...Wait...what?

[Midorikawa]

Dad and I were in a nearby resort town this week, walking down the street, cameras in hand, and there was some bum on the steps to a restaurant, wearing expensive clothing, smoking, and looking like some fraudster.

Bum: Spare any cash? I need food!
Dad: No cash.
Me: I don't carry cash.
Bum: Got a credit card?
Dad and I: O_o *walks away quickly*

I've NEVER had a bum ask for a credit card when I told them I have no money, until now. No idea what he expected, and dad and I were rather at it for a while.

[Sheldonrs]

Wonder where you would have to swipe the card to run the charge.

[Gawdzillers]

Wonder where you would have to swipe the card to run the charge.

[blas]

Only Sheldon would ask such a rhetorical question.

Better yet, where is the keypad for your PIN?

[chainedbarista]

lol; cardswipe, in back; keypad, front.

damn, now i need brain bleach.

wears expensive everything then asks you for money? wtf?

[Mystic]

Don't you know? The homeless carry skimmers now.

[MoonCat]

Reminds me of the time I was walking home from the drugstore and passed a young girl, maybe 16-17, sitting on the front step in the open doorway of her home. She looked up at me and said, "Hi. You got a quarter?"

God. They haven't even got enough get up-and-go to leave their homes before they panhandle.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Just make sure you swipe your card the right way the first time.

[wagegoth]

I've noticed lately that there seem to be a lot of teenagers and twentysomethings asking for change. Frankly, I think they're a bunch of lazy scammers. Lots of times at BART I get the, "I need fifty cents to get a ticket home. Can you help me?" What?! You're dressed to the nines and you're asking me for change? Bish, please.

[raw456]

Hubby once saw a guy hassling people for money for food near the train station. He saw a woman go into the Micky D's behind the guy, buy him a meal and came back out and handed it too him. He threw a fit at her cause he wanted money. She said "you're asking for money for food, I bought you food" He threw the bag of food on the ground and stomped away. I'm guessing what he really wanted was a fix and not food.

[Mr Hero]

Hubby once saw a guy hassling people for money for food near the train station. He saw a woman go into the Micky D's behind the guy, buy him a meal and came back out and handed it too him. He threw a fit at her cause he wanted money. She said "you're asking for money for food, I bought you food" He threw the bag of food on the ground and stomped away. I'm guessing what he really wanted was a fix and not food.

I think I remember reading that this happened to Lupo on her way home from one of her famed shopping trips. A guy asked for money for food, and Lupo offered him some of her fruit or something. The guy totally went off on her.

[Andara Bledin]

I've never had someone throw a fit at me because I gave them food instead of money.

Then again, I've got a pretty good bs detector for this kind of thing, it seems.

^-.-^

[Can I Help Your A$$?]

Mayhaps a new phone app can scan someone's credit card and deposit it into your account? A panhandler with nice, expensive clothes just might keep a bank account.

But it still sounds like a cartoon to me.

[TheMike]

Hubby once saw a guy hassling people for money for food near the train station. He saw a woman go into the Micky D's behind the guy, buy him a meal and came back out and handed it too him. He threw a fit at her cause he wanted money. She said "you're asking for money for food, I bought you food" He threw the bag of food on the ground and stomped away. I'm guessing what he really wanted was a fix and not food.

I've had the same thing happen.. used a bag of apples as a BS detector..

[Midorikawa]

Mayhaps a new phone app can scan someone's credit card and deposit it into your account? A panhandler with nice, expensive clothes just might keep a bank account.

But it still sounds like a cartoon to me.

...now that I think about it, he had an iPhone to his ear when he asked for change. methinks he's new at this panhandling thing. He can afford an iPhone, and asked a guy who's been able to upgrade at discount price for 6 months, but hasn't because he can't afford it, for money.

I'm pretty good at the BS detector and can tell when people genuinely are in need. I stopped and gave food to a guy who told me because he broke his leg (still had the cast on, but it was due to be removed the next week) he lost his house, his job, his wife, and his kids were taken by CPS due to lack of funding to take care of them. He was thankful and told me he hadn't eaten in a week. I think a friend who was with me gave him a coat he had just bought as well, since this happened in winter.

...then there's the panhandlers at The Gateway in Salt Lake. My personal favorite is the guy who is "crippled", on crutches, and asking for money I later saw walk into the bathroom with no limp carrying the crutches.

Sadly, in my experience, the ones who truly are in need don't ask for money. They just scrape out a living the best they can under the circumstances. The greedy panhandlers who make more than I do ask for money.