Free money is hidden in Eindhoven. Whoever finds it first gets to keep it. The location will be announced on Instagram. You will see a video there where someone hides the money note. Five, ten, twenty and even fifty euros. Then you get to see a small part of the area. Anyone who recognizes it can pick it up for free. “Everyone loves money, especially when it is free,” says the maker of the videos.
“It is now becoming a trend on Instagram,” says the creator. He wants to remain anonymous so that people cannot make demands about where he should hide, for example. “I don’t feel like people trying to tell me that I have to put it down somewhere. I want to do my thing.”
“You have accounts all over the world. I saw the amounts getting higher and higher. I’ve seen people in America hiding gold pieces. And in India even with diamonds. I thought let’s try it in Eindhoven and see how far it can grow because no one does that here.”
The craze has spread from Amsterdam to Eindhoven in the Netherlands. The free money has been a success so far. “It’s already happening quite quickly. I’ve been at it for six days now. I already have four thousand followers. Some videos have already been viewed almost 50,000 times. It suddenly happens very quickly.”
“It was picked up within ten minutes.”
The videos are on the Instagram account ‘gratis_geld_ehv’. The hiding places are not that difficult to find. The Eindhoven University of Technology, the Philips Stadium, the Evoluon. “If the amount increases, I want to make it more difficult and show less.”
For example, the money ends up in the edge of a traffic sign. “It once took an hour, but with the last videos I posted, it was picked up within ten minutes.”
Simon gets the money from companies. “In exchange, I visualize their logo. It’s almost free advertising for them. I have had a Mexican restaurant and a bakery before. They see opportunities in that. The baker gave two brownies in a company box and twenty euros. Then I hide the money in the box.”
He also earns something from it himself. Ten or twenty euros at a time. The anonymous benefactor is now 28 years old and works in healthcare. “I want to hide money every day. It depends on whether companies want to support me. It would be great if I could make a living from this. I don’t know if I can get that big. I have seen people in America giving away 10,000 euros. I hope to one day reach a thousand.”
“People send a message with a photo that they have found it.”
To prevent anyone from thinking that the card was stolen, the account contains information about the finders. “People send a message with a photo that they have found it. You can find this on the Instagram page. Then you see the person who found it.”
If two people find the money at the same time, they should work it out together, he says. “Whoever gets it first gets it. Recently a father responded saying that his son was going to watch. That was about ten euros. Ten minutes later I received a picture of a happy child. Then my goal has been achieved. I think that’s the best thing.”
