S/O Beggars, Moochers and Scammers

[Kaora]

I've noticed a stark increase in panhandlers lately, but I don't know why.  The BRAC actually increased jobs available on our Base, so shouldn't there be less sob stories?

Particularly, we have, my BF and I, gotten petitioned five times over the past year by the same guy, who is always looking for a burger or a dollar for gas, etc.  Each time we've turned him down and he's still there when we've gone out.  I also know, from checking police logs, he gets around town.  I saw him around Christmas, three days in a row, in the logs.  Once at both Wal of Mart and Albert's Sons, which are next to each other here, and the other two?  Still at McDonalds.

We also have a guy who sits on the turn out from one of the strip malls, who has been constantly holding a Will Work Money sign.  I feel bad for him, he's never been actively panhandling of any of us, but he's at such a spot I'm afraid someone won't see him and he'll get hit.

[sunnygirl]

So what would you think of someone who was scamming in a "victimless" way?

I say this because I was reading the story of "Valerie" on the ehelldame's blog.  It touched a nerve for me because I know someone who has an obsession scamming people on the internet.  She doesn't accept donations, she keeps her stories sane and is pretty much never caught. 

Not trying to play Internet Doctor or anything, but I did a research project a couple of years ago on Munchhausen by Internet disorder - it's very interesting. Lots of people online do this kind of thing, and there are several websites devoted to exposing 'pseucides.' Not that everyone who fakes stuff online has MbI, but it is an interesting phenomenon.

[Amara]

I've noticed a stark increase in panhandlers lately, but I don't know why.

If your place is anything like my town it's because their panhandling is successful. I will never forget one story in a local newspaper several years ago when a young woman was interviewed. She told the story of getting a $20 bill one day from someone at the freeway off-ramp where she sat every day seeking handouts by using a sign and a story that she was saving up to get off the streets and get an apartment. But she never did. She just continued to beg until forced to move on.

And now our downtown streets are filled with them sitting around, lying around and begging. Many of the locals won't even go downtown any more. I feel for the tourists who must think our town consists only of chain stores and beggars.

[Julian]

I've noticed a stark increase in panhandlers lately, but I don't know why.

If your place is anything like my town it's because their panhandling is successful. I will never forget one story in a local newspaper several years ago when a young woman was interviewed. She told the story of getting a $20 bill one day from someone at the freeway off-ramp where she sat every day seeking handouts by using a sign and a story that she was saving up to get off the streets and get an apartment. But she never did. She just continued to beg until forced to move on.

And now our downtown streets are filled with them sitting around, lying around and begging. Many of the locals won't even go downtown any more. I feel for the tourists who must think our town consists only of chain stores and beggars.

A reporter at one of the major Australian networks did a story on panhandlers etc a couple of years back.  He basically went out on the street begging.  He managed to get several hundred dollars a day.    

[nutraxfornerves]

I just got an email from a nice Russian lady who needs some help with a trunk full of $10,000,000 worth of US bank notes. I can have 45% once the money is safe.

The Subject line (which is the original, not added by a spam filter) was "[Spam-Mail]Please are you interested?"

[gramma dishes]

...   The Subject line (which is the original, not added by a spam filter) was "[Spam-Mail]Please are you interested?"

 

[Kaora]

I've noticed a stark increase in panhandlers lately, but I don't know why.

If your place is anything like my town it's because their panhandling is successful. I will never forget one story in a local newspaper several years ago when a young woman was interviewed. She told the story of getting a $20 bill one day from someone at the freeway off-ramp where she sat every day seeking handouts by using a sign and a story that she was saving up to get off the streets and get an apartment. But she never did. She just continued to beg until forced to move on.

And now our downtown streets are filled with them sitting around, lying around and begging. Many of the locals won't even go downtown any more. I feel for the tourists who must think our town consists only of chain stores and beggars.

A reporter at one of the major Australian networks did a story on panhandlers etc a couple of years back.  He basically went out on the street begging.  He managed to get several hundred dollars a day.   

 

BF told me seat of the county has been sending down more welfare people to this town recently.  I don't mean that condescendingly, there are those who need it.  But I've also met the 90 percent or so, spoken in hyperbole, who seem to be on it just to abuse it.

[shadowfox79]

I just got an email from a nice Russian lady who needs some help with a trunk full of $10,000,000 worth of US bank notes. I can have 45% once the money is safe.

The Subject line (which is the original, not added by a spam filter) was "[Spam-Mail]Please are you interested?"

Sounds like an Indian student of mine who was caught cheating on an essay - he had copied and pasted from a website.

His apology email included the line "I am very sorry and will never do [such-and-such thing] again."

I'd love to know where he copypasted that from.

[MommyPenguin]

There was a panhandler profiled in College Park, MD, who made a living off it.  He actually had an apartment and everything, entirely paid for by the proceeds of his begging.  It was in the campus newspaper.  I always wondered if the newspaper article destroyed his "career."

[ica171]

It seems to me that if you're making a nice living off of begging and don't intend to stop, you should probably avoid newspaper articles and profiles of yourself.

[Iris]

l also can't help feeling that those who really need to beg - the mentally ill who are untreated, the substance abusers sleeping in the gutter without access to hygeine facilities, those that have fallen through society's cracks - are much, much less likely to make hundreds of dollars a day than a young man with the skills and charisma to get and keep a job in the media. I once read an article by a different reporter who dressed as various types of people (rich, pregnant,'ordinary', homeless etc) People were much happier to hand over their cash to someone they related to and who looked like they didn't really need it THAT badly.

Back on topic, I've just come back from a short trip to Melbourne. I found it refreshing that so many  of the beggars there now simply say "Can I have some money please?" without throwing in the insultingly lame story.

[Mad Goat Woman]

In Canberra city (aka Civic), there's a few regular people who are always asking for bus money. It's become so annoying, because they always target me thinking I'll give them some money. I've since tried to avoid civic's panhandlers, which is a lot easier than it once was. But it gets really annoying to be asked for money nearly every time I leave the bus interchange. There was one Indigenous woman who used to ask me every.dingdangity.day when I was working in a pharmacy in civic for money, and I used to tell her she'd asked me before, and that my answer wouldn't change.

Canberra has a lot of beggars, which is ridiculous considering it's the nation's capital.

[Giggity]

Canberra has a lot of beggars, which is ridiculous considering it's the nation's capital.

I'm not sure I understand why being the capital would make a difference.

[geekette]

Canberra has a lot of beggars, which is ridiculous considering it's the nation's capital.

I'm not sure I understand why being the capital would make a difference.

Actually, it makes even more sense for them to be here. Canberra's entire economy is based around the public service. If we didn't have the majority of government workers, there would barely be a town here. That also means we have more high level and managerial staff, and as we're the nation's capital we are expected to set the best example to the rest of the country to what goverment workers are like.
Which means that a good 90% or so (accounting for hyperbole) are going to have to follow the government's code of conduct, even after hours. We have to play nice with the beggers, and even when they get aggressive with us for ignoring them we can't really get aggressive back. So Canberra would be a very 'safe' place to beg.

[WolfWay]

So what would you think of someone who was scamming in a "victimless" way?

After a couple of years of trying to follow her, I quit because it's not like anyone would have listened to me about this and it was just making me bitter.  But from some comments on Facebook, it occurred to me that she is friends with some breast cancer survivors who seem to think she had it too.  WHAT?

She's not doing anything to them, right?  I'm not sure what it would do to call her out.  Calling her out IRL didn't change a thing.  But there is this little thing in the back of my head that worries that she MIGHT take it too far and start hurting vulnerable people.  Also, her income is not steady and she gets into fights with her employers so what if she decides to go pro?

I guess I shouldn't worry about it since I can't do a thing but part of me feels guilty that I'm just sitting back and letting it happen.

Here's the other side of the story, from a cancer survivor who got caught up in the web of lies with someone who fakes illness on her blog for months on end. It's is not victimless, it hurts the people they fool.

www.thestranger.com/seattle/the-lying-disease/Content?oid=15337239