Sign up for the Today newsletter
Get everything you need to know to start your day, delivered right to your inbox every morning.
Free money is being hidden around Boston in cash drop social media trend
As the cash drop phenomenon takes the nation by storm, Boston has two main accounts placing free cash around the city for followers lucky enough to find it.
Social media accounts are dropping free money across Boston neighborhoods almost every day, entering the so-called cash drop phenomenon that is trending nationwide.
The cash drop accounts leave free money in hidden spots around the city and post a video of the location on social media. Followers must decipher the exact location from the post and be the first one to snag the cash, which is often claimed in a matter of minutes.
With the cash drop phenomenon taking the nation by storm, Boston has two main accounts placing free cash around the city for followers lucky enough to find it.
Advertisement:
On Instagram, Do617 hosts $100 drops weekly for its Free Cash Friday, and Find The Cash Boston hides $50 to $100 around the city at least four times per week.
Starting in December, Do617, an account that posts about Boston area events, began its weekly $100 cash drops for its 50,000 Instagram followers. While it took a few weeks for the free cash posts to gain momentum, Do617 saw a lot of engagement with its cash drops by early 2025, according to Do617 Content Manager Brigid Charest.
“People love seeing somewhere that they know on an account,” Charest said. “The excitement is really contagious.”
Advertisement:
Before Free Cash Fridays, Do617 hid tickets to popular events around the city, but decided to switch to cash so followers had the option to put it towards a night out or a general expense, according to Do617’s website.
While most drops stay within Boston city limits, Charest said certain drops are done outside of Boston proper if there is an event, art piece, or local landmark the company wants to highlight. Last Friday, Charest placed $100 under a rock on Revere Beach during the first day of the 21st annual Revere Beach International Sand Sculpting Festival.
Do617 has given away $3,300 over 33 Free Cash Fridays, with the money coming from the company’s marketing fund. “We figured instead of giving the money to Meta,” in the form of paid ads and in content, Charest said the company decided to “put it in the hands of our audience.”
“There’s just so many negative things going on and this is just something that is really simple and an easy way to make someone’s day,” she said.
Beginning in March, Find The Cash Boston started duct-taping cash to lampposts, statues, and benches across the city, and they’re now up to 160,000 Instagram followers. The account also does larger drops of $500, and last month, someone grabbed the big prize inside a Ninja cooler at Everett’s Gateway Plaza in under five minutes.
Recently, Find The Cash Boston drops have been placed inside a lockbox, so followers have to figure out the four digit code in addition to the box’s location. Last week, a drop by Northeastern was unlocked with the year of the university’s founding, which was on a nearby sign.
On its website, Find the Cash notes that it will “team up with businesses to offer the people of Boston cash, prizes, and awesome games to win the money.” Including Boston, the site lists 13 cities where it’s been facilitating the cash drops.
Advertisement:
This isn’t the first time the cash drop phenomenon has taken the internet by storm.
According to Anderson Cooper 360, the free money trend first started back in 2014 in California. Real Estate Developer Jason Buzi tweeted out hints ahead of placing a total of $15,000 in small sums across the state and in other major cities, including New York and Mexico City, as a way to pay it forward.
With the popularity of the phenomenon only growing, more free money accounts are surfacing on Instagram, including BostonMoneyHunt and BostonCashDrop.
While it’s uncertain how long the cash drop trend will last, Do617 is planning to continue its drops for the foreseeable future, as long as its audience engagement stays strong.
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com