Town After Her Baby Shower

      People
    • Is Kim Kardashian Secretly Working With Fashion Nova? Here's What She Said

      Refinery29
    • Ariana Grande's Fans Have Feelings About Her Skin-Care Routine

      Refinery29
    • Tax accountant allegedly couldn't file same-sex couple's taxes because 'it's against my Christian beliefs'

      Yahoo Lifestyle
    • I Tried 12 "Perfect" Tops to Wear With Jeans—These Are the 5 I Kept

      Who What Wear
    • Carole Radziwill Remembers Her Late Mother-in-Law Lee Radziwill

      Town & Country
    • Who Is Hudson Kroenig, Karl Lagerfeld's Adorable Sidekick?

      InStyle
    • High school accused of body-shaming cheerleaders with 'Big Booty' and 'Big Boobie' awards

      Yahoo Lifestyle
    • Tristan Thompson Disables Comments on Instagram as Jordyn Woods Gets Attacked by Fans

      Cosmopolitan