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Thread: SCAM: Fake Beggar-Lady

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    Exclamation SCAM: Fake Beggar-Lady

    I am beyond outraged. How can people be so horrible? WTF? http://gothamist.com/2012/02/12/vide...pretending.php

    This woman scams folks by appearing to be a impoverished, disabled, destitute pan-handler. After she drives back to her neighborhood, she's walking JUST FINE, wearing trendy clothing, and probably laughing her ass off at all the saps she snookered.

    Eww. It's so low....

    I have seen her before on several occasions. I probably gave her money. In fact I'm sure. When I was watching the video, I remembered thinking how unexpectedly young her face looked when she looked up at me (based on the way she was standing I expected someone older). I never thought about it, I just felt bad that a young-ish person could be ailing like that. Fuck her!

    If I ever see her again....
    Quote Originally Posted by Jay12 View Post
    ^What Sophia said.
    Quote Originally Posted by yoda57us View Post
    I wish there was an "auto-like" setting that I could just have applied to all of your posts Sophia....

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    Default Re: SCAM: Fake Beggar-Lady

    Would love if her real name was exposed.

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    God/dess Sophia_Starina's Avatar
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    Default Re: SCAM: Fake Beggar-Lady

    Me too. She needs to be exposed for the fraud she is. I wouldn't mind if she got a good dose of public humiliation in the stocks.

    Quote Originally Posted by Jay12 View Post
    ^What Sophia said.
    Quote Originally Posted by yoda57us View Post
    I wish there was an "auto-like" setting that I could just have applied to all of your posts Sophia....

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    Default Re: SCAM: Fake Beggar-Lady

    that seems like a lot of effort unless you're completely mentally unstable.

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    Default Re: SCAM: Fake Beggar-Lady

    omg these comments are GREAT

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    Default Re: SCAM: Fake Beggar-Lady

    Ugh... I used to live with a douchebag like this. He would go out and sit on a busy bar street, holding a sign that said he was a disabled war veteran. Then he'd laugh his ass off about how he could make money like that. The thing was - he was a war vet - but was in no way disabled or impoverished... how can you be so disrespectful, especially when you probably know people from your experiences that actually are in trouble... Just... disgusting... So glad he moved out after only 2 months - he bugged the hell out of me.
    Don't try to win over the haters. You are not the Jerk Whisperer.

    Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.






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    Default Re: SCAM: Fake Beggar-Lady

    When I worked in downtown Chicago these fakes were everywhere. I've heard it all, from the people begging for food (only they didn't want food), to the people (mostly women and often with kids)begging for train money to get home, to a guy who everyday had a new scam from a "broken leg" to being in a wheelchair, to one I fell for a guy selling the local homeless paper (which btw IS legit)only to find out he wasn't selling that paper but a free one disguised to look like that one. Unfortunately most of them are scams. When I was in college my senior project class decided our service project was to hand out sandwiches to these people. All fine and good but most didn't even take the sandwiches. I recommended doing a food drive for the homeless shelter but some moron thought this was a better idea.

    Awhile back one of the papers ran an expose on this and said to look at their shoes. True homeless don't have good shoes but the fakes tend to. Also, one of the guys in the article lives in a gold coast apartment and drives a fancy car (for those who don't know the Gold Coast in Chicago is very wealthy).

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    Default Re: SCAM: Fake Beggar-Lady

    Well, this type of thing has been going on awhile...I remember more than a few years ago I guy I dated told me he gave some $ to another guy, then later saw same guy throw the cane he was using (& obviously didn't need) into a brand new Cadillac.

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    Default Re: SCAM: Fake Beggar-Lady

    Panhandlers used to make a couple of hundred a day, probably more now. Pay no taxes. See them in the store, they always have a big roll of cash.

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    Default Re: SCAM: Fake Beggar-Lady

    Reminds me of that Simpsons episode when Homer starts begging and buys Marge all the jewelry with what he makes.

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    Default Re: SCAM: Fake Beggar-Lady

    We have a ton of those around where I live

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    Default Re: SCAM: Fake Beggar-Lady

    What infuriates me about stories like the one linked in the OP is how it preaches to the choir of "the poor are lazy scam-artists" ideology. I'm not saying that despicable people who scam for charity don't exist, I'm just saying they are the VAST minority of the North American low-income population.

    In my city the majority of panhandlers have mental and/or physical illnesses, many are completely dishevelled, sleep on sewer grates cuz the shelters are filled with violence and bedbugs, and are missing many if not most of their teeth. How employable are any of these individuals? Through my work I interact with these people several days a week. I witness how they live and often I'm amazed at the unbelievable barriers they've had to struggle against.

    I'm not even including those who line up for meals at churches/drop-in centers and regularly visit foodbanks because the average 2-bedroom apartment in my city costs more than the wages of a minimum wage 40 hr per week job when daycare costs are factored in. (Single parents being massively over-represented in poverty stats)

    Yes, stories about rich panhandlers are popular because they're outrageous, but they're also popular because they allow some to completely disregard legitimate problems of economic disparity and injustice.
    Shame on people like the chica in the story linked who perpetrate that kind of thinking through their actions. I just hope most people are smart enough to recognize that this is NOT the norm.

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    Default Re: SCAM: Fake Beggar-Lady

    I see those around Boston. Usually crusty punk faux homeless types

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    Default Re: SCAM: Fake Beggar-Lady

    This is one of the many reason I never give money to street people.

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    Default Re: SCAM: Fake Beggar-Lady

    Quote Originally Posted by TurboHips View Post
    I see those around Boston. Usually crusty punk faux homeless types
    My experience to in Colorado Springs, Denver, Portland OR , Seattle, Nashville, and Madrid Spain.

    Quote Originally Posted by mediocrity View Post
    This is one of the many reason I never give money to street people.
    Mine too. Though if they pass a with a few visual clues, and the smell test; I have been charitable.

    Visuals - Designer or popular fashion. If they beggar is wearing things every just have to have that season, Fail. Condition of items, such as clothing. Clean clothes in good repair, Fail. The Homeless don't take their clothes off. Their valuables are in the pockets, sometimes under multiple layer. The smell test, the body odor; that sickening taint that hangs over them, lemony tang of old sweat and putrescence of bacteria swarming in the body oils and dead skin cells. Throw in bed bugs and I will give them a ten spot, they can buy dinner or a bottle. Their choice.

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    Default Re: SCAM: Fake Beggar-Lady

    And then there is the fake pregnant lady that has been pregnant for 13 months +


    At the time, Machado had a sign saying she was seven months pregnant, Haberland recalled.
    Now, six months later, Machado is still telling good Samaritans she’s seven months pregnant.


    http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/n...#ixzz1mND4G57J


    Ugh....
    Quote Originally Posted by Jay12 View Post
    ^What Sophia said.
    Quote Originally Posted by yoda57us View Post
    I wish there was an "auto-like" setting that I could just have applied to all of your posts Sophia....

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    Default Re: SCAM: Fake Beggar-Lady

    I can't help but want to give a homeless person a buck. its a DOLLAR. ive got it, they're begging on the cold shitty streets and for whatever reason they're asking for money I think if we can help someone then we should. Whether or not you know exactly what they're doing with the money..eh, its a dollar. Most homeless people have schizophrenia or mental disorders, problems they cannot help themselves to overcome. People like this fake make it easier to justify saying "Nah I don't wanna help a homeless person. they might not even need it!"

    whether they need it or not, they've sucked up a lot of pride to beg on the streets and if I've got a dollar, i'll always give it to someone who says they are in need.

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    God/dess Sophia_Starina's Avatar
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    Default Re: SCAM: Fake Beggar-Lady

    Quote Originally Posted by loveshooks View Post
    I'm not saying that despicable people who scam for charity don't exist, I'm just saying they are the VAST minority of the North American low-income population.

    In my city the majority of panhandlers have mental and/or physical illnesses, many are completely dishevelled, sleep on sewer grates cuz the shelters are filled with violence and bedbugs, and are missing many if not most of their teeth. How employable are any of these individuals? I witness how they live and often I'm amazed at the unbelievable barriers they've had to struggle against.

    Shame on people like the chica in the story linked who perpetrate that kind of thinking through their actions. I just hope most people are smart enough to recognize that this is NOT the norm.
    I can agree that Scammers and Professional Panhandlers are "the VAST minority" as you say, of low-income folks in the USA. I CAN'T get behind your assertion that this is not the norm for the simple reason that neither you nor I know. The woman in the video was tailed by investigative journalists... how many other individuals purporting to be down-on-their-luck have gotten the same attention and been exposed for the frauds they are or aren't? Also, are we talking about the entire country as our sample size or Manhattan? I venture to say that areas like Washington Square, Times Square and Union Square are incredibly overpopulated by Professional Panhandlers, gutter punks (and their dogs... to elicit sympathy or something), and scammers with invented sob stories penned on cardboard.

    I want to highlight: Panhandling and homelessness are not synonymous. Just because people are homeless, that does not mean that they panhandle and vice versa.

    But even if I agree with you (after all, you have experience in field), I have to ask what giving a dollar to someone with mental/physical illnesses, missing teeth, and no place to sleep truly accomplishes. Does it get them treatment? Does it get them a place to live? Does it get them a job? Does it get them to the dentist? I just don't see a connection between my paltry donation and truly helping someone. At best my dollar goes to a meal or an article of clothing... which in the grand scheme of things seems like a bandaid on a bullet wound. Tomorrow morning, that individual will still be on the street and scrounging for subsistence yet again. That SUCKS. The mediocre social services that exist are woefully underfunded and as a result, are often ineffective.

    Which brings me to my point: Wouldn't giving to charities/services involved with the homeless be far more sensible? They have the infrastructure, connections, and professional staff with (I assume) a plan to make a meaningful difference in people's lives. Giving a dollar every single day for a year, to a person only gives them enough to get by throughout the day or overnight. Wouldn't a donation of $365+ to an established charity or service have a greater impact?
    Quote Originally Posted by Jay12 View Post
    ^What Sophia said.
    Quote Originally Posted by yoda57us View Post
    I wish there was an "auto-like" setting that I could just have applied to all of your posts Sophia....

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    Default Re: SCAM: Fake Beggar-Lady

    Let me clarify my previous post:

    I meant to say that donating money to a LEGITIMATE charity could be far more effective.

    There are scammers out there:
    http://insideedition.com/news/7641/i...n-schemes.aspx
    and: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/s...ib8Xh5AY86i68O
    and: http://guestofaguest.com/everything-...-with-the-uho/
    Quote Originally Posted by Jay12 View Post
    ^What Sophia said.
    Quote Originally Posted by yoda57us View Post
    I wish there was an "auto-like" setting that I could just have applied to all of your posts Sophia....

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    Default Re: SCAM: Fake Beggar-Lady

    Maybe I'm too nice, but everytime someone on the street has asked me for money, I've given them whatever $1 or $5 bills are on me. I just feel bad if I don't, because if they really are homeless, then they need it a lot more than I do. It's so sad that there are fake homeless people that take advantage of the system.

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    Default Re: SCAM: Fake Beggar-Lady

    that's not being too nice. it's a fucking dollar. good grief. i would much later someone shake a cup and politely ask me for a dollar than try to rob me on the fucking train. polite criminals > criminals lurking in shadowy places.

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    Default Re: SCAM: Fake Beggar-Lady

    Quote Originally Posted by camille27 View Post
    that's not being too nice. it's a fucking dollar. good grief. i would much later someone shake a cup and politely ask me for a dollar than try to rob me on the fucking train. polite criminals > criminals lurking in shadowy places.

    That's kind of a bizzarre statement.

    I mean, it seems that you're implying a cup full of change miraculously morphs into a stabby-stabby switchblade if you choose not to donate money.

    In this economy, there are all sorts of individuals that are down on their luck. They have as much propensity to commit a crime as they would if they were financially set. There are criminals of all sorts (Bernie Madoff wasn't desitute and he still robbed & pillaged). Choosing to NOT give money to a panhandler doesn't increase your chances of being mugged by any stretch of the imagination. Giving that dollar to institutions with expertise in the field, in my opinion, garners better results...
    Quote Originally Posted by Jay12 View Post
    ^What Sophia said.
    Quote Originally Posted by yoda57us View Post
    I wish there was an "auto-like" setting that I could just have applied to all of your posts Sophia....

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  35. #23
    loveshooks
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    Default Re: SCAM: Fake Beggar-Lady

    Quote Originally Posted by Sophia_Starina View Post
    I can agree that Scammers and Professional Panhandlers are "the VAST minority" as you say, of low-income folks in the USA. I CAN'T get behind your assertion that this is not the norm for the simple reason that neither you nor I know. The woman in the video was tailed by investigative journalists... how many other individuals purporting to be down-on-their-luck have gotten the same attention and been exposed for the frauds they are or aren't? Also, are we talking about the entire country as our sample size or Manhattan? I venture to say that areas like Washington Square, Times Square and Union Square are incredibly overpopulated by Professional Panhandlers, gutter punks (and their dogs... to elicit sympathy or something), and scammers with invented sob stories penned on cardboard.

    I want to highlight: Panhandling and homelessness are not synonymous. Just because people are homeless, that does not mean that they panhandle and vice versa.

    But even if I agree with you (after all, you have experience in field), I have to ask what giving a dollar to someone with mental/physical illnesses, missing teeth, and no place to sleep truly accomplishes. Does it get them treatment? Does it get them a place to live? Does it get them a job? Does it get them to the dentist? I just don't see a connection between my paltry donation and truly helping someone. At best my dollar goes to a meal or an article of clothing... which in the grand scheme of things seems like a bandaid on a bullet wound. Tomorrow morning, that individual will still be on the street and scrounging for subsistence yet again. That SUCKS. The mediocre social services that exist are woefully underfunded and as a result, are often ineffective.

    Which brings me to my point: Wouldn't giving to charities/services involved with the homeless be far more sensible? They have the infrastructure, connections, and professional staff with (I assume) a plan to make a meaningful difference in people's lives. Giving a dollar every single day for a year, to a person only gives them enough to get by throughout the day or overnight. Wouldn't a donation of $365+ to an established charity or service have a greater impact?
    I appreciate you taking the time to respond to my post, and you make a really important point that giving spare change to panhandlers does absolutely nothing to change the conditions under which they live. It's dehumanizing to have to resort to begging for change, I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy, had I one.
    As well, you're absolutely right that the majority of the low-income and/or homeless population are hidden from view in most major cities, with 'street people' and panhandlers being the sub-category most people associate with poverty, simply because they're out in public where people can see them.

    Which brings me back to why stories about 'fake' beggars infuriate me. I'm not criticing you for posting the link, I was commenting on the fact that stories like these, which are a rare exception, become an emblem for everyone who would prefer to think that poverty is a choice, or even worse non-existent. I KNOW that poverty exists because I work both with and on behalf of people who live far below the poverty line. I'm involved with individuals living in bed-bug infested rooming house rooms with walls crumbling, people who sleep in parks or couch-surf when they're not using the shelter system, people who choose between buying food and paying the rent every single month.
    These aren't dry stats that can be manipulated or tossed off, these are people's lives- I see how they live and how difficult the struggle can be to climb out of poverty. By all means, don't give $$$$ to panhandlers if you wish, but stating that an outrageous story like the only in your link could possibly be an indication of wide-spread 'false' poverty only underscores my point.
    These stories often serve as an excuse to ignore economic injustice..that appalls me as much as the disgusting behaviour of the woman cited in the link.
    Last edited by loveshooks; 02-16-2012 at 12:11 AM.

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    Default Re: SCAM: Fake Beggar-Lady

    Quote Originally Posted by camille27 View Post
    that's not being too nice. it's a fucking dollar. good grief. i would much later someone shake a cup and politely ask me for a dollar than try to rob me on the fucking train. polite criminals > criminals lurking in shadowy places.
    Maybe it's just me, but I have no clue what you're talking about.

    Just because someone is homeless, doesn't mean their a criminal.

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    Default Re: SCAM: Fake Beggar-Lady

    Quote Originally Posted by camille27 View Post
    that's not being too nice. it's a fucking dollar. good grief. i would much later someone shake a cup and politely ask me for a dollar than try to rob me on the fucking train. polite criminals > criminals lurking in shadowy places.
    But why should someone who's a criminal get money I worked for not them? Many pan handlers aren't poor at all, most could (or do)get another job, I'd rather spend the dollar on a legitimately poor person instead of a criminal.

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