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Old 08-09-2009, 09:04 PM
 
Location: SoCal
6,421 posts, read 11,643,873 times
Reputation: 7108

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I figure that if you don't get scammed like this at least once every ten years or so, then you're probably being unnecessarily uptight and paranoid about life, and you're probably over-stressing yourself.
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Old 08-09-2009, 11:42 PM
 
161 posts, read 243,055 times
Reputation: 283
Definitely a scam- I could have written the same post, with the guy being the same description except he asked if I could spare a "buck or two" so he could get some gas to get back to Long Beach. The first time he approached me was last summer when the price of gas was insane ($4/gallon) so his argument seemed a little more credible- I was buckling up my toddler into her carseat in the parking lot in front of her baby gym class in a fairly populated shopping center. The closest gas station was on the opposite corner of the intersection of the shopping center of where we were located. I'm originally from Dallas and I just played dumb when he asked me if I knew where "Long Beach" was- I told him that I had no money and that I really had to go. I wanted to get out of there quickly, because I honestly feared for the safety of my daughter more than anything. After that, I brought up that incident with the owners of the gym and made more of an effort to be aware of my surroundings and to really be quick at getting my daughter safely in the car (honestly, most of you parents know that is easier said than done)

Well, this same guy approached me yet again after the holidays. I saw him out of the corner of my eye walking up to us at the car and I buckled my daughter into the car super fast (her car seat is behind the passenger side) and literally raced around to get into the car to start the engine. He started waving and flagging me down to get my attention- I could have totally driven off at that point, but I rolled down my window to see what he wanted- he repeated the SAME song and dance about how he and his wife had no gas in their car to get back to Long Beach I bluntly asked him, "didn't you ask me this last time??" and drove off.

Since then, my daughter's enrolled at another program- I bet if I actually returned to that same shopping center, that guy is still using the same line.
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Old 08-09-2009, 11:46 PM
 
1,450 posts, read 4,264,203 times
Reputation: 981
Quote:
Originally Posted by njmike View Post
There's no set "look" to a person pulling a scam. The can look, anywhere, from a derelict to a well dress family person. Suggest they go to the police, Salvation Army, or another social service or just say no.

Well, perhaps, but how could he go to the police or Salvation Army without gas or transportation? Also, the police wouldn't give him any help, they'd sooner arrest him for vagrancy. I'm not saying he wasn't a scam artist, but I probably might have offered to put gas in his tank on my cc, but then he would see I had a cc, perhaps that was the scam, to see what you had.
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Old 08-10-2009, 08:41 AM
 
9,527 posts, read 30,581,620 times
Reputation: 6440
it's not a "scam" if someone asks you for money and you give it to them.
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Old 08-10-2009, 06:39 PM
 
Location: Hookerville, formerly in Tweakerville
15,144 posts, read 32,489,840 times
Reputation: 9740
I went to go to the Walmart in Murphy Canyon today, and as I turned into the driveway, there were two women, each holding a sign that said, "Please help, out of gas." They were on either side of the driveway. I didn't know if they were scamming or not, but I didn't give them any money, and it didn't look like anyone else was either.
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Old 08-10-2009, 07:43 PM
 
Location: San Diego
5,319 posts, read 9,013,607 times
Reputation: 3396
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sassberto View Post
it's not a "scam" if someone asks you for money and you give it to them.
Yes ... it is a scam ... if they intentionally lie to you about their reason for needing your money.

That's exactly what a scam is.

They fool you into giving them your money under false pretenses.

They create a bogus hard-luck story, which makes you feel sorry for them.

And then after they fool you, they go to somebody else, and repeat exactly the same story, over and over again.

People just need to be aware that scammers like this exist all over San Diego.

They tend to wander in shopping center parking lots, so when they stop you at your car, you aren't in a rush, and they have more time to tell you their "hard-luck" story.
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Old 08-10-2009, 07:53 PM
 
9,527 posts, read 30,581,620 times
Reputation: 6440
Quote:
Originally Posted by RD5050 View Post
Yes ... it is a scam ... if they intentionally lie to you about their reason for needing your money.
Who says he didn't need the money for gas? He probably does, because he spent the rest of his money on tweak. Or booze. Or McDonalds.

*Any* complete stranger walks up to me with a hard luck story they're not getting squat, scam or no scam. You run out of gas and you don't have a dime to your name, better call mommy, 'cause you can't afford to own a car in the first place!

I love the replies about "checking ID" or "verifying the story".... do you guys come from Mayberry?
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Old 08-10-2009, 08:30 PM
 
Location: Declezville, CA
16,805 posts, read 40,098,227 times
Reputation: 17696
Quote:
Originally Posted by sdurbanite View Post
I was in LA two weekends ago and while I was pumping my gas, a late model SUV pulls up to the pump and a woman comes out and begins asking everyone at the station for gas money!
Something similar happened to me in the parking lot of Stater Bros as I was loading the groceries into the trunk of my 1997 high mileage beater with the paint falling off.
A woman in a shiny late model SUV, kid in the back seat, drives up, rolls down her window and asks me for gas money and gives me a song and dance about having had a fight with her boyfriend.

As usual, I didn't think until later to bring up the incongruity of her driving around asking for gas money...

For the record, she didn't get a cent from me.
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Old 08-10-2009, 08:50 PM
 
Location: San Diego
5,319 posts, read 9,013,607 times
Reputation: 3396
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sassberto View Post
Who says he didn't need the money for gas? He probably does, because he spent the rest of his money on tweak. Or booze. Or McDonalds.

*Any* complete stranger walks up to me with a hard luck story they're not getting squat, scam or no scam. You run out of gas and you don't have a dime to your name, better call mommy, 'cause you can't afford to own a car in the first place!

I love the replies about "checking ID" or "verifying the story".... do you guys come from Mayberry?
These scammers who approach you in shopping center parking lots often look perfectly normal, like they could own a home right next to yours.

They don't look anything like the homeless "tweakers" and "bums" that stand in intersections holding signs, and wear tattered clothing.

The scammers have a clean appearance, wear nice clothes, and they don't look at all as if they actually need money.

This nice appearance is what helps their scam.

It makes you think their "hard-luck" story is legit, and you feel like you are just helping out someone who is essentially just like you (hard-working, homeowner, etc), but just experiencing an unfortunate situation, far away from their home.
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Old 08-10-2009, 08:54 PM
 
9,527 posts, read 30,581,620 times
Reputation: 6440
Quote:
Originally Posted by RD5050 View Post
It makes you think their "hard-luck" story is legit, and you feel like you are just helping out someone who is essentially just like you (hard-working, homeowner, etc), but just experiencing an unfortunate situation, far away from their home.
I would never believe it. Never. No hard-working homeowner goes driving around without a dime in their pocket, no credit card, no debit card, no cell phone to call someone, not even enough change in the glovebox to get enough gas to get to a pay phone? People must really be suckers to fall for that stuff.

And there are any doper, junkie, crackhead or loser can catch a shave and throw on clean clothes and look like a citizen. What kind of con artist spends all day mooching fivers off of people at gas stations?
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