[Alouette]

This is an old begging scam, going on as long as there have been beggars and suckers. There's even a Sherlock Holmes story about a successful Victorian businessman who begged for a living, "The Case of the Twisted Face" I think it's called.

[Grig]

I actually remember an old Archie's Digest that had Archie and Jughead tailing a 'homeless' person, finding he was wealthy, then openly following him around with a camera forcing him to live a homeless life untill he left town to get away from them. No way they would re-print that one today.

[dighton]

The Man with the Twisted Lip