Advice to amateurs.
Jul. 17th, 2009 10:01 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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.)
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.)
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no subject
Date: 2009-07-17 10:32 pm (UTC)My son once ran and gave his entire twenty dollars from his eighth grade graduation present to a homeless man in front of a Walgreen's who asked me for a dollar so he could get something to eat. It was a beautiful, generous, caring gesture, in the sort of way we are trying to teach, that I didn't have the heart to discuss with him the fact that it was often better to direct people to social services. As it was, the man nearly started crying, ran next door and got a sandwich and drink from the sub shop.
I've given people money at gas stations -- every time they ended up actually buying gas, so I feel pretty good about it.