How do you guys deal with grifters? I had one approach me in the parking lot of the grocery store tonight. She looked like a meth head. Very whorish outfit. Meth face. Probably trying to score a few bucks for a hit. Her story was hilarious because it was so elaborate and it kept changing and none of it really made any sense. First she claimed she had a flat tire and that AAA was on the way and she needed money to pay the tow truck driver. You don't pay the tow truck driver anything with AAA, that's the whole point of AAA. I guess she realized that wasn't working and suddenly said she was supposed to drive to Brevard county and not Broward county. Brevard is three hours away out in the country in central Florida, and it's pretty hard to mistake the two. Then she suddenly claimed she was from Boston down here on vacation and lost her wallet, and she went from a Florida accent to a fake Boston "chowda" accent mid sentence. She said she had a good job as a vet tech and was totally good for the money. I think she also tried to throw something in there about a young teenage daughter who was sick or something. I told her I had no money and got in my truck and left. I guess I should keep walking but grifters amuse me. I love seeing them get caught up in a web of their own bullshit.
Grifters What she was doing was just a variation on this scam: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_confidence_tricks#Stranded_traveler_scam For some reason the douches who do this one seem to love Publix Supermarket parking lots. I guess they figure people going in and out of the grocery store will have cash. I can't count the number of times I've had someone come up to me like this. I think I look like an easy mark. I've also had them try to pull the white van speaker scam on me twice now.
Grifters I don't see the scam part... their just beggin for money is all from what I can read here... if I give anybody money, unless it's a family member (and even some of those...) I don't expect it back.
Grifters There's a difference between begging and grifting. Begging they stand out somewhere with a sign that says something like "homeless, need money." They straight up tell you that they're broke, homeless, jobless whatever. Grifting they're a con man who comes up with some elaborate bullshit story about being stranded and needing money so they can get back to their hotel or something. Grifters wear normal clothes and look like normal people. They're out to scam you and are playing on your compassion. They aren't homeless. They don't need money, except maybe to buy drugs. They're just trying to screw you. Two very different things. I feel bad for the homeless dudes begging. Grfiters can go fuck themselves.
Grifters I've never run into a junkies in my local grocery parking lot. I have in NYC a few time, some crackhead bitch wanted money to use the "phone". I don't think they even have pay phones anymore. I probably could have negotiated a blowjob but decided to forgo an STD. I also hate those bell ringing salvation army santa's that sit in front of stores from Thanksgiving to Christmas. I do give them my change on occasion, but if I were to do it every time I go to the store it would add up fast. It's psychological extortion as far as I am concerned.
Grifters I don't think I've encountered a grifter before. Normally when dirty people come up to me they're trying to sell me a Big Issue and I usually say no thanks or just flat out ignore them. I'm waiting for one to catch me on a bad day so I can snap and shout at them that I have never and will never ever buy a copy of the Big Issue and stop bugging me everys ingle time I go into town.
Grifters When I was in Hawaii in my early 20s, I had some jackass try to tell me a story about how he was in the military and was going through some calamity that was preventing him from making it back to a military base on the mainland. He looked like he was 60 lbs. overweight and had a semi-mullet. The Marines would beat him for looking like such a bag of garbage. He showed me an obviously fake military ID card that was bright orange. It should have been green or red depending on whether he was active or reserve, and he was quite obviously neither. He tried to portray himself as some downtrodden hero falling on hard times. I put two dollars on the table and told him that was what I was willing to pay him to never let me see him again or I would fuck him up. I wasn't happy with him trying to con people with this lame military story, and I had quite a nasty temper in those days. He looked shocked and immediately left without saying anything else. I didn't see him in that area again after that. I would handle things differently now, but that's how I tended to react to this type of thing back then.
I just saw someone pull a dine and dash. They were a couple of loud mouthed, obnoxious black chicks. They left $7 on a $60 bill at a nice, mostly outdoor Italian restaurant by the beach. The little bit of money was just to distract the waiter so they could get away. They weren't successful in getting away though. They got stuck in traffic trying to drive off and someone photographed their license plate. The little bit of wadded up money was clever. I have a feeling they've dined and dashed before.
Many years ago I was at a Taco Bell waiting for my order. The placed was packed. When my number was called some guy went to the counter and took my food. At first I though someone made a mistake but after a bit I realized the guy who took the food was stealing. I told the lady at the counter and they made my order again but didn't do anything else. He didn't steal directly from me so I let it go.
That must be a common thing at Taco Bell. I've had something similar happen, but it was at the drive through. Some dude ran between my car and the drive through window and snatched my food right as they were handing it to me.
Why didn't you just shoot him? Seriously though that's a pretty shitty thing to do to someone. Did you do anything about it or did he get a free meal?
They just made me another meal. Nothing to get angry over. I was laughing actually. I'm not going to shoot a guy over a stolen burrito. It might surprise you, but Americans don't just go around shooting people all the time over trivial things.
Yeah I know. But the way I've heard some people bang on about gun ownership you'd think there was no crime over there because guns solve/prevent it all.