Scammers

After I finished shopping at a local box-store today, I noticed two people talking in the parking lot. I immediately suspected the first person was hitting the second up for money. This was confirmed a few minutes later, when the first person opened his wallet to give something to the second person. Another sucker is born.

Of course, he didn't need money for beer or drugs. The money was going to go towards feeding his hungry child. Or, perhaps the man found himself in a truly unique predicament, such as one of the following.

"I need two dollars for the parking meter. All I have is Canadian money, could I have an American dollar? Oh, my money is back in my car. I'm parked a few blocks from here. Just walk with me, and we can go get it together."

"I need money for gas. My wife and baby are stuck in my van about a mile from here. You couldn't give me a ride, could you?"

These stories are no more real than pleas for your help importing money from Nigeria. On a side note, those are some of the toughest messages to get spam software to reliably detect and remove.

As I predicted, the man knocked on my car's window just as I was about to take off. I waved him away without even looking at him. He knocked again, and I waved for him to leave again. Maybe his case was legitimate, I doubt it.

On the flip side, many years ago I was actually stuck without gas, and asked a stranger if they by chance had any spare fuel. In contrast, I didn't want, and wouldn't take money.

The lesson is, that people who have legitimately found themselves in a unique situation needing help, are in effect victim to the scammers who vastly outnumber them. The solution is cover your own behind.

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