Sometimes a situation sounds perfectly normal in the moment, until you explain it to someone else and hear yourself say it out loud.

This college student was leaving the library after a long day of studying for finals when he was approached by two women he had never met before. The conversation started innocently enough. They asked about his major, where he lived, and what college life was like. Eventually, they explained that they wanted to film a video about his academic experience for younger students who were considering future career paths.

Wanting to be helpful, OP agreed. But as the conversation continued, a few details began to stand out. The women never identified what school or organization they represented. They wanted to film at a location he wasn’t familiar with rather than on campus. And after the interaction ended, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something about their behavior seemed off.

Now, with a meeting scheduled and his mother urging caution, he’s wondering whether backing out would make him the bad guy.

WIBTA for breaking promises with two strangers

I(18 male)am a college student. And its our finals week. Yesterday i went to library study all day. And when i went out the library i came across with two female strangers, they are prolly 30 or 40sth.

They suddenly stopped me and struck up a conversation. They told me they came to my college to visit their friends, then they started asking me questions like which part in the city i live, what my major, and some really causal things.

At first i thought they just random strangers chitchat . But then they ask me if I’m okay for shooting some videos for them in which i have to tell the reasons i chose my major, do i regret choosing it, and my college life. They said the video is for third grader in senior high. The weird thing is they didn’t mention which school or cram school they work for. But i did not think that much so i said yes(cuz i wanna to help them if this is their job kpi or stuff).

Hmmm, sounds like an interesting request.

So they asked me if im okay to go to their friends clothing store (they told me where the store at, and the place is kind of, desolate??

They said the place is around the mall, but im quite sure there is no mall cuz the gym i go to is around there)to shoot the video. Then i ask if its ok to just shoot at here. But they said they didn’t bring the equipment and its kind of noisy around here.

At the end we exchanged our contacts and arranged to meet on this Thursday when i finish all my exams. Right after we split up, i texted my mom and told her about everything(btw my parents are working abroad, im living by myself) and she said its kinda weird and told me not to meet up with them and stay away from them.

Mom always knows best.

When i was in the conversation with them i didn’t sense anything wrong. If i have to say, its their eye contact make me feel weird: they are making eye contact with each other, its like “you and your friend making eye contacts with each other to decide whether tell your mutual friends the secret” that kind of hesitating and meanwhile planning sth eye contact.

But maybe its just me overthinking after my mom told me its weird. And in recent years there are several abductions which you will be sent to foreign countries and force to do some illegal works.

Part of me thinking its not a big deal, they probably just two nice women who really need to find someone to shoot the video. But also another part of me keeping thinking why they didnt told me which school or institution they work for(its part of my fault i didnt ask in the first place…)and why they having those eye contact, am i overthinking???

Always good to listen to your gut.

Yesterday they sent me texts which i didnt read and reply. Im still struggling whether should i help them or just vanish into air and never reply them.

But i felt so guilty cuz i do make a promise to them and what if they really are just having good intentions for helping third grades students with their college major choosing?

AITA?

Reddit overwhelmingly leaned toward NTA, with many commenters arguing that personal safety should always take priority over a promise made to strangers. A lot of readers pointed out that while the women may have had completely innocent intentions, several aspects of the story raised reasonable concerns.

The biggest red flags for commenters were the lack of clear organizational affiliation, the vague explanation of the project, and the request to meet at a separate location that wasn’t publicly associated with a school or educational institution. Many noted that legitimate researchers, schools, and media projects typically provide clear information about who they are and why they’re collecting interviews.

The consensus wasn’t necessarily that the women had bad intentions—just that OP doesn’t know enough to confidently assume they had good ones. Most commenters felt that if he chooses not to go, a simple message declining the meeting is more than sufficient. Breaking a promise to protect yourself isn’t the same thing as being rude.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a tenant who walked away from their lease after the landlord hassled them over renting month-to-month.

This person says OP isn’t being rude, just safe.

This person says the gut instinct always wins.

And this person says they did the right thing…

When the choice is between keeping a promise to strangers and trusting your instincts, most people would choose the instincts.

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