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My friend got taken for $20
pancakebuzz
Posts: 17 Forumite
I just wanted to share a recent experience a friend and I had at a bus stop.
We were coming back from an event at our college campus, and we were in great spirits. A middle aged woman approached us smiling and asked if we could spare some change to help her get home. I'm always happy to help someone with bus fare, as is my friend, and we both said yes.
While we dug out our wallets, she started thanking us and talking about why she needed the money. She said she had had her car stolen the day before, which prompted both me and Ally to gasp and give our own versions of 'oh my god, that's awful'. Then things got weird.
She kept talking, telling us details about the car jacking that didn't quite add up. I remember thinking 'it's weird that this wasn't on the news', because it was quite the story. I wish I could say I was suspicious, but honestly I was just really confused. She was giving us a lot of information too quickly for me to process it.
She went on to say she needed exactly eight dollars and seventy five cents, and I did have the presence of mind to know that that was weird. A cab would be more and a bus would be less. I'm embarrassed to say that rather than asking her about the odd number, I started trying to explain it in my head. 'Maybe she already has a cab waiting and is short that amount'.
While I wasn't suspicious, I was annoyed now, because the shock of her saying she'd been car-jacked had faded and it was starting to feel like she was asking for more than just some change (even though the number she had said wasn't much, it just felt like she was hinting for more). I started to interject and try to hand her a dollar, saying 'this is all I have, sorry', in hopes that she would leave. She didn't take my change and instead cut me off right back.
This part makes me feel really stupid. She opened up her wallet and showed us that she had twenty dollars and some coins, and said it was all the money she had in the world. I did, of course, think 'that's way more than eight dollars', but the overall effect was that I was too confused to organize my thoughts into a sentence.
I wasn't watching my friend through this, but I saw the woman reach towards her and saw that she had her wallet open and was holding a twenty dollar bill. It actually looked more like she had removed it from her wallet to dig under it than because she was planning on giving it away, but the woman grabbed it. She said 'thank you' and Ally said 'your welcome', sounding every bit as confused as I felt.
The woman seemed to just be gone after that. She did not run, but she made herself scarce quickly. As soon as she left every thought that I should have had while she was there hit me. Ally turned to me and said 'she was lying, wasn't she?' and I said 'Yeah'.
I had always thought that a scam artist would be younger, and...I don't know... polished. I thought the lies would have to seem like they could be true, that they story would add up or there would be a product they were trying to sell you. I never imagined someone would just try to confuse you out of your money.
I know $20 isn't that much money, but me and Ally were both really embarrassed about this and I imagine the same technique could be applied to get more from someone.
We were coming back from an event at our college campus, and we were in great spirits. A middle aged woman approached us smiling and asked if we could spare some change to help her get home. I'm always happy to help someone with bus fare, as is my friend, and we both said yes.
While we dug out our wallets, she started thanking us and talking about why she needed the money. She said she had had her car stolen the day before, which prompted both me and Ally to gasp and give our own versions of 'oh my god, that's awful'. Then things got weird.
She kept talking, telling us details about the car jacking that didn't quite add up. I remember thinking 'it's weird that this wasn't on the news', because it was quite the story. I wish I could say I was suspicious, but honestly I was just really confused. She was giving us a lot of information too quickly for me to process it.
She went on to say she needed exactly eight dollars and seventy five cents, and I did have the presence of mind to know that that was weird. A cab would be more and a bus would be less. I'm embarrassed to say that rather than asking her about the odd number, I started trying to explain it in my head. 'Maybe she already has a cab waiting and is short that amount'.
While I wasn't suspicious, I was annoyed now, because the shock of her saying she'd been car-jacked had faded and it was starting to feel like she was asking for more than just some change (even though the number she had said wasn't much, it just felt like she was hinting for more). I started to interject and try to hand her a dollar, saying 'this is all I have, sorry', in hopes that she would leave. She didn't take my change and instead cut me off right back.
This part makes me feel really stupid. She opened up her wallet and showed us that she had twenty dollars and some coins, and said it was all the money she had in the world. I did, of course, think 'that's way more than eight dollars', but the overall effect was that I was too confused to organize my thoughts into a sentence.
I wasn't watching my friend through this, but I saw the woman reach towards her and saw that she had her wallet open and was holding a twenty dollar bill. It actually looked more like she had removed it from her wallet to dig under it than because she was planning on giving it away, but the woman grabbed it. She said 'thank you' and Ally said 'your welcome', sounding every bit as confused as I felt.
The woman seemed to just be gone after that. She did not run, but she made herself scarce quickly. As soon as she left every thought that I should have had while she was there hit me. Ally turned to me and said 'she was lying, wasn't she?' and I said 'Yeah'.
I had always thought that a scam artist would be younger, and...I don't know... polished. I thought the lies would have to seem like they could be true, that they story would add up or there would be a product they were trying to sell you. I never imagined someone would just try to confuse you out of your money.
I know $20 isn't that much money, but me and Ally were both really embarrassed about this and I imagine the same technique could be applied to get more from someone.
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Comments
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what the f... are you on about0
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i think its one of those spam stories, like the hotties in the car park than eventually nick your wallet/car.Target Savings by end 2009: 20,000
current savings: 20,500 (target hit yippee!)
Debts: 8000 (student loan so doesnt count)
new target savings by Feb 2010: 30,0000 -
I call viral bull.... Note the $
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Um, the dollar sign is because I'm Canadian...
I just wanted to tell this story somewhere, and here seemed like a good place. I guess it wasn't.0 -
So the scam happened in Canada?This is a system account and does not represent a real person. To contact the Forum Team email forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com0
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Yes. As that is where I live.
It feels like I'm being accused of something, and I'm really not sure what. I'm just going to stay away from this section of the site, I think. See you.0 -
People were obviously confused as the is a uk site and you were going on about $ without explaining the story was set in Canada.
A similar thing has happened to my friend in France. He got his wallet out to buy a newspaper off a tramp woman and she grabbed 30 euros and scarpered.
As a rule I'm very careful opening my wallet in front of strangers.This is a system account and does not represent a real person. To contact the Forum Team email forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com0 -
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Why was he buying a newspaper of a tramp lol0
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There was a really weird pair at the bus station in Nottingham. They were like Lou and Andy from Little Britain, really skanky looking and one was in a wheelchair. They stopped my friend and I and started going off on this spiel about his disabled badge had run out or something, and they'd been fined. Or something. He was rambling on and kept showing me this tattered card covered in flowers. Kinda looked like a library card. I'm not sure what they needed money for because the moment they mentioned that if anyone could 'just lend them a few pounds', I was off.
My friend was as naive as hell, though. If he'd been on his own he would've given them a couple of notes :eek:'til the end of the line0
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