Am I naive or ..........

qetu1357

My point is this.

Is it better to be cynical or naive?

The trouble with this con-artist is that it makes many of us a bit more cynical.

globetraveller

paddyrg wrote: »

in this case I would kindly offer to buy her mobile phone off her for the few quid she needs in fuel (she is welcome to it back when she repays me) !

she probably scammed someone earlier on for the phone!

pimento

NCISROCKS wrote: »

You gave your work address? Hopefully that wont come back to bite you on the bot.

I gave a young Finnish bloke £20 a few years back after being approached near my office in London. He had his air ticket home and his passport but, for whatever reason did not have the fare money to get to Stansted for his flight.
I only had £20, or would have given him a bit more. I also gave him my business card.

My friend said I would never hear from him again, but I have a teenaged son and wondered how I would feel if it were him stuck in a foreign city with no money. I paid up and trusted in karma.

A couple of months later, I had a lovely postcard from the young man in Finland thanking me profusely for bailing him out. He was still broke (well, so was I when I was his age), but I'm glad I was able to help him out and I hope that if my son ever finds himself in a similar situation, I'll get my good karma back in the from of the person he has to approach for help.

arcon5

qetu1357 wrote: »

My point is this.

Is it better to be cynical or naive?

The trouble with this con-artist is that it makes many of us a bit more cynical.

Cynical, but wise.

Otherwise you could find yourself the target of many scams!

You can help the genuine people who geneuinely need help whilst reducing the risk of being their next victim. Buy their bus ticket, buy some petrol, put the money in the phone box so they can make a call.

emweaver

NCISROCKS wrote: »

Conned...a woman leaving the house without her handbag and yet still has her mobile phone...doesn't happen in my experience!

Im a woman and don't even own a handbag! youll see me leaving with just my car key and mobile every day!

Hermia

These type of cons used to happen all the time where I used to work. One colleague got conned out of £25 by a crying woman holding a baby who claimed she had no money to get home as she had lost her purse. Two other colleagues were approached by the same woman later that week.

If you want to help, but are worried about being conned, you can try helping in a way that doesn't involve handing over cash. A friend was approached by someone claiming they needed money for a train ticket to visit their elderly father. She said she had no cash, but would happily go along to the station and buy him a ticket with her credit card. He made his excuses and scarpered. I usually tell the person that I will ring their relative or take them to the local police station/council office/nearest appropriate person who could help. If someone really was that desperate they would work with you and take any help. If they immediately walk off I think it's a tad suspicious.

KittyPryde

Did they get back in contact then OP?

Claree__x

Just a note to someone who said that they give to people selling the big issue - I used to work in Haddows (an off licence) and therefore know exactly where that big issue money goes, and it's not to a place to sleep!

Pupnik

Hermia wrote: »

These type of cons used to happen all the time where I used to work. One colleague got conned out of £25 by a crying woman holding a baby who claimed she had no money to get home as she had lost her purse. Two other colleagues were approached by the same woman later that week.

If you want to help, but are worried about being conned, you can try helping in a way that doesn't involve handing over cash. A friend was approached by someone claiming they needed money for a train ticket to visit their elderly father. She said she had no cash, but would happily go along to the station and buy him a ticket with her credit card. He made his excuses and scarpered. I usually tell the person that I will ring their relative or take them to the local police station/council office/nearest appropriate person who could help. If someone really was that desperate they would work with you and take any help. If they immediately walk off I think it's a tad suspicious.

This is my way of dealing with it too- I always pretend I don't have cash (actually often it isn't pretending since I don't always carry it!) but offer them the chance to call someone on my mobile phone. I don't drive myself but when I have been with family members who drive we have often ended up picking up strays and ended up driving them where they are trying to go (if it is not too far out of our way) but I'm not comfortable about handing cash over unless it is a charity- but even then I've heard of fake charity collectors!

I have been stranded without money or keys or phone credit before too so I know it is upsetting, but I just go to a payphone and do a reverse charge call and get a friend or family member to help me out. Asking a stranger would be the last thing I would do! These motorcyclists would surely have had a friend in the area who could either drive them over or lend them money for petrol!

tahrey

my own 2p on this is ... if someone's going to try and con you, why would they do it for such a measly amount, especially with the work that goes in? you'd do better just pretending to be homeless and begging. unless they mug you when you go for your wallet.

last time someone asked me if i had 50p to top off his bus fare to get home, i figured why not. you might drop as much into some random's hat on the street. and his handful of change duly went into the ticket machine...

The wierdest one of these things i had was when i went away over the bank hols. Trip out from hotel to the beach with just a bag with a sandwich box, couple cans of lager, book and knackered old CD player with a couple of very common albums. Bottle of water in hand. Classic chav - a term I'm using just so you can form an instant mental image of the fella - comes out of nowhere and asks if he can have a swig of my water. OK I thinks... if this is a setup to being mugged, they won't get much, it's just been refilled off the tap so I can just do that again if he gobs in it, and it's a busy day... lets roll with it.
Sure, I says. He accepts the bottle off me, takes a couple gulps, wipes off the neck, hands it back, says thanks, then wanders off.

Some people just find themselves in an unfortunate place at times.

Now, if it had been £20 they needed, I'd be more wary. Heck, £5 is borderline - £2.50 plus a few moments looking for dropped coppers will get you the minimum 2 litres, which unless you drive a Lamborghini and live way out in the sticks, is enough to get you back home...