---
title: 'Warning: These Side Hustles Are Now Illegal'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=-LNzqkjlidM'
video_id: '-LNzqkjlidM'
date: 2026-08-05
duration_sec: 683
---

# Warning: These Side Hustles Are Now Illegal

> Source: [Warning: These Side Hustles Are Now Illegal](https://youtube.com/watch?v=-LNzqkjlidM)

## Summary

This video exposes several viral side hustles that are either illegal, risky, or just plain strange. The host warns viewers about the legal consequences of certain money-making schemes, such as selling money bouquets, renting out credit, and running social media raffles, while also highlighting bizarre but legal hustles like selling toenail clippings and renting yourself out as a friend.

### Key Points

- **Introduction to Risky Side Hustles** [00:01] — The video begins by promising to expose viral side hustles, including one that got someone arrested, and others that sit in a risky gray area.
- **Selling Money Bouquets** [00:26] — Money bouquets are made by folding dollar bills into rose shapes, taping them, and decorating. They are popular for gifts and can sell for $100 or more. However, this hustle can be illegal because mutilating or defacing currency is against US code, punishable by fines or up to 6 months in prison.
- **Renting Out Your Credit** [02:20] — People with good credit can add strangers as authorized users to boost their credit scores, charging hundreds to thousands of dollars. This is risky because banks can shut down accounts, and the FTC warns it can be investigated as bank or wire fraud.
- **Selling Toenail Clippings** [03:58] — A bizarre but legal side hustle where people sell their toenail clippings. One woman, Leticia Jones, made over $80,000 in 7 months, earning $5,000 a week. She also sells other strange items like old bed sheets and bottles of spit.
- **Cash Carpool Hustle** [05:16] — Charging people for rides, like taking kids to school or airport trips, is considered operating an unlicensed taxi service. Without permits and commercial insurance, you can be fined or have your car impounded, and you're liable for accidents.
- **Renting Out Uber/DoorDash Accounts** [06:37] — People rent out their approved delivery accounts to strangers who can't get approved, often for hundreds or thousands of dollars. This violates terms of service and can lead to bans, financial liability, or criminal charges if something goes wrong.
- **Running Social Media Raffles** [08:02] — Collecting money for a chance to win prizes on social media is considered illegal gambling unless you have a gaming license. People have had accounts shut down, been fined, or faced legal action.
- **Renting Yourself Out as a Friend** [09:35] — Websites like rentafriend.com allow you to advertise friendship services for up to $50 an hour. It's legal and platonic, with users making up to $2,000 a week, but it's essentially turning friendship into a subscription service.

### Conclusion

The video concludes by warning viewers to be cautious about side hustles that may seem lucrative but carry legal risks. It encourages viewers to consider the potential consequences before engaging in such activities.

## Transcript

to some of these viral side hustles that are all over Tik Tok and YouTube right now because one of them actually got someone arrested and we about to talk about it. And we'll also talk about some side hustles that are sitting in that
risky gray area. And no, I'm not talking about your uncle selling fish plates on Friday. I'm about to expose some of the most random, suspicious, and some very strange side hustles that people are running right now. And let me let you
know, I am not knocking anyone's hustle. I'm just trying to keep the police from ahead and get into the first side hustle. And we are coming in strong with selling money bouquets. I am more than sure by now you have either seen, heard,
or received one of these because they are all over the internet. This is where people are taking dollar bills. They are folding them neatly into rose shapes. They are putting some tape on them, stuffing them into some foam. They add
some other decorations to it, maybe some roses, and then boom, you have this beautiful money bouquet. And people are receiving this for Valentine's days, birthdays, graduations, you name it. This is actually a side hustle that's
making people pretty good money. They are charging anywhere from $100 or more, stuffing into these bouquets. And let me tell you something, some of these amounts, they get ridiculous. But here is the thing. This is actually the side
hustle that just got someone arrested. Or at least that's what they say because grain of salt. But I do want to let you know that there is actually a US code that says whoever mutilates, cuts, defaces, disfigures, or unites or semens
together any bank bill with the intent to make it unfit for reissue can be fined or even face up to 6 months in prison. So, here's why the government will look at a money bouquet as defacing money. Once you taper glue these bills
together, you are technically making it unfit to be spit in circulation again. Now, technically, the person who is receiving this money bouquet is expected to untake this money. However, legally, the moment you alter the bill's
crossed the line. And I am more than sure nobody wants their cute birthday bouquet to turn into a felony charge. So, we'll go ahead and hit the illegal button here and we're going to slide into the next side hustle that's
actually sitting in that gray zone. And this one is renting out your credit. If you did not know, there are actually people out there with very good credit that's renting out their credit to absolute strangers by adding them as
authorized users. And when you do that, your positive credit history then shows up on their credit report and makes their score look way better than it really is. And yes, people pay big money for this. I'm talking hundreds to
thousands of dollars for renting out your credit for a few months. There's even a website I came across that you can buy or sell trade lines with prices can buy or sell trade lines with prices ranging anywhere from $300 to $1,500
depending on the account. Now, let me clear this up. In most cases, the people that's added as authorized users, they never touch your card. They don't get to unless they figured out a loophole to that. But they are basically just
piggybacking off of your history. But here's where the issue comes in with this is with the banks and the card issuers. If they catch you adding and dropping random people, they can shut your account down. They can blacklist
you and destroy your credit. And the FTC has warned that buying or selling trade lines can be investigated as bank fraud or wire fraud. That means fines, lawsuits, in extreme cases, jail time. So, yes, that $500 may sound nice for a
quick add-on, but you are literally selling access to your financial explaining to your bank that you rented out your credit like a deluxe apartment? It's risky. Now, this next side hustle is not illegal or risky. It's just one
of the strangest side hustles I have ever seen. People are getting paid to sell their toenail clippings. No, you do not need to rewind this video. I did say that correctly. Toenail clippings. This is a side hustle that is currently going
viral all over social media right now. And I'm talking about people literally sitting down pulling out their feet and those clippers and clipping away, people are paying big money for this. There is one woman named Leticia Jones
and she has made over 80,000 in just 7 months selling toenail clippings alone. strange things she selling, she makes $5,000 a week. Now, I know you probably
curious about it because I won't lie, me and my husband were looking in ways to other things she's selling is old bed sheets, acrylic nails, slippers, even bottles of spit, which one of them actually went for about $1,800. So, we
know selling toenails is not illegal. But here's where the risk comes in for me. Once you start mailing out your DNA, collecting it, or what they doing with it. although she has expressed that some
people are grinding up her toenails and eating it. So my question to you is, is this a side hustle that you would consider for $5,000 a week? Let me know down in the comments. Now, this next side hustle may shock you because a lot
are doing is illegal. And that's the cash carpool hustle. And let me be clear, I am not talking about family, friends, or even co-workers carpooling together and evenly splitting the gas money. I'm talking about the people that
are turning this into their personal little side hustle and charging people $10 a ride or maybe $50 a week to take your kids to school with theirs or airport and charge you a little
something or even those of you that are overcharging your good neighbor to drive them to the store. And I get it, gas is expensive. Uber can be overpriced sometimes. So people are thinking, "Why not put a little extra cash in my
comes in. Once you start collecting money for doing that service, the government looks at you as an unllicensed taxi service. Without you having permits, commercial insurance, and the background checks that drivers
go through, you are technically breaking the law. And if you get pulled over, you could be fined or your car could be impounded. And please don't get into an cover it. So guess who will have to pay
for the medical bills, repairs, or even lawsuits? You. So that $50 to $100 a week to drive some kids around may sound good, but is it really worth it? And while we are on the topic of driving, let's get into the next side hustle
where people are actually renting out their Uber and Door Dash accounts. So yes, if you have ever ordered something and you expected Emily to show up, but Robert was at your door, that's probably what happened. So normally when someone
gets approved to drive or deliver, they go through background checks, license go through background checks, license verification, even insurance checks. So process, but instead of driving themselves, they are renting their
accounts out to strangers who cannot get approved. And it can be from criminal records, immigration status, or bad driving. There are Facebook groups and online marketplaces where these accounts go for hundreds, sometimes even
thousands of dollars. In fact, CNN recently reported on entire underground networks built on buying and selling Uber and Door Dash login. Now, let's be Uber and Door Dash login. Now, let's be real. This is 100% against Uber and Door
Dash's terms of service. And if anything shady happens while that stranger is using your account in accident, fraud, or even worse, it tracks back to you. And depending on what happens, you can be permanently banned, you can be
financially responsible, or you can be criminally charged. So yes, people are making a lot of money flipping their accounts. However, the risk may be greater than the reward. So, the next side hustle on the list is people that
are running raffles on social media. You have probably seen these on Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok, even YouTube, where somebody may post their say you can give them $20 and you'll be entered to win a
TV, an iPhone, a PlayStation. You may win a trip somewhere, a gift basket, win a trip somewhere, a gift basket, some piece of artwork, or even cash. But what they could be winning is an all expense paid trip right to the four
walls of somebody's jail. Because the thing is, you are not legally allowed to do this on social media. The law calls this gambling. And it is considered this gambling. And it is considered illegal unless you have the right gaming
license. And we know most of the people online that are running these raffles do not have a gaming license in their back pocket. But the moment you start collecting money for a chance of winning anything, you are running a mini casino
right from your phone. And the government, they don't play about that. People have had their accounts shut down. They have been fined. And yes, some of them have FaceTime. In many states, running raffles is considered
illegal altogether when you are doing it on the internet. So even for $5 or $10 and then joining raffles, especially the ones for people you are not familiar with can turn into fraud real quick because they can take the money and not
illegal side hustles running around. But let me bring another one that falls maybe not so much in illegal or risky but rather strange. It may be a little
risky too depending on how you look at it. You can rent yourself out as a friend. And I am not kidding. There's an actual website called rent afriend.com with over a quarter million people signed up and this allows you to place a
free profile to advertise your friendship. And if someone is interested, they will contact you and set a date, time, activity, location, and of course, a price. And get this, you can make up to $50 an hour doing
this. Plus, get free meals, free concerts, free sporting events. And with this, you can end up doing just about anything from going shopping to grabbing lunch to going to a wedding with someone as a friend. And one woman told Fox News
she was making up to 2,000 a week doing this. And she was getting hired for everything from writing thank you cards for weddings to standing in line for tickets. Another person said that they were booked to be someone's date to
prom. Now, I'm not too familiar with that because I'm sure some laws have to be involved. Prime is for high school students and I wouldn't play with those lines. But this is supposed to be a site that is completely platonic. It is not
only fans. It is not a dating website and you can set your boundaries like if you want to only be contacted by women or if you only want to hang out in public places. But with all of this, you are basically turning your friendship
into a subscription service. So let me know down in the comments what you think about these side hustles. if any of them surprised you, if you will actually try some of those weird ones. But other than that, I thank you so much for watching
that, I thank you so much for watching and until next time, we are out. Peace.