From: why_style	Date: November 23rd, 2005 04:44 pm (UTC)		(Link)

i love how con artists get offended when their con doesn't fool you. like their con is predicated on you being a compassionate person so that when they can't scam you, you must be an asshole. i had a similar experience a couple of years ago, but i ended up giving the lady 20 bucks because her story was so ridiculous i couldn't stop myself from laughing. on my way to the metro a woman reeking of alcohol approached me and said in a very slurred dialect that i looked like a good christian boy...

her story was that she'd come to DC from baltimore with her church group to work in a soup kitchen or shelter or something (it kept changing), and she'd had a diabetic seizure and had to go to the hospital. then she told me that while she was in the hospital her pastor took the church group back to baltimore and now that group apparently had her children in it as well so they were at home alone. so after being discharged from the hospital and returning to the shelter to find her group had left gone, she went to the park police who told her that she could take the metro out to some station in maryland and tehn take a cab from their, but the cab would cost $80. not having the $80, the park police apparently advised her to come down to the national mall "where there are a lot of people" and panhandle to get the cash to get back home. seeing me, apparently the paramount image of a christian, she just knew she could count on me.

it was really quite the creative tale. the amount of detail and the way it just kept getting more and more over the top the longer i held out (i made her go on for about 15 minutes) was priceless. i'm supposed to believe that 1) her slurred speech and odd aroma are the product of a very recent diabetic seizure, 2) her church group would just leave her behind in a foreign city, 3) they'd drop her kids off at a house they obviously must know is empty, 4) the hospital would let her go just a couple of hours after having a diabetic seizure, 5) the only way to get to baltimore is a taxi, 6) the park police would advise her to panhandle, and 7) that i, a very opinionated atheist, am a good little christian. to me, that was worth at least a 10 spot, but only having a 20 i let her have it. she tried to push for heading to and ATM that she just happened to know was nearby for the full $80, but i wouldn't go in for that. the best part was that once she ahd the cash she gave me a hug, then hailed a cab and i heard her ask the driver to take her to the nearest liquor store.

	From: sun_seed	Date: November 23rd, 2005 04:59 pm (UTC)		(Link)

yes. i've heard of folks talking about this for a while now. old scam. some people make it more elaborate actually and seem pretty convincing so one has to look for clues to actually determine if they're legit. i'd rather not take my chances.

~e.

	From: ayelle	Date: November 23rd, 2005 05:03 pm (UTC)		(Link)

God, I hate interactions like that! I just feel awful no matter how it pans out (no pun intended). I hate being scammed, but I just can't take it when strangers curse at me or guilt-trip me. Ugh, bleah, YECH!

	From: alex_victory	Date: November 23rd, 2005 05:10 pm (UTC)		(Link)

My dad got hit up by a scam artist at a McDonalds off I95 in Connecticut a few years ago. He gave the kid the benefit of the doubt and gave him some money. Then a month or two later he got hit up by the same kid, same McDonalds, same scam.

For years he would always stop at this same McDonalds on the way to or from RI. The kid was there quite often. At one point the kid had added a girl and a baby to his routine.

	From: watchamacallit	Date: November 23rd, 2005 09:15 pm (UTC)		(Link)

I fell for this once. Only it was a man who needed to get to his drug treatment facility in Springfield and had no money for the bus. I gave him a couple of bucks and promised myself I would never do it again.

	From: riverbank	Date: November 23rd, 2005 11:37 pm (UTC)		(Link)

i had a teenage boy walk up to me while i sat in my car doing email. he had a clipbook of baseball photos and gave me lines about his youth group needing money to go to some game. i gave him two dollars. i think i was suckered tho cause his grin was full of gold teeth.

	From: canonfire	Date: November 23rd, 2005 11:45 pm (UTC)		(Link)

Driving back from church a few years ago, I was approached by a man who needed help. Anyway, it turns out that he had to pay for a drug payment to get back his car. I lost $20 for my kindness.

That's the last time I go to church, I'll tell you that!