Scam or not a Scam?

[YankeeFan]

So, I get off Lake Shore Drive a little while ago. There's a car pulled over at the end of the exit ramp and a woman is out of the car looking like she's might need some help. There's a little boy in the back seat sticking his head out of the window.

The light turns red and I'm right there next to her. She looks to me and I roll down the window to see if there's anything I can do -- maybe give a jump or help her with a flat. That's about all I would be able to do.

So, she says, "can you help me out a little." I ask her what's wrong and she tells me that they had gotten lost and had run out of gas. I suggest that maybe I can drive her to a gas station. She says something like, "can you help me out with a little bit."

At first I think she's asking me to give her gas, but then I realize that she's asking for money. So I ask her, "are you asking me for money?"

She says yes and repeats that she's run out of gas. I again offer to drive her to a gas station. She then wanders off to the car behind me.

When the light turned green, I pull away and notice that a gentleman is sitting in the driver's seat?

I'm pretty much thinking it was a scam. She seemed much more interested in getting money, not gas.

Also, the exit I was getting off at is the one you would take to get to the Lincoln Park neighborhood, one of the City's richest and a good place to try to run a scam.

So, what do you think? Did I avoid a scam or did I leave a stranded motorist without any help?

 

[Buck]

Sounds like something out of 'Bonfire of the Vanities.'

 

[NoOneLikesUs]

Scam. Happened to me before.

 

[YankeeFan]

That seems like an awful lot of work to scam someone out of what likely would be just a few bucks.

There are cars constantly getting off at that exit. A couple of bucks at a time can add up pretty quickly.

 

[txsportsscribe]

That seems like an awful lot of work to scam someone out of what likely would be just a few bucks.

depends on how many suckers fall for it. these folks will work a full shift.

 

[Boom_70]

Clearly a scam.

 

[mustangj17]

That is an old scam. Twice I've heard that line and twice I've turned the person down. The last time the guy was like "My green van broke down around the corner."

I told him I was out of money. He walked away, I drove around the block, no green van around the corner.

 

[Boom_70]

Was she wearing a burka?

What kind of car - Mercedes?

 

[Dyno]

Total scam. My friend fell for it about a month ago in DC. The woman was very convincing and my friend is too embarrassed to admit how much she got scammed for.

 

[Huggy]

A friend of mine was waiting out Princess Margaret Hospital got dinged for $40 by a guy using the same scam. A few weeks later he saw the guy giving the same pitch in a Tim Hortons parking lot in his hometown and a while later we were in a service centre on the 401 leaving a McDonald's when he saw the guy again.

The last two times he raised holy hell, screaming at the guy that he was a phony ******* and people should stay clear of him. Guy sure got around, hit enough people up for $40 at a crack and that **** adds up.

 

[CYowSMR]

Total scam. My friend fell for it about a month ago in DC. The woman was very convincing and my friend is too embarrassed to admit how much she got scammed for.

Would you have given them any money, Dyno?

 

[txsportsscribe]

i can't believe anyone fell for this. if they did, they deserved to lose their money.

 

[YankeeFan]

A friend of mine was waiting out Princess Margaret Hospital got dinged for $40 by a guy using the same scam. A few weeks later he saw the guy giving the same pitch in a Tim Hortons parking lot in his hometown and a while later we were in a service centre on the 401 leaving a McDonald's when he saw the guy again.

The last two times he raised holy hell, screaming at the guy that he was a phony ******* and people should stay clear of him. Guy sure got around, hit enough people up for $40 at a crack and that **** adds up.

I used to take the commuter trains out of New York City.

Every so often, someone who get on the train as it was idling at Grand Central before starting its run. They'd say they'd gotten robbed or had their wallet stolen an ask for money.

But, when you took the train enough, you'd come to recognize the folks asking for the money.

The gas scam is a pretty good one. Gas at the nearest station to where she was "broken down" is about $3.50 a gallon. So, if someone really wants to help out, they're going to give more than they would to someone just asking for a buck.

To me, it just seemed unlikely that you would both run out of gas and not have any cash or credit/debit cards on you.

 

[Baron Scicluna]

i can't believe anyone fell for this. if they did, they deserved to lose their money.

Another vote for scam, although I can't blame people if they wanted to just give money instead of having a strange woman in their car.

I told this one other time on here, but I'll say it again. Once, while walking out into the paper's parking lot at 2 a.m., had a guy rush up to me and tell me a sob story about how he was visiting his brother at the local drug rehab center and lost his wallet and how he had no money for the public transportation back home.

Guy looked seedy, and I just wanted to get rid of him, so I figured I'd give him a couple of bucks and that would be it. Only problem though, all I had was a $20, so I gave it to him and was rid of him. Few weeks later, the paper had a brief story about how it was all a scam.

Sure, I was out 20 bucks. But at least I knew I got home safe that night.

 

[YankeeFan]

I also recently got a facebook "chat" request from a friend recently asking for money.

Said he was in London -- or Paris or something -- and that he had lost his credit card and that the hotel was demanding money from him. Asked if I would wire him money.

Again, seemed pretty unlikely. The friend was my older brother's college roommate, so I told him that if he could tell me how we knew each other that I would wire him the money.

He couldn't. I called my brother and told him to call his friend ASAP because his facebook account had been hacked.

 

[Boom_70]

That seems like an awful lot of work to scam someone out of what likely would be just a few bucks.

There are cars constantly getting off at that exit. A couple of bucks at a time can add up pretty quickly.

Maybe I'm just too lazy or impatient to drag the husband and kid out to the nearest on-ramp to sit and scam for a few hours. It never ceases to amaze me the lengths some people will go to in order to separate you from your money.

Hey I bet you can pull more money in a few hours than doing 10 - 12 at Walmart - and it's tax free.

When I am approached I always ask for address and SS# so I can send them a 1099. Helps separate the scammers form those genuinely in need.

 

[YankeeFan]

My first car was a piece of ****. The odometer didn't work when I bought it and eventually the gas gage stopped working as well.

I would fill up at the beginning of the week and the beginning of the weekend.

I ran out of gas twice. The one time I was driving home from my parents after Thanksgiving dinner. A pretty young woman picked me up, drove me to a gas station and then back to my car.

I was very surprised & extremely thankful.

 

[Dyno]

Total scam. My friend fell for it about a month ago in DC. The woman was very convincing and my friend is too embarrassed to admit how much she got scammed for.

Would you have given them any money, Dyno?

No, I'm a big skeptic. Anyone on the street tries talking to me, they get ignored.

 

[CYowSMR]

Total scam. My friend fell for it about a month ago in DC. The woman was very convincing and my friend is too embarrassed to admit how much she got scammed for.

Would you have given them any money, Dyno?

No, I'm a big skeptic. Anyone on the street tries talking to me, they get ignored.

Interesting tag line for a skeptic.

"You have to have a little faith in people."

;)

 

[Boom_70]

Was she a Republican or Democrat?