Unsuck DC Metro: Be On the Lookout for this Scam

Jason · 629 weeks ago

The ATM part is what immediately set off my alarm bells. Especially because, the way I read the story (maybe I'm being dumb though, it's been known to happen) it's not clear if they wanted MORE money from the ATM, or if they just wanted ATM money over wallet money for some reason.

+21 Vote up Vote down

GridlockDoctor · 629 weeks ago

A fool and their money are easily parted. No good deed goes unpunished.

Either way this is why I just keep my head down and keep moving. Does it make me cold,heartless and a bad person? Probably. But I can't risk this person holding a knife and using the opportunity to snatch my wallet & cards and making off with my stuff.

3 replies · active 628 weeks ago

+14 Vote up Vote down

Dr Turdlock · 629 weeks ago

Pretty much. If I gave to every panhandler I saw in DC, I'd be literally broke.

ddd · 629 weeks ago

well, you could make some money back.....by panhandling....

Jolly · 628 weeks ago

I've always thought "No good deed goes unpunished" to be a stupid saying (nothing personal, GridlockDoctor". I have two bananas to a homeless guy a couple of weeks ago...he was really gracious abou it...and there was no punishment.

+20 Vote up Vote down

Liesl · 629 weeks ago

Disgusting that someone takes advantage of another's kindness! You aren't stupid, you are just a decent human being who was preyed upon...and I hope bad karma follows this thief or these thieves and gets them REALLY good. Guess the request for an ATM withdrawal is the tip-off here. Sorry this happened to these people.

+17 Vote up Vote down

Durr · 629 weeks ago

What's the woman look like? If we're to be on the lookout for her, that's some important info.

1 reply · active 615 weeks ago

Kim · 615 weeks ago

African American, about 30 y/o, heafty, long braids with "highlights" in them

+22 Vote up Vote down

Kat · 629 weeks ago

This type of scam pops up on the blogs every so often. PoP had something similar last year. Similar type of story. Woman needed to get to Stafford but missed the bus and doesn't have any money. Plus suggests going to an ATM to get out some.

I have been approached with something similar a few years ago but her story was so elaborate and didn't quite make sense. Plus when she suggested going to an ATM, that was when I walked away. She tried to play the "I am a diabetic pregnant woman" and by my walking away I was going to kill her baby because she couldn't get back to her tour group from South Carolina. It bothers me that people go to such lengths and try to play the guilt card to get money. I have learned to just walk away and let someone else deal with that person.

You learned your lesson and you can tell others to watch out. It happens.

3 replies · active 554 weeks ago

ROYGBS · 629 weeks ago

I just posted below, but I also got scammed by the woman pretending to be diabetic and pregnant. I don't know about you, but I was pretty intimidated and ended up just giving her money so she'd leave me alone.

Nope · 629 weeks ago

She tried to scam me, too - by Farragut West. She said it was her first day of work and they hadn't given her a access key yet, was just in a car accident, her mom in Maryland was out of town... asked me to take her to an ATM. There were too many layers to the story to make it believable. I told her to find a phone and call 911, if she was just in an accident the police could help her.

Adele Got Me Too · 616 weeks ago

She got me at Farragut West back in December 2010. I gave her $20 and she asked me to go to the ATM for more (I think she wanted $60) and I refused.

I wondered all this time about her, if any of her story was legit and the whole discomfort of the situation has made me not trust anybody with their hand out. Probably a good thing. My money goes only to trusted charities and shelters now. But it feels sad that there's somebody who's been out there on the streets all this time working over people who just want to be compassionate to someone who appears to be in genuine need.

+18 Vote up Vote down

Jin · 629 weeks ago

OT, but I just wanted to commend my metro rail operator from this morning. I was on the red line, and we were delayed due to a down train (same as last night - that operator was good too), and we had to stop for "A train ahead at the platform" at nearly every station (whenever I hear that, I think Metro truly doesn't understand how public transit works, but I digress). The woman this morning was patient, kept us updated, and then when we were waiting to pull into Silver Spring, she thanked us for our patience with everything that had happened that morning. Thank you awesome metro lady!

2 replies · active 629 weeks ago

+10 Vote up Vote down

Stevey Jones · 629 weeks ago

I actually had great luck last night too headed to Takoma. Operator was very clear that there was a backup due to the earlier downed train. He said things like "we are behind a train that is waiting to get into Rhode Island Ave, we will move forward when that one goes in, and then proceed to the station." It is amazing what a difference announcements like that make to my commute, compared to the usual wtf is going on random jerking forward 10-20 feet.

Jin · 629 weeks ago

Yeah, the guy last night was good as well. But I couldn't noticing how the lady this morning thanked us for our patience, and annoyed she sounded when thanking us for dealing with the issues that morning. It sounded like she was just as fed up with them as we were.

But a downed trained Monday night, and Tuesday morning? What gives???

+14 Vote up Vote down

C.C. · 629 weeks ago

This exact same scam has been reported on for years. Next time it happens, call the police and report a theft by trick.

1 reply · active 629 weeks ago

dddddda · 629 weeks ago

Unfortunately, good luck with that. I've had the pleasure of encountering two scammers on multiple occasions (one I ran into twice, one *5* separate times), and on the second occasion for each I called the police. They told me that they couldn't really do anything unless they SAW someone give them money, HEARD the entire spiel, and could VERIFY that it was totally untrue. They did say that they'd send someone to shoo them, but after 7 or so minutes of loitering around waiting for the police to show, no one came and I gave up. From that point, I LOUDLY called them out to warn others nearby who they might try to scam. I carry a Metro farecard with, like, $5 and change on it, and offer that to them. If they won't take it, too bad. They can walk back to wherever it is they're from before their wallet was stolen and the police told them they couldn't help and Western Union told them they needed ID to pick up money and they don't have a cell phone and, why, no, getting anywhere metro goes just won't help and directions...yeah...

+21 Vote up Vote down

stupidraidersfan 80p · 629 weeks ago

I never give anyone money I don't know and you shouldn't either. Just acknowledge them and say sorry. People who work with the homeless can tell you why it's a bad idea . Just don't do it ever. Ignore the sob stories, 99.9% of them are lies.

1 reply · active 625 weeks ago

corey · 625 weeks ago

im homeless and i really take offence to your post all homeless are not bad ok you got a issue come talk to me at 13th and g 4-7 pm mon-fri ok then ill explain it all

+22 Vote up Vote down

Guest · 629 weeks ago

Oldest scam in the book. The best thing to do is refuse to help, or offer to call the police to "help" the scammer. Watch how fast they'll change their mind about needing your help!

2 replies · active 629 weeks ago

+10 Vote up Vote down

Andi · 629 weeks ago

exactly! tell the scammer that you will call 911 to get her the help she needs getting home or to the hospital. my guess is that adele/jennifer/whomever will be gone like a fart in the wind ...

Joolz · 629 weeks ago

This is excellent advice. Scamming them back, as some have suggested, is not very wise unless you're a Marine or a bouncer.

+14 Vote up Vote down

Charles · 629 weeks ago

Why would anybody give a total stranger $80 or even $8?

Call me cruel and heartless, or a cheapskate if you want, but it makes no sense to me at all.

5 replies · active 625 weeks ago

-6 Vote up Vote down

Guilty Jones · 629 weeks ago

I give away money all the time to rando people (mostly homeless). If you're walking around asking for money, you probably need it more than I do.

@VeggieTart · 629 weeks ago

Or you're a scammer taking advantage of good-hearted people. Besides, doesn't Metro have one of those "we'll give you a ride home" things? Offer to check into that for the scammer. She'll find someone else.

And I'd like to know what she looks like as well, but chances are, she changes her appearance regularly.

Charles · 629 weeks ago

You give $80 to random people all the time? Let me know what Metro station you go to so I can ask you for money.

Ep Sato · 629 weeks ago

Guilty, I need some money. Please give me a few bucks. I promise to spend every penny of it on intoxicants. Paying $10 for cocktails in downtown has really kicked me in the rear. How about helping out a lowly downtown resident?

corey · 625 weeks ago

your very cold hearted and judgemental im homeless and you know what not all of us are so called lazy do drugs and alchol ok so please have respect

+28 Vote up Vote down

mike · 629 weeks ago

I'm really surprised that Adele would try this - with all her Grammys, her recent Oscar win, etc., I thought her career was successful enough that she wouldn't feel she needed to resort to scams like this. It's just sad.

3 replies · active 629 weeks ago

Red · 629 weeks ago

Hmmm, I wonder if part of her script is "Don't forget me, I beg!"

-2 Vote up Vote down

Guest · 629 weeks ago

Yeah, and I'm sure there are many men in DC who appreciate her ample frame and would be happy to spend some time "helping her out."

Guest · 629 weeks ago

Rumor Has it that Someone Like You might Take it All from her.

+13 Vote up Vote down

Anony-moose · 629 weeks ago

I'm on the heartless side of things when it comes to money. I'll help someone with directions or plans of action, I'll give food to people if I have it on me, i'll even sometimes let people use my cell if I can keep an eye on them. However, if you want something out of my wallet, you'll need to pry it from my cold dead hands.

+12 Vote up Vote down

One take · 629 weeks ago

Don’t blame yourself for being a genuine person.
This sounds familiar to a situation I experienced on the escalator at Dupont Circle. Seemingly out of place be it for his appearance and the situation; a well dressed Indian man in his 40s approached me and asked me for $250.00 so he could buy an airline ticket to India to visit his sick mother. I have been to India. It cost a teeny weeny bit more than $250.00.

Has anyone else been approached by this individual?

1 reply · active 629 weeks ago

MsKat · 629 weeks ago

I haven't but funny you should mention it-I was approached by an Indian lady dressed in a salwahr kameez, asking me in a singsong voice if I had any money because she lost her purse and she was diabetic and she just needed some money etc, etc; I didn't have money but I offered to take her to one of the police officers I know near my job and she said 'no, no police I want money', then abruptly walked off and begged to someone else.

+22 Vote up Vote down

401'er · 629 weeks ago

Really, the best way to handle these people when they try to rope you in is to make like you're in the same situation. Trolling can be fun, and expose holes in the conman/conwoman's story if you have the time to screw with them. "You're trying to get back to Stafford? Well, that's a shame. I have to get back to Richmond and I've only got enough to get to the end of the metro line. I don't know what I'm going to do after that. I know you're a visitor and all and you have a kid on the way, but perhaps we could look for people to help us together..."

+16 Vote up Vote down

K-anon · 629 weeks ago

Another suggestion, that I used when a gentlemen was 'begging' me to help him get home to his pregnant wife and kids on Wallops island (he wanted $100 for a cab):

1) Say, "come with me, I'll pay for your to ride metro with me and I'll drive you back home to <wherever they want to go>." He immediately insisted that he had to get a cab and needed dollars, not help. This is a BIG tip off, anyone who refused genuine offer of help because they need $$ instead obviously doesn't really need help. They are trying to SCAM.

3 replies · active 625 weeks ago

Jason · 629 weeks ago

This is why when I help beggars, I offer to buy them a meal. Some of the scammers may take you up on the offer, but I think that MOST of them are going to be so hellbent on just getting money, that if the beggar takes you up on the offer, they're most likely legit.

dweebcentric · 628 weeks ago

Like the dudes that stand out on H street (in Chinatown) and work in shifts. I watched one begging with a cup leave to catch the metro bus, and another get off to take his place.

corey · 625 weeks ago

im replying cause ive been offred food and ive had blankets bought for me and a sleeping bag recently and i dont scam ive been very genuine with people at the two metro stops i sit or stand and use my sign with the words need help and the the $ after that people can choose to help or not i dont verbally beg or ask i think its way to aggresive and rude so yes im not like all these crack heads out there i use the money i recive for food laundry metro and to keep my self healthy cause eating at a cosi or something is expsensive so yea just the throw that out there

anon · 629 weeks ago

If you have a little extra time, reverse scam them.

Sure I can get you the money, but my ATM is a good distance away...somesuch...It's pretty fun.

anon · 629 weeks ago

well it was only 80$. Now next time you know better. Scams come in all shapes and sizes. It's natural to want to help, but when the other party asks for money do not ever give them a single penny. You could of called her a cab and offered to pay for it up front if that was the problem. Instead not thinking straight you just handed 80$ to them? does it even cost 80$ to get to where she wanted to go? She wanted more money from a atm? Those are the obvious signs that her story didn't add up. There have been people who have been scammed for thousands of dollars so in retrospect 80 isn't going to make you homeless and it's a good life lesson to learn. Even if it's people you know it's not a good idea to just give them money. Even if it's family, just consider that money lost and be surprised if they ever repay it. That's the way the world works.

Radner · 629 weeks ago

I gave a dollar to a guy once on the Metro. He spared me an elaborate story, and just asked for a dollar. I appreciated that he wasn't trying to scam me, just a simple question. Not even begging. I may be heartless, but mostly when someone approaches me on Metro, I pretend not to speak their language, which I find to be a lot more kind than telling them to f*ck off (and probably saves me some punches to the face).

ROYGBS · 629 weeks ago

I've been scammed by this woman too, although not on the metro. I was a few blocks away from Union Station and she said she locked her keys in her car, had just moved to DC, needed to get home because she had diabetes and needed her medication, and she was pregnant. I gave her $40 (which is all I had in cash) but she got really pushy and aggressive, getting in my face and demanding I go to an ATM and give her more cash. She was much larger than me and intimidating. This isn't just a scam that plays on peoples' good hearts, she also made me feel very unsafe and I gave her money just so she would leave me alone.

2 replies · active 628 weeks ago

@VeggieTart · 629 weeks ago

That's when you ask where the car is. And then you offer to call a locksmith or AAA or someone like that.

dweebcentric · 628 weeks ago

I really don't understand that. I'm willing to give maybe change, or a few dollars to someone if I really think they're in trouble. But all the cash I have on hand to a total stranger? Hell no!

+11 Vote up Vote down

Stephanie · 629 weeks ago

There used to be a guy who prowled the Metro stations, telling anyone who would listen about his alleged son who lived in Boston and had been hit by a car, and the guy needed to get home to his boy,and could somebody help him out with Amtrak fare. I think I encountered him in something like 4 stations in the span of 6 months, telling the exact same story. It was all I could do to not comment on his "son's" lousy luck, to be repeatedll hit by a car.

Trollopian · 629 weeks ago

Call me cruel, but....

When panhandlers ask me "Lady, do you have a dollar?" I reply "Yes" and keep walking.

I answered their question, didn't I?

Liz · 629 weeks ago

Not just Metro...there was a woman with basically the same story in the Foggy Bottom Trader Joe's parking lot, approaching every customer as they walked back to their cars. I got in my car, locked the door, and called TJ's to let them know they had a very aggressive panhandler in their parking lot. I wonder what she would have done if I offered to drive her back to Sterling.

-5 Vote up Vote down

DKB · 629 weeks ago

The poster didn't wonder why someone newly arrived from Atlanta would have two local phone numbers instead of an Atlanta phone number?

EP Sato · 629 weeks ago

That's the oldest scam in the book! Those scammed shouldn't feel too bad, the perpetrators are known as "Confidence men" ("con men") for a reason. They tell the victim a story, usually something compelling. They always need unrealistic amounts of money ($160 to get to stafford? It's only $50 to cab it from DC to Dulles!), will pretend to "help" and then disappear.

The caveat should be for all of us to be careful. It's easy for normal, even cautious, people to get caught up in these scams. Just because we're hardened to the Nigerian Bank Scam email doesn't mean we won't fall for it in person.

In Madison, WI, where I grew up, a lady would walk up to everyone and say the same line about how she needed bus fare to go to the methadone clinic in Middleton. I don't know what the problem was with that bus, but this woman spent YEARS asking people for money to take that bus. Bus fare must have been a few million dollars for her to need to keep asking!

Bottom line is that if you give ANYONE money, you should not expect it back. Loans are for Citibank, not friends and certainly not for strangers.

Charles · 629 weeks ago

"I've got my wife with my newborn kid in the car nearby" seems to be a common refrain of these scammers, not just in the DC area, but in more than one place I've been to.

I also remember a guy at Metro Center for many years pretending to be a minister (had a lapel pin that was a cross) saying he had been visiting DC to do work for his church and had lost his bus ticket to go back home, and asking for money for a Greyhound ticket. I must have run into him three times and recall someone describing him in Dr. Gridlock's column once. He disappeared rather quickly when I said "man, you really seem to have some bad luck, this is the third time you've lost your bus ticket home!"

This thread makes for some good stories.

Kaye · 629 weeks ago

If a woman came up to me saying she had just been in a car accident, my response would be "Oh no! Let me call 911, you need to be examined by a doctor right away", not "Here's cash". That goes double if the woman said she was pregnant.

I applaud the posters' generosity of spirit. I commend them for their willingness to help a stranger in distress. I'd certainly offer to call their spouse/daycare or take them to the police department. But if you're going to give money to anyone, especially strangers, don't give more than you're comfortable not getting back. This is barely even a scam- these women asked for money, and it was freely given.

russell.j.coller.jr · 629 weeks ago

That's how Eve got Adam's shekels........ THAT scam is older than dirt.

MsKat · 629 weeks ago

Has anyone run into the lady that rides the train all day asking for, "just 75 cents"? In 8 years of commuting on the train I ran into her quite a few times. I tend not to carry much cash so I didn't have it anyway. She was a tall-ish black woman, with a horrible looking ponytail; at first she used to wear business attire, skirt suits and such, then after a few years she started wearing scrubs and a lab coat and carrying a clipboard like she was conducting a survey or something. Last straw was one day I was sitting there with my eyes closed meditating; I open them at each stop to see who gets on and I saw her, closed my eyes. She sat next to me and jabbed me with her elbow til I opened my eyes! She hadn't seen me with my eyes open, she thought I was asleep. After the look I gave her she STILL asked for money, but after I told her no and continued to give her that look, i noticed she avoided me when she saw me after that. She might be a little 'off', but i think she just acts that way because she sure acted normal while she waited for a train on an outside platform one day, calmly smoking a cigarette!

BCB · 629 weeks ago

Stop giving money. If people ask for money, it's clear what they are out for. Buy something, just don't give money. Too many people try to pull the same scam. There is another guy thats in the Army that has to get back to base, another guy that needs more money to get out of the metro station, a guy that comes up at the fare machines asking for a dollar to get where he's going but never actually rides the train. I even called out the Army guy trying to get back to base and told him i heard his story before. I think it's fairly safe to say if anyone ever mentions a ATM machine, it's a scam. If you want to give, give something other than money. Don't be stupid. I've been on the metro and seen too much to really be that generous to anyone. I've seen it all really. It's the metro culture that they cultivate. They don't care, so nobody else cares. It's clear.

On the same page, I was thinking about how you go to different stores and organizations and the people who work there will say hello, how are you and things like that. I looked a metro employee right in the eye and it seemed like the thing you would say is hello but no, he just kept on walking. Like he was another rider. It's a culture. That's what needs to be broken to change metro. Ride the VRE, you'll see a different culture and it starts with the organization.

1 reply · active 628 weeks ago

dddddda · 628 weeks ago

The guy I ran into *5* times said he was a Marine, I wonder if it was the same guy (kinda skinny, about 5'7, short brown hair). When I gave up on the police and started calling him out, the BEST response was one guy - tourist looking fellow - who he approached while I was shouting down the street about him being a scammer, who listened to him for a second and then kept walking. As the man approached me, his young daughter asked him why he didn't help the man who was lost, and he looked at her and said "honey, Marines don't get lost" before thanking me for calling the guy out.

John · 629 weeks ago

Theres a huge difference between having kindness in your heart and having street smarts.

Guest · 629 weeks ago

The worst scammers are those assholes with clipboards on the sidewalk who try to get you to stop and join their organizations! I feel like socking them whenever they try to get my attention.

rory · 629 weeks ago

If the scammers are any good, I think that anyone will be taken in the first time around. It happens so fast. That some people would clear out their wallets for someone just speaks well of them.

+10 Vote up Vote down

MsKat · 629 weeks ago

This woman trying to talk people into going to an ATM...it is also possible that she or her partner in crime have set up a skimming device on the ATM they are close to, hoping for someone to use their card so they can get the number and PIN from the card so they can use it elsewhere-anyone who goes to the ATM for them may possibly end up with no money, in the time it takes them to get home.

steph · 629 weeks ago

Thanks Robgsr, for pointing out that these people who were scammed are bighearted people. It touches me to know that there are people this generous. I don't believe in Karma but I do believe that something good has come out of these loving people's experience. I, for one, feel better about the world by hearing how good these people were. Thanks to them for trying to help. Steph

karnakdave 36p · 629 weeks ago

this is nothing new - I see it almost daily on 12 Street SW by Smithsonian Metro

JimS · 629 weeks ago

When I used to catch a bus at the Silver Spring Metro stop, one time there was a guy begging for change. He was talking loudly but was very hard to understand. He tried to get on the bus I got on and pay the handicapped fare. The driver put his hand over the farebox, then said "you must not remember me. You used to pull this same stunt on the Georgia Avenue buses. You're not handicapped and you have the full fare. Pay it or get off my bus." The guy stared at him for a minute, then stalked off the bus, while cursing him out, which was clearly articulated.

John · 629 weeks ago

"I didn't get scammed by that Nigerian prince because I have no street smarts or common sense, I'm just a big hearted person!"

hrh king friday 13 · 629 weeks ago

Can I have $80?

Frank · 629 weeks ago

Give me a detailed description of this "Jennifer" and I can probably give you a name. Please include approximate age. Any details would help. The phone numbers are the key. I can't tell you how I know but I will help you if you provide the information.

Andrew · 629 weeks ago

I've heard similar stories: need bus money to go to West Virginia because I lost my wallet/ticket/group...my car just ran out of gas and I need five nucks to make it...my kid needs baby formula. I particuarly hate the beggars who drag their small children in tow as part of their "act." The lessons those kids learn...

My rule: On the street (or the Metro), I will give strangers who approach me two things -- the time or directions. Period.

Andrew · 629 weeks ago

Snopes.com has a whole page of common scams. Some of them have been recounted on this thread:
http://www.snopes.com/fraud/distress/stranded.asp

Cara · 629 weeks ago

The exact same thing happened to me in Metro Center over a year ago. Luckily I only gave her what I had (a couple bucks) and didn't go to the ATM like she asked. She seemed so genuine though. I would love to think I was actually helping someone...as opposed to being scammed by someone.

arhutch · 629 weeks ago

This is unfortunately why I don't help the poor.

One ripoff artist ruins it for everyone else.

j_dortmunder · 629 weeks ago

A while back there was a guy doing a similar scam, claiming to be a Marine, was with friends/family/whoever had already taken off and he was stranded in DC and just needed money to get down to Quantico. The 3rd time in a 2 week period he tried to hit me for money (these con men need better memories, I mean, with a beard like mine I'm easy to remember) I told him I worked at Quantico and was just about to head down there, did he want a ride? He made his excuses and wandered off.

1 reply · active 627 weeks ago

JayBee · 627 weeks ago

I encountered that same guy claiming to be a marine 4 times in a 1 month period around Penn Quarter. Yes, he obviously has a very bad memory because he approached myself and various co-workers numerous times, running through the same story each time. He asked me for $300 each time to get back to Quantico or wherever after he supposedly became stranded here in DC and had his wallet stolen, etc., etc.. He had a whole clipboard of paperwork to try and back up his story. As soon as he would get denied he would stop the next person that passed by and start back into his sob story. My final encounter with him was on Veteran's day near Verizon Center. I recognized him as my wife and I approached him bothering people on the sidewalk and I quickly told her the story he was about to tell us. Sure enough, he went right into his routine on us and I just kept walking past him. He then said "Real nice way to treat a marine on Veteran's day!" I turned back and went off on the fool and among other things, told him I knew who he was and what he was doing and that I was calling the cops. He took off and ran across the street and down a side street and thankfully that's the last time I have seen him around Penn Quarter.

Jin · 629 weeks ago

It's too bad there isn't a way to tell scammers apart from people who genuinely need help. Maybe we need a code phrase like, "I'd love to Unsuck DC Metro" in the conversation, to let the other person know we really do need help.

2 replies · active 625 weeks ago

dddddda · 628 weeks ago

I agree with offering other help, as well as looking for refusal, that usually weeds out the scammers. I once got to the Metro in the morning, went to reach for my wallet, and couldn't find it. I dumped my purse out on the floor, and it was clear I had forgotten it at home. So, I was counting whatever change I could find in the recesses of my purse, hoping to not have to trek home and get my wallet (I keep a few bucks in my desk drawer, so I knew I'd have enough money to get home), when a woman asked me if I needed help. I told her that I was fine, I had apparently forgotten my wallet at home and just needed to go back and get it. She walked over to the fare machine, and before I could pack my purse back up, dial my boss to tell him I'd be late, and start walking, handed me a $5 farecard, asking if that would be enough. I tried to refuse, but she insisted. Made my morning, week, month, etc.

On the other side, I once saw a car broken down in a snowstorm, and then maybe a quarter mile later, a guy walking. It was seriously blizzarding and I had a few friends in the car, so I pulled over and he ran up to the car. We rolled the window down a slit and I asked if he needed to use a phone to call for help. He said he was just going to walk to the nearest gas station and call for help, but did I know where the nearest gas station was? We all just looked at each other and shook our heads. "At least three miles up at the next exit, and it's snowing like crazy. Please, use my phone, you'll either get hit by a driver who can't see you or get hypothermia before you get there." He called a friend and then said "thanks, my wife and baby are in the car and it will really help to get someone out quicker." AAAAAND we turned around at the next exit, went back, and had his wife and kid sit in our *warm* car until said friend arrived (it was only, like, 20 minutes...not a big interruption to our day...and, of course, he tried to say he was fine on that account as well, but 4 girls in their early 20's aren't particularly threatening and his wife sure seemed to appreciate it).

Or the guy who panhandles at 13th and F and, when it's really cold, proclaims that he'll settle for a hot chocolate over money. He's gotten a few hot chocolates from me. Or the guy one time in the grocery store parking lot begging for change for food (I legitimately didn't have any cash on me), but who I bought a sandwich and bottle of water (I figured if he refused it, I could eat it), and he took it with genuine thanks. If you *really* need something, you'll take a solution, rather than insisting on cash.

corey · 625 weeks ago

im always at 13 and g but i never seen the one who takes hot chocolates really odd i know all the guys around my area

Lando · 627 weeks ago

Wait till the Gypsies start getting in force around here. I've already seen a few begging with their kids in tow. I'd put up with it if they weren't simultaneously abusing their kids.

Kim · 615 weeks ago

THIS WOMAN GOT ME LAST NIGHT!!! I was getting off the 395 at 12th street. I was stopped at the light and she started knocking on my window and hysterically crying. She grabbed my hand, begged me to pull over and help her "because I was a woman she she can't trust stopping and asking a man for help." She said her name was Adele Parker, that she worked at the Smithsonian's American History Museum, she was just in a car accident and needed money to get a taxi back to Stafford. I gave her $180. Feel like such a fool. What convinced me was that she actually had a Smithsonian badge with her name and picture on it that matched her drivers license. She gave me all her "info" as well (a number that just rings and rings and rings), and when I called the American History Museum this morning the man at the information desk said they are getting quite a few calls about this scam and that she had actually stopped HIM a few weeks back. Claimed she was the "Manager of the information desk at the American History Museum" except HE is the Manager of the information desk at the American History Museum. What a horrible person.