I Pretended to be Married to My Sister for Money
Okay... Let's get into it lol.
Many, many years ago in a land far, far away (Las Vegas, NV), my family went on vacation, and my sister and I split off from the group to hang out. We were in our late teens or early twenties, running low on funds, so we decided to stick to some cheap sight-seeing. That’s when we were approached by a street recruiter for a timeshare and vacation rental company. They told us the company was running a "couples special" and that even if we didn't end up buying or renting anything, we’d still get $200 just for sitting through the presentation. We were genuinely trying to keep things completely legal and honest, but we were broke and curious.
When we mentioned we were sisters, the street recruiter just shrugged and said, "Just pretend that you're a couple."
Fast forward to the sales office: my sister and I pretended to be together, sat through the pitch, and looked over discounted listings. But they haggled with us HARD.
At one point, they started questioning if we were actually together and demanded to see our IDs. Since we share the same last name, we just leaned into it and pretended we were married. When they asked why we weren't wearing rings, we claimed we left them back at the hotel out of fear of getting robbed or targeted. Then came the ultimate line-crosser...they asked us to kiss.
We refused, calling them out for making us uncomfortable and harassing us. Ultimately, when they reached their wit's end trying to prove we were lying, they handed us over to their manager, who finally gave us the $200.
Looking back on it now, it was extremely embarrassing to go through all of that awkwardness and humiliation just for $200. We both felt terrible about our little con afterward and swore never to speak of it again because like they say, "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas."