Reply #44: I really just don't trust people that ask for money... [View All]

[Imajika]

I used to try to help, still do sometimes - but so many times it has turned out to be a scam. I remember in college not so long ago, working at a gas station for extra funds and having a lot of people stop in and ask for gas money or cash for other things (sick kids, medicine for Mom, etc). There was always some story of why they needed assistance, stories I believed at first. I'd often try to help them with a few bucks worth out of my pocket for fuel or whatever bills I had in my wallet to take for whatever it was they could not afford, but some of the other employees would tell me these were all scammers. It was hard for me to believe till the same people showed up again and again. I think maybe they forgot they'd asked before, and I'd hear roughly the same story. I guess many would go on a circuit stopping in retail places & gas stations asking for money. My coworkers confirmed that this was a common con and that is why they didn't give money or help to almost anyone.

Then I traveled quite often for work once I graduated. The company I worked for taught us about scammers targeting business travelers and tourists. Basically said if someone approaches you and asks for almost anything to just walk away. By this time I was a little smarter about con men/women and scammers, but I still didn't quite believe there were so many people out to rip me off. Come to find out that people who ignored this advice about avoiding people asking for money or help often got ripped off big time. I mean, really big time. People would get suckered into assisting someone and wind up falling for some larger gem scam, or get their belongings stolen, find themselves drugged somewhere, etc, etc. It really made me lose a lot of faith in humanity.

These incidents really had an impact on me. I remember thinking many times that Anne Frank just had it all wrong - most people are actually really not good at heart at all.