Crafty scammers....

[Roscoe]

I'm staying in San Antonio the past few days for a conference. The hotel that I'm staying at is 3 blocks from the conference, so I've done a bit of walking back and forth, and The Alamo is between the two venues.

I'm wearing a suit (it's hot as a mf'er...) so at 5p I was walking back to my hotel to change clothes. On the way, this timid looking frail 70+ year old halfheartedly stopped me and gave me a sob story about how he lost his wallet on a bus and he doesn't know what to do and lives in OKC.

He "kinda" asked me for money because he doesn't want to stay on the streets, said I could have anything in his laptop bag if I helped him, said something about "this is all I have, well that and the Lord..." to wit I responded with, "I'm not religious and I don't want your stuff so hang on to the both of them."

I asked him if there was anyone he could call, a bank he could go to, etc. He said no, he just needs to figure out how to get home and wants something to eat. He was pretty clean cut and dressed in a typical 70 yr old tourists outfit so I actually kinda believed him. I think asked him what it is exactly he's looking to accomplish, as he didn't specifically ask me for anything yet.

He said he just wants something to eat and figure out how to get home. I told him I don't want anything from him, but hang tight because my hotel room is across the street and I'll be back to help him figure it out. He was obscenely appreciative, so I go change clothes and head back down with a bottle of water....

I then spent the next 30min looking for the dude which is nowhere to be found. I was going to take him to get something to eat and buy him a bus ticket. I'd like to err on the side of I was doing the right thing, but if help was completely offered to someone in need, they wouldn't move a foot.

Scammer or no? I'm starting to think so....

[exlude]

How long were you gone? Even if I were well intentioned, I'd get antsy that you blew me off at about 15-20 mins.

[Roscoe]

How long were you gone? Even if I were well intentioned, I'd get antsy that you blew me off at about 15-20 mins.

I told him "give me 15 minutes" and was back down in about the same... Hell, I even contemplated getting him a room until the next day for a bus but that thought quickly flew out the window since I'd be liable if anything happened.

[Sean88gt]

Ross is going to be in "Lemon Party II, the next lucky generation"

[dsrtuckteezy]

Neat story

[Chili]

Scam in my opinion.

Did he say why he was in SA in the first place, and / or why at 70ish he doesn't have any friends or family he can contact? Those are the two biggest red flags in my mind.

I will say that I'm generally a pretty compassionate guy to strangers, and try to give them the benefit of the doubt.. I have bought or given food to strangers clearly "down on their luck". Given rides, let stranded motorists use my cell phone (back when they were still pay by the minute), etc. But am always very skeptical when randomly approached on the street.

[03mustangdude]

I get approached so many times a day its ridiculous now I always just say no but some want to keep going and going with made up sob stories. If they dont leave me alone i'll just start asking them for money.

[SMKR]

I'm staying in San Antonio the past few days for a conference. The hotel that I'm staying at is 3 blocks from the conference, so I've done a bit of walking back and forth, and The Alamo is between the two venues.

I'm wearing a suit (it's hot as a mf'er...) so at 5p I was walking back to my hotel to change clothes. On the way, this timid looking frail 70+ year old halfheartedly stopped me and gave me a sob story about how he lost his wallet on a bus and he doesn't know what to do and lives in OKC.

He "kinda" asked me for money because he doesn't want to stay on the streets, said I could have anything in his laptop bag if I helped him, said something about "this is all I have, well that and the Lord..." to wit I responded with, "I'm not religious and I don't want your stuff so hang on to the both of them."

I asked him if there was anyone he could call, a bank he could go to, etc. He said no, he just needs to figure out how to get home and wants something to eat. He was pretty clean cut and dressed in a typical 70 yr old tourists outfit so I actually kinda believed him. I think asked him what it is exactly he's looking to accomplish, as he didn't specifically ask me for anything yet.

He said he just wants something to eat and figure out how to get home. I told him I don't want anything from him, but hang tight because my hotel room is across the street and I'll be back to help him figure it out. He was obscenely appreciative, so I go change clothes and head back down with a bottle of water....

I then spent the next 30min looking for the dude which is nowhere to be found. I was going to take him to get something to eat and buy him a bus ticket. I'd like to err on the side of I was doing the right thing, but if help was completely offered to someone in need, they wouldn't move a foot.

Scammer or no? I'm starting to think so....

What part of San Antonio? I was there for a conference last week and swear the guy that approached me had a similar story

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

[Craizie]

I don't know about some of these guys. One hit me up outside a gas station/JITB with a real sad story. He needed to go to Austin blah blah blah. I was expecting him to ask me for money or gas.. he doesn't... and then he says " please I'm hungry... please". That kinda got to me so I walked him into JITB and told him he could have anything he wanted. He ordered a jumbo jack with no cheese. No meal or nothin'. Almost made me want to help him out.

[Roscoe]

Yeah, looking back on it, he was good... Of course I asked about 20 questions about people he could call, someone could wire him $, etc. He's clearly got his game polished.

Just cause they are old and well dressed/spoken doesn't make them honest....

SMKR - happened directly in front/across street from Alamo. Which conference? I was here last week as well for AFPM.

[zora04]

San Antonio is filled with beggars. We went to a big wedding down on the river walk. We were there for a week. When the bars kicked us out, ~2am, we would walk down the river to the hotel. Beggars were popping out of the fucking bushes. It was one of the weirdest things I've seen. Fuck that place.

[jayjohnson600]

Panhandlers can easily make $30,000 per year, tax free. That's like middle class take-home money.

I figured this out when I saw one at a stop light, he got into an argument with the car ahead of me. Then the panhandler pulled out a 2-inch roll of cash from his pocket and yelled "I don't need your money"

I did some calculation and it's not difficult for a panhandler to make $30,000 per year working a stop light.
2 bucks per light
12 lights per hour
5 hours per day
5 days per week
50 weeks per year
==============
$30,000 per year, all off-book cash

[Baron Von Crowder]

I dont give people asking for money anything as a general rule.

Ive handed out a dollar or two here and there because they seemed to really need it. I was getting gas one day, and an older family was at the pump next to me. I saw the woman run her card a couple of times, and then get back in the car and out to try another card. They were in a reasonably new car, all dressed like they just left church, but all in black. I looked over to see the driver trying to hide her tears from the rest of the family inside the car, and asked if everything was Ok. She told me that her father passed away earlier in the week, and her family was inside but her card wouldnt work. I bought her a tank of gas to help her save face.

[snacksnack]

I hate the fact that I'm in a busy area and I get targeted for these things all the time. If and when I have the time I will wait around in the background and watch the person to see if and how many people they go up to for a comparison.

[Rick Modena]

Can I holt a dolla???