Advice to amateurs.

[rivka]

"I am stranded in your city for a variety of hard-luck reasons, and need gas/busfare to get home" is a common scam, and for good reason. If you tell a good story and ask for a small, plausible amount of money, people are likely to believe you.

However, for this scam to work it is important to pay attention to the details.

Yes, it is indeed frustrating when the person you stop to ask for money tries to direct you to a place where you can receive aid and services instead of giving you cash. However, in rejecting these referrals, remember that you are claiming to be from out of town. You should probably not display an encyclopedic knowledge of Baltimore social service agencies.

Also, if you're going to use HIV as the centerpiece of your hard-luck story? Try not to stop someone who works in an HIV clinic. She will have unfortunate questions for you.

(NB: I do give money to people on the street from time to time. But not if I feel like they're trying to scam me.)

Comments

[tavella.livejournal.com]

Sometimes it's true, though; a couple of nights ago I had someone come up and ask me for a couple of dollars for a quart of oil, so they could get home. While it seemed like a potential setup for a scam (set up at the gas station, open the hood, ask for money), it didn't vibe like it from the guy, so I went "2 dollars for me, not really a big loss if they actually want it for smokes, for them, significant if they avoid being stuck at this gas station at night" and gave him the money.

I went back to pumping, still slightly cynical, but lo and behold one of them disappeared into the little gas station shop and emerged with a quart of oil. I don't know if they managed to get the car going or not (it was turning over but failing to start as I left), but I was glad I went with my instincts about the guy rather than my learned cynicism about such pleas.

[rivka.livejournal.com]

I would be significantly more likely to believe someone who was asking for money for oil, just because of the likelihood that the person they were asking might open up their trunk and hand them a bottle of oil instead of the cash.

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

People respond much more to a specific request than a general request. People who solicit for charities are trained to ask for specific amounts of money for specific projects; they get better responses that way.

B