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

[elusis.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I had a woman tear into me once because when she started telling me about how she and her kids had been driving all night, running away from her violent husband, I pulled out the business card of a local minister and offered to phone him so he could connect her with services and support, rather than handing her the money I'd just taken out of the ATM.

I felt worst for the kids, watching their mother lie to people and then refuse actual help.