Being conned whilst shopping

Mintymoo

I don’t understand how this could’ve been a scam. I remember a 5k charity run which included kids and they accepted cash donations around the supermarket

*Your a bit late mintymoo .
this was posted back in DEC*

why not start a new one

Who knows what her circumstances were. What this says to me is that you are a generous, kind hearted person and you don’t need to feel bad about that.

This thread was started in late Dec 22 when the boy could have been on school hols... maybe legit but only £5 if not.. kind of the OP though

On another note I never give money to someone begging on our high st but I do give him the coffee and sandwich I’ve bought on the way back

It was a kind thing to do but also leaves one open to purse or bag snatching. Sad when we have to think like this.

Farzanah

mumofmadboys

You were kind Oldmutton. That is the main thing

I agree. It was only £5 and it may have been genuine. It’s easy to be suspicious these days, but I try and put myself in the shoes of those who need to approach complete strangers for money.

I agree with these comments.

If it was a scam then it’s a shame the boy has learned and been used to con at such an early age.

If I'm ever approached for a charity contribution either in the street or by a cold-caller knocking at the door, I politely refuse and explain that I give to three charities monthly by direct debit. Exceptions are British Legion poppy sellers and RNLI collection boxes. So many scams out there these days.

Well I don’t have to have the same view as you Violet and nor do the homeless charities but glad you know best

I don’t understand how this could’ve been a scam. I remember a 5k charity run which included kids and they accepted cash donations around the supermarket

I was walking up the station approach at Bristol Temple Meads when a 50-ish lady with a strong Welsh accent stopped me & said she needed £15 to get her and her daughter back to Newport. Could I help? Sorry, no. Further on, an identical copy of the lady, only about 30 years younger, the same story, except she wanted to get herself and her mother back to Cardiff. I said 'You'd better talk to your mother, because she thinks you're going to Newport'. Cue a stream of swearing.

Thank you everyone. Plenty of wisdom. I feel so much better

BlueBelle

Well unfortunately violetsky and nana8 you are just compounding the woman’s problem by giving her money that is just to make your own conscious better if a woman is living on the street genuinely, then give her a cup of coffee a sandwich or go to the charity shop and buy her a coat or a blanket giving her money to make you feel good only keeps her in the miserable condenser she’s already in

Actually, no you are wrong.

If the money is wanted for those kind of things there are more dangerous ways to get it.

Also I don't know what she wants the money for. It isn't for the meal and she obviously needs it.

You have a kind and generous heart Oldmutton, something to be proud of .

You are just kind hearted so don't feel bad. There are so many scammers around nowadays, next time say you are sorry, but I've already sponsored my grandson and walk away.

We all make mistakes OP so don't beat yourself up about. You're probably too nice to say no. Look at it as a lesson for the future. "Forget the mistake, learn the lesson" is something I've read recently.

If it makes you feel better,try and think of it as giving £5t o a charity.

I got caught by one of those too Witzend - man talking on the phone explaining that the bus wasn't running so he needed to get the train etc but clearly intending me to hear, and so yes I handed over the £10 needed to make up the fare. OH was not impressed at all when I got home, but I could sleep.

Oldmutton as others have said, you did the kind thing.

mumofmadboys

You were kind Oldmutton. That is the main thing

I agree. It was only £5 and it may have been genuine. It’s easy to be suspicious these days, but I try and put myself in the shoes of those who need to approach complete strangers for money.

Don’t fret, OP - there’s a small chance that it was genuine, and even if it wasn’t, console yourself with thinking, who on earth would be reduced to doing that if they didn’t really need the money?

I know I was conned once,,by a a bloke in his 20s, apparently in distress - his young child was sick on the other side of London and he had no money for the bus fare.
Although I was pretty sure it was a con, I gave him a few £ - just on the off-chance that it wasn’t.

Not long afterwards I saw him get on the same bus as me. We made eye contact, he sat a few seats in front. But when he got off soon afterwards, he gave me such a long ‘look’ - sort of smugly, cunningly knowing - it said as plainly as anything, ‘Yes, it was me, and yes, you were a right mug - I saw you coming.’

Another time when I was with dh, a woman who was almost hysterical - something about her car - begged for a desperately needed fiver. Again, we were 99% sure it was a con, but just in case it wasn’t….

You were kind Oldmutton. That is the main thing

BlueBelle

Well unfortunately violetsky and nana8 you are just compounding the woman’s problem by giving her money that is just to make your own conscious better if a woman is living on the street genuinely, then give her a cup of coffee a sandwich or go to the charity shop and buy her a coat or a blanket giving her money to make you feel good only keeps her in the miserable condenser she’s already in

This is the advice given by several charity Directors etc.

Condition not condenser oh dear the curse of predictive text and rushing to post
Must do better

On the bright side, maybe he is going to do a sponsored swim and was on his way back to school after going to the Dentist.

How bad would you have felt if you had said No?

On the other hand that might have fed him and his family and prevented him going hungry. It was £5 not £50.

Well unfortunately violetsky and nana8 you are just compounding the woman’s problem by giving her money that is just to make your own conscious better if a woman is living on the street genuinely, then give her a cup of coffee a sandwich or go to the charity shop and buy her a coat or a blanket giving her money to make you feel good only keeps her in the miserable condenser she’s already in