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I Was Scammed by a Homeless Person... and Other Stories
Personal Experience | LoveUSA

Posted on 12/01/2012 5:13:46 AM PST by LoveUSA

Just yesterday I was leaving the food store with my 83 year old mother in my car when we encountered an old woman holding a piece of cardboard that said "homeless" (quotes were included). This old woman made eye contact with me and her scraggly gray hair, her worn clothing, and her pathetic help me expression really stirred up my sympathy. When I stopped at the stop sign near where the begging woman was standing I said to my mother, "Let's give her some something, it's Christmas". We came up with a five dollar bill and my mother waved it out the window. The begging woman took it and smiled with the few teeth she had left.

Then the semi-toothless, pathetic-looking, scraggly-haired old woman said, "Thanks! My grandkids want a video game for Christmas."


TOPICS: Chit/Chat
KEYWORDS: homeless; scam; scammed
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To: LoveUSA
I had my own business for thirteen years but was forced to shut down in 2008. My office was downtown, on the bleeding edge of renewal and gentrification, so I saw street people on a very regular basis and became accustomed to dealing with them. Most are scammers. In fact the vast majority are.

You'll know the ones who need help because they're scared and reluctant, almost embarrassed to ask you for help. Do not give them money. If they say they're hungry get them something to eat. If they need gas, offer to put gas in. No money. As far as they're concerned you carry none. It can be dangerous trying to help these people. Substance abuse and mental illness are rampant and often combined.

The funniest example I can provide would be a wheelchair bound black woman who had lost both her feet, to diabetes apparently. She had an accomplice who would hide behind bushes or down a side alley. Wheelchair lady would position herself near popular nightspots and restaurants downtown, and try her latest wild tale of woe on people as they entered and exited.

After she'd worked that spot for a while, out came the accomplice and away they'd go at a sprint, I kid you not, to the next place. I watched it from my office window, and I also got hit up numerous times. She had poor recall or was buzzed, maybe both.

The craziest story involved her car getting towed to the impound lot with her baby inside. I GOT TO HAVE FIFTY DOLLARS TO SAVE MY BABY SHE NEED HER FORMULA!!!

Stupid as it sounds with all the logical contradictions, people were still giving her money.

Giving them money is wrong, like throwing gas on a fire. You're only feeding their substance abuse.

81 posted on 12/01/2012 8:05:54 AM PST by RegulatorCountry
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To: LoveUSA
I was at the local Wal Mart and as I was getting in my vehicle, I saw this beggar walking around the corner towards the rear of the building. I was curious to see what he was up to as he would usually take up a strategic position where the parking lot empties onto the main access road to the shopping center. I casually maneuvered my vehicle around the corner of the building to see the old fraud hopping into what looked like a brand new, fire engine red Ford F350 dual-wheeled pickup.

Never again will I ever be tempted to give any of these con artists a dime.

82 posted on 12/01/2012 8:17:51 AM PST by semaj
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To: RegulatorCountry

My brother and I were approached by a bum on the street in Frankfurt Germany.Guy said he needed money for food,but it was obvious he was a drunk.My brother reaches into his wallet and give the guy a 100 Mark note.(It’s 1984,the Eurowas just a socialist’s dream somewhere.)I look at my brother and say What the hell,Bruce-the guy’s a drunken bum.Bruce says,”That’s true,and with 100 Marks to spend,maybe he’ll drink himself to death tonight.


83 posted on 12/01/2012 8:32:17 AM PST by Farmer Dean (stop worrying about what they want to do to you,start thinking about what you want to do to them)
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To: HereInTheHeartland

Funny guy. Makes you wonder sometimes though doesn’t it? Most of the politicos are so dysfunctional, they seem to be dumb. But most of them are up there in Washington for one reason. To line their pockets, pad their wallets and get rich, besides the getting the free lifetime benefits they accrue after just one term. With Congress’ public approval rating of only 9%, professional scammers and con artists are probably more popular than the congressmen are.


84 posted on 12/01/2012 8:38:30 AM PST by HotHunt
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To: reagan_fanatic
I did break my rule just once, though, when I happened upon a guy holding a cardboard sign by an off-ramp intersection. The sign said, ‘WHY LIE? NEED BEER.

Was this in Largo, FL? There is a guy at the offramp of 19 & Ulmerton that has the same sign. Somewhere, on one of my camera SD cards, I have a picture of him. Mr. RightField once wanted to give him an old 6-pack of Guiness.

85 posted on 12/01/2012 9:00:37 AM PST by RightField (one of the obstreperous citizens insisting on incorrect thinking - C. Krauthamer)
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To: LoveUSA

I had this broad ask me to borrow my cell phone but then I got paranoiac of it getting hacked when she was crying on it asking for a western union transfer and trying to explain to me what she was doing out of sympathy. I called bull on this.

Watch the language, people DYING of cancer give everything they have away, they do not beg. It is those who fight cancer that may ask for a bit of help.

Also ask them questions. Tell them you are unemployed too and ask them for advice after giving them a dollar, and see if they are territorial. I asked one if he knew about crime in the area, because they know about this stuff. He looked like a druggy and was asking for work, but sublevel he did not want to work, it was just a scheme to gain sympathy or maybe prostitutive services.

I help those who help me, who tell me about the cops, the criminals, who treat me like a neighbor or a family member in need I would trust and who would trust me. Once someone asks money, either they have to show enough humbleness to let you graduate and minister to each other, even being mastered by you, or they at least must be friend like and explain things.

I never give and go away, always looking for the rude ones I fell uncomfortable with and who give me that tinge of uneasiness and anxiety when around them.


86 posted on 12/01/2012 9:08:55 AM PST by JudgemAll (Democrats Fed. job-security Whorocracy & hate:hypocrites must be gay like us or be tested/crucified)
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To: LoveUSA

There is in France a famous bum named Max, and he is from Switzerland. He never asks money nor give a cry baby story. He just talks to people casualy and people give him money. The swiss are the best at making it all legal.


87 posted on 12/01/2012 9:13:54 AM PST by JudgemAll (Democrats Fed. job-security Whorocracy & hate:hypocrites must be gay like us or be tested/crucified)
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To: LoveUSA
For me, giving to the "homeless" has been a mixed bag. I've given:

Hot food - accepted each time, thanked once.
Single bills - accepted each time, thanked each time.
Change (when it was all I had) - accepted then insulted for it not being enough
Decent walking shoes and clean socks - refused as the person walked away on his purple-brown feet waving his arms and speaking gibberish to pick food out of the nearest trash can.
Declining to give - Followed me to my car threatening violence.

I think people should be mindful that the "homeless" as a group are a mixture of the mentally ill, criminals, addicts and drunks, and bums. I would be quite surprised if the number of people "down on their luck" is not the smallest minority. Live in a beach town for more than a decade and see if your experiences are different.

I believe it is wrong to give money to them directly because we can pretty much be sure what they'll use it for. My wife thinks we should give anyway as it isn't up to us what they do, just that we are told to give. If the guy has a sign that says, "I need $20 for a rock of crack cocaine, please help. God Bless" should I feel compelled to provide the money for it? Taken a step further, if there were a guy with a sign that said "I am selling heroin, please help. God Bless", should buy it from him, if not personally, but by proxy? Isn't this the enabling behavior of a drug using teen's parents?

If you want to feel good about yourself for doing something directly, give them actual food (not gift cards they can sell or use for booze) if they'll take it. I've offered shoes as an obvious need, and was declined for unknown reasons. Don't offer cash and never engage them. Yes, they are human and should be treated with civility. But intentionally living like an outcast (schizophrenics and other mentally ill notwithstanding) should give you pause, just as your friend's Labrador is not the same as a stray dog wandering the streets of Tijuana.

My current policy is "Don't feed the pigeons."

88 posted on 12/01/2012 9:16:30 AM PST by Squeako (The radicals are the wolves. The moderates are the wolves in sheep's clothing.)
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To: LoveUSA

My son was at the parking lot of walmart. A man walked up to him and handed him a card. It said something to the effect of, “I’m deaf and lost my job. Anything will help. God bless you.”

My son handed the guy a dollar.

As the guy was walking away from him, my son said, “Oh, hey! You dropped your wallet.”

The guy turned around and said, “Where?”

My son grinned at him and said, “Gotcha! Now gimme back my dollar.”

The guy sheepishly grinned, said, “Fair enough,” and returned the dollar.


89 posted on 12/01/2012 9:30:21 AM PST by Marie ("The last time Democrats gloated this hard after a health care victory, they lost 60 House seats.")
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To: Susquehanna Patriot
how do you personally make that distinction? I ask with sincerity.

Always test the situation, never be manipulated if you can help it. We will be fooled but we will learn to test better. Worked with a guy out of prison once. He told me the story of scamming a local pastors to pay the motel for his housing for the night. Because the credit card was there for the room, he could charge food and booze to the card also, and did.

90% are scammers, look for the 10% Having written this, I have need to stop thinking they are all scammers and look for the 10% my self.

90 posted on 12/01/2012 9:39:26 AM PST by PeterPrinciple ( (Lord, save me from some conservatives, they don't understand history any better than liberals.))
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To: Susquehanna Patriot
how do you personally make that distinction? I ask with sincerity.

Always test the situation, never be manipulated if you can help it. We will be fooled but we will learn to test better. Worked with a guy out of prison once. He told me the story of scamming a local pastors to pay the motel for his housing for the night. Because the credit card was there for the room, he could charge food and booze to the card also, and did.

90% are scammers, look for the 10% Having written this, I have need to stop thinking they are all scammers and look for the 10% my self.

91 posted on 12/01/2012 9:39:36 AM PST by PeterPrinciple ( (Lord, save me from some conservatives, they don't understand history any better than liberals.))
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To: 4everontheRight

Yeah, didn’t mean to trash the Salvation Army. They serve a need in communities. They’re just highly visible and a lot of folks give to them. There’s other smaller groups who do different kinds of work who aren’t quite so visible and that is the point I was trying to make.


92 posted on 12/01/2012 9:45:17 AM PST by Calm_Cool_and_Elected (" Undecided Voter: someone who parades their stupidity as proof of their morality." ~David Burge)
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To: MD Expat in PA

Your story made my screen go all fuzzy! There are many scammers out there, and we should be wary of them, but it seems that too many people (myself included sometimes) forget that there are many who are truly in desperate situations and just need a little help and kindness. May God bless you for sharing with this lady and daughter!


93 posted on 12/01/2012 10:18:32 AM PST by Hegemony Cricket (The emperor < still > has no pedigree.)
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To: Marie Antoinette

Had the same thing happen to me. Guy and a gal and a gas can, needing money to get to Montana. Wife had me turn around and give them money. Month later, same couple, same sign, same gas can. Wife is no longer quite so generous. Another time, must have been quitting time for the panhandlers, followed a Caddy picking up the group.


94 posted on 12/01/2012 10:18:32 AM PST by gunner03
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To: Susquehanna Patriot

I came out of a Walmart and encountered a 20 something with his wife sitting on the trunk of their car. As I walked by he asked for some money to buy gas as he ran out, conveniently right there in the parking lot by the door of Walmart. I figured it was a scam, but he said he needed gas to get home about 30 miles away...so what the heck, I played along. I had a gas can in my trunk so I drove him to the other side of the parking lot to the gas pumps and put a gallon in his car, then went back to his car and put it in then drove back and I put 10 dollars of gas in his car. I had time on my hands and was feeling generous so what the heck. Then, just when I started having doubts about whether he would really go along with this senerio if he was scamming, he thanked me, then pulled a stack of about 10 gift cards out of his pocket tried to get me to buy the gift cards from him for 50% of their face value. I’m pretty sure those gift cards were worthless as they probably hadn’t been activated but just pilfered - the scammers will find ways !!


95 posted on 12/01/2012 10:22:29 AM PST by Froggie
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To: proudpapa

So...the “conservative Christian” interpretation of Jesus doesn’t help beggars? The Good Samaritan should have continued on his merry way because the injured fellow was probably just faking his injuries?

I guess we read different Bibles.


96 posted on 12/01/2012 10:28:51 AM PST by perez24 (Dirty deeds, done dirt cheap.)
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To: LoveUSA

The case of the NY police officer who saw a homeless man sitting on the sidewalk, shoeless, and bought him a pair of boots has gotten a lot of attention because a tourist happened to snap a photo of it. Apparently the man later sold the boots and was seen again on the sidewalk shoeless. The cop spent $75 of his own money to help him. I don’t know if they tried to find out what the homeless man spent the money on. My guess is booze.


97 posted on 12/01/2012 10:31:01 AM PST by Verginius Rufus
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To: LoveUSA
As my Dear Mother always said, you help people that can't help themselves, not people who won't help themselves.

Now that Obama has been elected Pharaoh, he is the go to guy for these folks. So it is written, so it shall be done.

98 posted on 12/01/2012 10:32:00 AM PST by Kickass Conservative (Looks like my Father was wrong, somebody else DOES owe you a living...)
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To: Marie

I went to The King of Burgers one time, with an ultra liberal co worker. Guy comes around to each table, puts a card on each “Please help me, I am deaf and mute, a dollar is all I ask”. Then he circled back, and collected the cards, and contributions. Naturally Lib gives a buck, and chastises me for being heartless. On the way out of the parking lot, I slowly pulled up behind the ‘deaf guy’ and blasted my horn. He nearly jumped out of his socks, and cussed at us. “Better heartless, than brainless”, I remarked. Lib turned bright red, and it was a silent five minute ride back to work.


99 posted on 12/01/2012 10:57:59 AM PST by jttpwalsh
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To: LoveUSA
I am a very untrusting person, and avoid panhandlers with scorn.

I do however try to help the truly needy, who especially appear to be too proud to ask for help. I have had good success by being at a checkout and a poor family scrambling to find money to pay to the point of taking necessities out of the checkout. What I will do is take a $20 bill and drop it on the floor. I will then say.... "Maam, I think you dropped that money on the floor."

I will also give a walmart nightmare anecdotal scenario that happened a few years ago though. - When I dropped the $20, the lady picked it up looked at it, and the cashier violently grabbed it out of her hand, and said that came out of my register. When they lady left, I told that cashier that I dropped that bill to help the poor family, and I would like it back. She then in turn called me a liar, and finally I was thrown out by a Walmart manager for the yelling that ensued.

100 posted on 12/01/2012 11:15:25 AM PST by catfish1957 (My dream for hope and change is to see the punk POTUS in prison for treason)
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