[RegulatorCountry]

The scammers are very direct and waste no time launching into the tale of woe du jour. Heavy eye contact, too. A “newbie” genuinely down on his luck is embarrassed and lacks such aggressive confidence. They’re grateful for an offer of a hot meal, whereas the scammer will stalk off or even curse you. That’s what I noticed in over a decade of encountering them on a daily basis.

[Riley]

Best one I ever had was probably thirty years ago. I was standing on the platform in Oakland for some reason, waiting for a BART train. Some guy shambles up to me and starts speaking to me- but he has such a thick, mumbled black-English patois that I honestly couldn't understand a single word he was saying. I don't know if he was begging or threatening (no weapon displayed, but hostile manner) or giving me the secret to faster-than-light space travel.

I listened to his speil, paused for a moment, looked perplexed, and said, "I'm really sorry, but I didn't understand a f***ing word that you just said".

He left in a fury.