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I have had this happen before but wondering if you gals know if it is a scam or not?

I pulled into a gas station this evening and a guy pulled up to the pump next to me. Had came over and asked if I had any spare change or a couple of bucks so he could buy some gas. He said he was out of gas and had no money. I told him I didn't have any cash on me, sorry. I saw him ask other people there too.
Now why would someone be driving thru the desert with hardly any towns for miles around and not have any money on them?

I have had people do that before at gas stations (I always turn them down). "Some change or a couple bucks" isn't gonna get you very far now days, especially across the desert. I wonder what they are really up to?

Sometimes they're just down on their luck, but sometimes they're pros. We have a guy here in town who has been stopping people in parking lots for a couple of decades to "get some gas money to get back to Danville" (a town 40 miles away).

I have had people come up to me at gas stations along interstates asking for money and it creeps me out. A guy came up to me at a rest stop one time. I think these people just do it all the time. There are a couple of intersections in Lafayette where someone is always at with a sign. Sometimes I will look for a gas station a little way away from the interstate. The stations at the exits are usually higher.

I have seen some of the posts about thieves opening your passenger door and taking your purse while you are getting gas or stealing your car if you leave the keys in it. I never get out of my car without my keys in my hand. I usually put my purse on the floor in front of the driver seat and lock the doors while I'm pumping gas.

Martha

Martha you said just what I was going to say. Be careful out there seems more bad people trying to get your $$ these days in new and creative ways. And yes lock those doors.
Velda

I should say I will give money to women who ask, even the ones holding a sign. Our town offers almost nothing in the way of homeless services for women, but of course the men got a nice big new shelter (I'm ashamed to say I developed it and had it built when I worked in mental health), so if I see a women standing outside in the cold I don't question I just offer a couple of bucks.

It can go either way. We have had an up tick in pan handling in town in the last couple of years. The local news did a story on it. They didn't really find out much but one of the convenience store workers said the one guy always hard a roll of money when he came in for cigarettes.

Back in the 80's I lived in Washington State and they did a story on a woman that pan handled in Seattle. She was like a fixture in town. They found out she had a nice apartment, pulled in around 50k a year and shopped for clothes at Goodwill. When she finally fessed up to the reporter she said the hardest part was staying skinny enough so people would believe she was starving and smelly, to get people give her money.

I had people ask me for money saying they were hungry and I offered to walk over to the McDonald's next door to buy them food and they said no. I figured they were not that hungry after all.

I had one guy at a gas station one night ask me for 2 or 3 dollars for gas so he could get home. Told him I did not have any cash but I would use my card and put a couple of gallons in his tank which he was very thankful for. He was dressed like he worked as staff in the local hospital and had just gotten off work. Not a creepy type person.

I usually try and carry a couple of bucks with me I never know when God's going to put an angel in front of me that needs some help.... that's the way I look at it....

I generally buy food for folks who ask. Yes, some are down on their luck and some are pros. When I was 18, one of the "famous" pros in my college town pulled me out of the way of a developing brawl, bought me a burger, and played me a song on his guitar! So, I pass it along if I can.

One of the reasons why I HATE Las Vegas is that every time I stop at a gas station in that town, I get asked for money from someone. Nearly always they are men and make me feel uncomfortable. That actually makes me avoid gas stations in that city. (I do LOVE some of the campgrounds in that part of the country, so I still end up driving through there occasionally.)

I worked and saved my money when I was younger. I will not give it away now. Too many bums getting hand outs now days.
Tent cities popping up around town. I cannot even park my self contained RV o'night on Fiesta Island, yet these bums can pee and deficate on the down town streets! And the trash they generate! Piles and piles of it. I pay too much in taxes supporting these free loaders, I will not give them anymore than Iam forced too.
Lyn

I totally agree Lyn. Years ago when my daughter was still in high school, we saw a guy whose sign was for food or $$. My daughter went to Subway and bought a nice turkey sandwich and took it to the guy. He refused it because he wanted $$. How's that for gratitude?? Have actually seen some refuse work.

When I lived on the CA Central Coast in a nice area, there was an article in the paper about some of the local regular "beggers" and most of them were making more money panhandling than regular citizens. The ones you would see all the time actually had shifts set up when they (and their dogs, stuff etc.) would be at certain shopping areas, intersections etc.

There are other ways to help out those in need.

Linda

I do believe there are both those pro's that rake in the money and those that truly are in a bind be it
for that moment oops gas no mon in the card ect...one really hurts the other....I remember one time
approaching the free way and saw this guy can't remember now what he did or perhaps what his sign said
but he made me laugh and smile...really made my day...I wanted to give him some but didn't have it
sheila