Twitter clues lead to more than US$5,000 left by anonymous poster
HiddenCash account quickly attracts 100,000 followers by giving cryptic directions to money
Tweets are turning golden, thanks to an anonymous Twitter user hiding cash and then firing off clues as to where to find the loot.
More than US$5,000 in total has been given away by the person behind HiddenCash, and word out on Tuesday was that the practice in playful generosity was spreading.
The HiddenCash account had more than 97,000 followers as of late Tuesday, and the number was climbing as people learned that figuring out sometimes simple hints could lead to payoffs.
Clues have led people to money stashed in places around San Francisco such as Fisherman’s Wharf, The Palace of Fine Arts, and near the base of the Golden Gate Bridge.
“Frankly, a little overwhelmed with requests for media and cash,” a post at HiddenCash said Tuesday.
“It hasn’t even been a week. Wow.”
Time magazine identified HiddenCash as someone who made a bundle in real estate and set out to “put smiles on people’s faces” by giving a bit back to people not as well off.
In the Time interview, the anonymous person behind HiddenCash called on other “haves” to be a bit more generous when it comes to giving back.
He also advised those less well off “not to look to HiddenCash or a lottery ticket to be your salvation.”
HiddenCash dropped another hint on Tuesday.
“New SF drop: find Mr. Franklin along the ‘crookedest street’ (towards the bottom),” a clue posted on Twitter said in an apparent reference to a one hundred dollar note planted on Lombard Street.
In a sign that the acts of random generosity are having ripple effects, people finding cash are tweeting back about treating friends or colleagues to pizza, drinks, shares of the find, and more.
A message on Twitter said to watch for clues to HiddenCash in the Silicon Valley city of San Jose on Wednesday.
