Con artist alert

Careful about the punches. It is criminal assault. Regardless of the scam, let’s not develop a vigilante culture in Canberra.

Spam Box said :

Jamie Wheeler said :

My uncle is a priest in Sydney and regularly has people knocking on the parish door asking for money with very similar stories. Being a priest these people target his compassion for people in need. The stories are always the same and it’s usually something like “I need to borrow cab money to urgently get to the bus station to get to see my dying mother/brother/sister/grandma etc etc”. Being a priest it’s hard for him to tell them to get lost or shut the door in their faces. He handles all such people by personally offering to drive them to the bus, or whatever helpf they need apart from actually giving them money. If they say they haven’t eaten for days, he offers to drive them personally to a nearby charity organisation to organise a meal. It works everytime and they’re suddenly not interested anymore and usually leave quickly with an excuse.

JW

Funny story

A long time ago(8+yrs) when I was drug addict, I went to a School/Church after 8/9pm(no idea really)on a Sunday night. I really did need cab fare because bus’s had stopped going to where I needed to go and I was on the wrong side of town. I had no $ for a Taxi(spent it all on drugs of course, as always)

The Priest(or whatever he was called) rang them, organised the ride and paid the fare. Approximately 4 years later after I got my sh!t together I went back to the same place(although a different guy had the job by then) and gladly handed over $100

It happens

Good on you SB, for getting clean and repaying the debt.

Art said :

oh yes, let the crim in your car. That’s safe… until he pulls a knife and decides he wants your whole wallet rather than just $20 for a cab.

The trick is to knife him first 😉

Jamie Wheeler said :

My uncle is a priest in Sydney and regularly has people knocking on the parish door asking for money with very similar stories. Being a priest these people target his compassion for people in need. The stories are always the same and it’s usually something like “I need to borrow cab money to urgently get to the bus station to get to see my dying mother/brother/sister/grandma etc etc”. Being a priest it’s hard for him to tell them to get lost or shut the door in their faces. He handles all such people by personally offering to drive them to the bus, or whatever helpf they need apart from actually giving them money. If they say they haven’t eaten for days, he offers to drive them personally to a nearby charity organisation to organise a meal. It works everytime and they’re suddenly not interested anymore and usually leave quickly with an excuse.

JW

Funny story

A long time ago(8+yrs) when I was drug addict, I went to a School/Church after 8/9pm(no idea really)on a Sunday night. I really did need cab fare because bus’s had stopped going to where I needed to go and I was on the wrong side of town. I had no $ for a Taxi(spent it all on drugs of course, as always)

The Priest(or whatever he was called) rang them, organised the ride and paid the fare. Approximately 4 years later after I got my sh!t together I went back to the same place(although a different guy had the job by then) and gladly handed over $100

It happens

chewy14 said :

Next time do what i do,
Offer to ring the cab company for him or offer him a lift.

oh yes, let the crim in your car. That’s safe… until he pulls a knife and decides he wants your whole wallet rather than just $20 for a cab.

I was stopped on Northbourne Avenue at about 2AM a few months ago by a man pretty much exactly matching that description (fairly short, too?). He walked out into the middle lane to get money off passing cars.

Then a friend of mine was asked for money in Civic by the same man just a week or so ago. Same story every time.

BerraBoy68 said :

OK, I’ve punched 16 guys like this in the face today, when do you want me to stop?

nah statistically you probably haven’t got him yet, keep on punchin’

Keep going – you’re bound to punch him sooner or later.

He gave me his number at the counter in a restaurant where we borrowed a pen, so I called them to see if they got him on security camera. Unfortunately, as Murphy’s law would have it, they discovered that the camera wasn’t working and thanked me profusely for alerting them to it! Sigh.

explody said in teh OP “This guy was mid-late 20s, short dark hair and was wearing a greyish suit and green/yellow tie from memory. If he approaches you, please punch him in the face for me”.

OK, I’ve punched 16 guys like this in the face today, when do you want me to stop?

My uncle is a priest in Sydney and regularly has people knocking on the parish door asking for money with very similar stories. Being a priest these people target his compassion for people in need. The stories are always the same and it’s usually something like “I need to borrow cab money to urgently get to the bus station to get to see my dying mother/brother/sister/grandma etc etc”. Being a priest it’s hard for him to tell them to get lost or shut the door in their faces. He handles all such people by personally offering to drive them to the bus, or whatever helpf they need apart from actually giving them money. If they say they haven’t eaten for days, he offers to drive them personally to a nearby charity organisation to organise a meal. It works everytime and they’re suddenly not interested anymore and usually leave quickly with an excuse.

JW

It happened to me in civic (just opposite aportos), i pointed him in the direction of the police station and said they would give him a lift. He wasn’t interested and walked off.

I would have done the same thing … you shouldn’t feel bad or stupid, as obviously this guy is very experienced and good at what he does. I hope this doesn’t stop you (or others) from helping those in genuine need in future.

I always give people like that the money although I assume their scamming.

If you lend a guy $20 and he never comes back, it’s money well spent

You should of sent to Captain Cook Cres & tell him “catch a bus from their & it’ll take you to hospital & tell him your story & he’ll give you a free ride.

Yeah don’t feel bad – karma will get him back if he is in fact a con artist.

A work colleague of mine had a very similar experience a couple of weeks ago, so it must be the same guy. I agree, don’t feel bad about being a nice person. This person needs to be caught.

Don’t feel bad about it – you thought you were doing the right thing. Unfortunately there are sh*t bags out there who take advantage of the good nature of people. If he approaches me I’ll take a photo with my phone and post it on here (and encourage others to do the same).

I was approached by a guy in civic recently with a small boy in a pram. He told me the boy was sick and he needed money to get a prescription. I told him I’d walk him to the chemist and pay for said prescription. He said he didn’t have it on him and just needed the money so he could go home and get it. I asked him how long the little boy had been sick and he told me it had been about a week (I’m not a doctor but the boy looked more bored than sick). I told him I worked for Docs (I don’t) and could get him a free prescription and he vanished. I spoke to some police in the area because I was genuinely concerned about children being used as “bait”. When I got back to work several people told me they’d seen him over several hours pulling the same stunt and they’d given him money. I’ve never heard anything since but often think of that poor kid and what chance he’s got in life.

Don’t feel at all foolish, just means you’re a nicer person than me and lots of others. I’m jaded enough to tell anyone who approaches me to give it a rest before I’ve even listened to their story. If really pressed I’d like to think I’d offer a lift, to buy a sandwich, etc. but I’m buggered if I’m going to feed someone’s drug/alcohol/gambling habit with my hard earned.

Never give more than a dollar to anyone you don’t know. That’s the sorry state of affairs in the modern world.

Isn’t someone running a similar con in Sydney? Same girl/ambo story, and the guy claims he is a manager of a pizza shop or something, and offers to come back later with free pizza. He also offers fake gold watches as surety.

Don’t feel the slightest bit foolish. Cognitively, it’s pretty unlikely that you would’ve thought to ask any of those questions, because your brain simply isn’t wired for considered thought in these circumstances. It’s a high pressure situation, there’s a tonne of words flowing at you, the suit overwhelms a range of social guards and the next thing you know you’re handing over your money.

Here, go watch Derren Brown persuade a bunch of people to give him their watches, keys and phones. Listen carefully as he puts them in a suggestive state: you’re very helpful, you don’t mind giving that to me, do you, here, hold this bottle of water, OK, now you’re doing what I tell you to do, give me all your stuff and walk away. Great stuff.

Inappropriate: These questions are always obvious in hindsight when you’re out of the situation and able to look at it objectively. A good portion of most scams is about catching people off guard.

explodey: There are many worse things in the world to be than naively compassionate. Don’t feel too bad, and thanks for the warning.

I asked all those questions. After he took my money.

I would be asking why a guy in a suit:
* Didn’t ride in the ambulance?
* Ride with a police officer?
* Doesn’t have a credit card?
* Doesn’t have work mates who would spot him money?
* Couldn’t visit an ATM?
* Couldn’t visit a bank?
* Phone a friend?
* Try the sob story on a cabbie?
* Find himself in Manuka, in a suit, without any means of paying for anything…

I’d still rather take the risk of being suckered than saying no to someone in genuine distress. You assessed the situation, were aware of the risk, and made a call. The call turned out to be wrong, but it wasn’t stupid. Compassion may be seen to be a handicap, but geez you’re glad of it when you’re the one in genuine trouble.

Nowadays most people have a camera on their phone. Just insist on taking a portrait or video next time you’re about to hand over cash at the door or on the street to someone with a unverifiable story. If they refuse, they’re obviously not that desperate.

Next time do what i do,
Offer to ring the cab company for him or offer him a lift.

They seem to lose interest about their injured relative after that.

http://the-riotact.com/?p=12123

It is difficult when people scam on the good nature of others. Still, I always consider whether I can do without the money. If I can, I let myself be scammed.

This guy must be making some OK cash – enough to afford a suit at least. Last time I saw him he was in trackpants + t-shirt.

I know, but I feel like a total sucker. Plus it just makes it that much harder to be generous next time someone legit is in trouble. Funny how you only seem to think lucidly after these situations.

Thats what you get for being a nice person. It sux!

Will do. But you shouldn’t feel bad, you were trying to do the right thing.