Tuesday, February 24, 2004
Homeless Scam…
Homeless Scam...So - a few months ago (I think I even blogged about it then) Freeman and I were on our way to the train station to go home. We were walking through this park one block up from the mission. As usual it was crowded with bums and various vagrants looking for a handout. Now usually they leave us alone, there are only a few that actually bother passersby on that particular corner.
On this day Freeman and I were carrying extra baggage (Freeman was hauling a laptop down to the train for me cause I was carrying a bunch of other stuff.) Regardless, we were hauling a lot more than we usually do. And we were having our usual animated conversation about this or that. Just your basic walk to the train.
Then this homeless guy yells at Freeman that Freeman made him drop his food (there was a hotdog on the ground) and there were all these guys hanging around kind of ganging up on Freeman. They were hollering that Freeman needed to pay them back for the hotdog that he made the guy drop. Freeman would have given the guy some money... He felt really bad. But he didn't have any. I saw the situation was going no where and yanked on Freeman's arm till we left the scene.
Crisis Averted.
A couple of days ago I went out to lunch with my friend Rob. He proceeds to tell me this story about this homeless guy that was hanging out on a street corner with a small to-go box of food. I couldn't believe what I was hearing! It was almost the exact story - the exact sequence of events that had happened to Freeman only a few months before. I told Rob & Freeman about each other's stories.
It was a scam.
Now Freeman, Rob and I are all on the lookout for these people trying to pull off this scam. Making you think that you made them drop food and then trying to yell or humiliate you into giving them money. On my way to the train station tonight - I saw one of them.
I am figuring at this point there are more than one of these guys pulling this scam on unsuspecting people. As I was walking to the station, I saw a guy standing on the opposite corner from where I was. He was gingerly holding a small to-go box of some sort of food. He was watching me very closely too. I totally went the other way - there was no way I was going to fall into something I knew was a scheme. I was a perfect target tonight - carrying extra baggage and seeming to not pay a lot of attention to what was going on around me (I am extremely tired tonight) but I didn't fall for it. I am really glad that I know about this silly little scheme and that I know enough to keep an eye out for people trying to pull one over on me. So while it sucks that it happened to both Rob and Freeman - I am glad it did. It really raised my awareness of what can happen around me. I was getting a little complacent.
Anyway - I had better get back to work! These things don't write themselves!
Page 1 of 1 pages
As you wake in the morning
What do you feel?
Does a rush of happiness
wash over you when,
Suddenly, you realize you are alive?
