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Is Secret Cash Blueprint 2.0 a scam?

Gave her gas and cash, is that the end of this scam?

  • A random request by a stranger on the street for gas and cash, followed by a request for a cell phone number... I'm fairly sure he got scammed, but is that all there is to it? So my kindhearted SO was walking to my place when a woman in a car pulled up next to him and asked him if he could help her out. She claimed to be a flight attendant who was in the city visiting her ill mother, and was almost out of gas and had left her purse at her home out by the airport. She has a 3 year old in the car with her. SO normally doesn't give money to panhandlers, but something about the story rings true for him and he feels bad for her, so he says he will walk down to the nearest gas station - about 3/4 of a mile away - and meet her there. He gets there, she's waiting, he buys her $20 worth of gas. Then she asks him if he can spare any additional cash since she doesn't have anything on her. He gives her $10. She thanks him profusely, and asks him for his first name and cell phone number because she is supposedly going to see if she can get him a free ticket on her airline in return for his help (something she didn't mention before he bought the gas) - she calls his number in front of him, so her cell is now in his call list, too. "Good deed" concluded, he said goodbye and headed back on his way. I've been approached by plenty of panhandlers with elaborate stories before, so I was skeptical the minute he told me about her pulling up to him. The story just seemed to get more implausible as it went on - for example, she supposedly lives on the other side of the country but has a home here to visit her mother. However, the cell number is a local number, and plugging it into Spokeo shows a partial address that is nowhere near the airport. She says she's going straight back to her home by the airport - where she supposedly left her purse - now that she has gas, but needs additional cash "just in case" despite it being a 30 minute drive away. It just seems fishy to me. My thinking is that he was almost certainly scammed. I've already gently suggested to my SO that he shouldn't make any further exceptions to his policy of not giving money to people who approach him on the street, and perhaps we can find some volunteer work/other charitable outlet for his kindness. However, as an overly cautious type, I'm wondering if there's anything else we should be concerned about beside the fact that he's out $30. Any reason that she'd want the phone number besides just playing up her story? (It won't lead back to either of our current addresses.) He's pretty sure he wasn't followed as he walked the 1.5 miles to get here, but then again I doubt he was thinking to check for that at the time... should I be concerned about anyone showing up here, or is that just my overactive imagination?

  • Answer:

    I'm a magician with a some knowledge about scams. I've travelled in 'high scam' areas and know how to avoid them. Not all scams play on people's generosity as this one does, but here's my take on "generosity scams" and panhandlers... If you're constantly getting conned by these people, you're a pushover. It pays to educate yourself on their techniques and be aware. BUT, if you're so on guard that you NEVER get taken in, then you'll probably end up at some point turning away a person genuinely in distress. If I'm unsure, I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. If that means I'll occasionally be 'scammed', then that's a price I'm willing to pay to be a decent citizen. Case in point: A homeless guy asked me for money for a drink on a really hot day. I obliged, but thought it was probably just a standard line. A few minutes later he walked past me again with a juice, and said thanks. If you have more questions about scams, my friend Nick Johnson is Australia's scam expert. He has a scam http://www.conman.com.au/confessions/ and a scam http://scams.wikispaces.com/, and will gladly answer any scam-related questions.

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It's not a "scam" if someone tells you a sob story and you feel that it's appropriate to help them out with cash. I think the important thing to take away from this situation is that, when you're approached by someone who asks for money, you are in control of this situation. You can say no and move on, if you want to. Or you can simply hand the person the appropriate amount of cash, which is an amount that you decide on. You should be the one to decide if you'll go to a second location with the person. You should also be the one to decide if you will exchange contact information, promise to see them again, or the like. If the person is trying to con you, it's a lack of boundaries that they're really playing on. If you have boundaries, you can't get conned. If I were in the same situation, I probably would have just given her $10-20 and let her go on her way. If her story is true, that's all she needs. If she's going to use it for meth later, that's her business.

Sara C.

My guess is that she's going to call you again with another crisis. She will tell you that she has no one else to call and that her child is sick etc etc. I had something similar happen only the guy told me he'd been kicked out of his place because he was gay and HIV-positive. Something like that would normally tug really hard on my heartstrings, but someone he met once for five minutes is really his last refuge? Anyway, your SO was an easy mark and now he's marked for future reference.

desjardins

I would probably shrug and think that if someone with a three year old needed $30 that bad then I'm happy I could help and sorry they felt they had to lie to get it.

fshgrl

I've heard this style of scam a lot - I bet the whole phone number thing was about verisimilitude, not scamming per se. I've had people ask for my phone number before (back when cell phones weren't so common). Since I usually give people (some) money if they ask, when I encounter this scam I tend to (gently) say that I've heard this story before (which usually shuts people up) but that I am giving them [modest sum] because I want to help them out.

Frowner

I'm pretty sure that there's nothing you can do with just a name and cell phone number - otherwise fake job listings would be the scammer's vehicle of choice.

wolfdreams01

In the OP's story, the man gave the woman his number and she dialed it while in close proximity. That could have exposed his phone's bluetooth and from there...well, watch this video: That sentence makes no sense. Dialling a phone number doesn't touch the bluetooth stack, nor does it facilitate the manipulation of the phone _at the other end of the call_ in any way except making it ring. Manipulating a phone with Bluetooth is not at all the same as cloning it.

mhoye

No, you can't clone a cell with just its phone number.

mhoye

not saying this wasn't a "scam" but one of your main points of "evidence" is that the address you found connected to this woman's cell phone number isn't where she says it should be. and then you claim that neither you or your SO's cell phone numbers are tied to your current address.

dogwalker

I had someone approach me on a street one time with a story about how they had to get equipment for their job uptown and some other complication and needed $10. I gave it to them and they said they would call me or mail me back the $10, and of course they didn't. Nothing bad happened, except I was out $10.

katinka-katinka

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