Many years ago a news crew from a local Florida TV station followed a "homeless" man to his house. When they asked him why he pretended to be homeless, he said "Cause I make $100 a day". That was 20 years ago!
Just a few weeks ago our priest told us,"how you react to a panhandler tells you all you need to know about yourself". We donate to 5 charities every month via automatic withdrawals, but rarely give panhandlers a dime - and I don't lose sleep over it, Father.
Yes, the old grifter’s con is: MAKE THE MARK FEEL GUILTY FOR NOT HRLPING YOU. Pretty effective, as it works the world over.