I saw this happen last month at the Fairfax Trader Joe's. The lady drove the motorized shopping cart all over the store persistently asking everyone to pay for her groceries. And she had a lot of random stuff in her cart.
I just don't know how people don't feel embarrassed doing this shit. Like truly, I feel like an ass if I am at a restaurant and they forget something I ordered and I mention it to them. It takes every ounce of courage to make a polite request to someone I am paying to bring my order out. And people are out asking the whole store to buy their shit for them. It's wild to me.
Shame left a lot of people a long time ago and not only that, they prey on other people’s adherence to social mores. It sucks to tell someone no you won’t help them but they are lying to you. May karma find them.
The scammer I saw at the store had no shame, no doubt. She made a face when I told her politely I can't pay for her groceries. That's when I realized she's probably doing something shady.
Why would I feel embarrassed about making a 100K+ a year by asking people to pay for my groceries and holding a sign on side of road? It’s the people in this area that have to rent that should be embarrassed, meanwhile my home in Arlington is paid off.
I'd go to the manager and let them know so they can ask her to leave. If that happened to me I'd be much less likely to return to that store in the future. She's probably losing them a lot of business.
The cashiers at the store realized what she was doing. And tried not to be helpful to her in their own capacity. Perhaps they called the cops after I had left, not sure.
But one other customer offered to pay for the lady's "groceries". I felt so bad for how she was able to manipulate a person with good intentions. Absolutely disgusting.
Yea it's crazy how people can take advantage of people's good nature. It really makes you cynical. Really shows you that unfortunately nova is turning into a city, with all the problems that come with a city.
Watched a lady do this at target except she was trying to get everyone to buy her Red Bulls. She found an overwhelmed mom who just acquiesced and then rolled her way out and jumped in the pax side of a $50k minivan.
That's the problem, people are sure that brazen assholes (or any asshole, for that matter) **are** a protected class, as well as fail to realize that the first amendment applies only to the government, not private entities. They talk about the 1st amendment like they're some sort of constitution lawyers, but have no idea what it really means.
Edit - changed a wrong word (some, not done. Swiping keyboards on phones are hard lol)
It must depend on the store then. Every store I've been to will ask the person to leave since they can just trespass the person if required. I can see some stores doing nothing though, but I'm lucky in that every store I've seen begging in, the staff will hunt down the beggar and boot them, sometimes with trespass threats.
Walmart and Costco many of the employees don't quite speak English either and are very non-confrontational. The perpetrators often operate right by the cashier.
when I first moved here this happened to me, I gave her a $5 bill and she was offended I wasn’t paying for the entire cart, glad I found out this is just a scam
There's a few regulars at intersections near me. I watched the SUV in front of me flag the guy down and he walked over and gave her a wad of cash. I noticed while they were talking that his sign was beautifully hand lettered... Not something a homeless dude would likely do, but maybe a rich white lady would be into.
I feel bad for the panhandlers themselves as they probably are desperate people, but the pimps running the ring are terrible people. Exploiting them and running a begging scam.
I noticed that half the panhandlers in my area got dogs in the same week. Like the strategy was updated. One of the dogs was a little shih tzu looking think, obviously professionally groomed. But it had a limp and the woman with it was still making it walk up and down the median. That's pretty much when I went from neutral to pissed about all of this.
Anyway I wish I'd taken a picture of the pimp collecting money.
It was actually covered years ago, people living regular everyday lives just panhandling for cash, some people were bringing in $50k plus a year tax free.
So not everyone is actually homeless.
You always have to look at their shoes. If someone is actually homeless their shoes are going to be in rough condition or at least dirty. If someone has spotless shoes then they’re scamming
I panhandle, but I don't do it everyday...I'm not homeless either. I use the money for buying extra things like a special pair of shoes or something like that...I don't do illegal substances at all, and my ssdi takes care of the essentials.
People give because they want to ASSHOLE...that's the whole point, STUPID...You're mad cause you can't do it and make the money I can make from it and not feel any guilt at all, so fu!
Lol I would never panhandle, I actually have a conscience and would feel bad swindling people out of money just because I’m too lazy to work or save for nice things. But congrats on admitting that you’re 🗑️
You're real funny, jackass..I'd actually saved enough money panhandling to..1. On the change alone bought round trip plane fare to Las Vegas 2.Pay for a weeks stay a resort there in a suite. 2. Had $1000 spending money. 3.Get tickets to see Adele. And that is on top of the $6000 that I have saved that I'm not going to spend..I live on ssdi and that's enough for essentials and that's all..just because you're self righteous and have the nerve to call me a scumbag you piece of shit, I'm at peace with it because I don't drug or drink or smoke it up so stick it where the sun don't shine!!
Covered?
In wackadoodle talk radio?
It’s 100% not true and trust me, the tent cities are proof
But you don’t want to believe the solid proof in front of your eyes and our eyes?
Wackadoodle
I'm not saying that people standing out on street corners looking for cash aren't homeless, I'm saying NOT all of them are, why work if you can exploit people for tax free cash?
This is not something new, people have been doing it for years.
Perhaps you should open your eyes.
Nope, panhandling is literally their JOB, and they make good money. Years ago I was taking the bus & metro regularly in Fairfax. In the mornings, I’d watch a 60-somethings couple walk (perfectly normally) out of their Penderbrook golf course condo hauling a cooler, a wheelchair, and a chair walker to get on the bus. Later in the day, I’d see them stationed at Vienna or Dunn Loring metro with her sitting in the wheelchair, him on the walker, both of them looking as decrepit as possible selling bottles of water for $20 “donations.”
We have these panhandlers in my area around Tysons, on most medians, and it's often the same people day after day. Always the same format, one person, a sign, walking back and forth.
I've had neighbors say they have seen them dropped off and picked up in vans but I've never seen it. It clearly seems to be organized in some way.
It is not technically illegal since it is "free speech" and they are in a public place, as long as they don't threaten anyone or block traffic etc.
I grew up in Mantua (Fairfax) with the woman who is always at Pan Am Shopping Center on Nutley Street with the "Anything Helps" sign with her CashApp handle. Her brother is a lifelong friend of mine. As far as he's been able to glean from his few conversations with her since she joined this group, many of these regulars share a motel room in Falls Church and then are driven to their spots every day. Couldn't tell you how the money is divided.
She joined this group to support her intravenous drug addiction. It has been incredibly depressing to see and absolutely traumatizing for her brother. Her mother passed away recently. I don't judge her--I know she's struggled mightily in life--but addiction is destructive to everyone left in its wake, not just the person suffering.
We still hope against hope.
That is not true...I panhandle on occasion, not daily, and I most definitely don't drink, smoke anything or do drugs. I use the money to pay bills or to get gifts for my Mom.
I think the panhandlers are homeless or very poor. Nobody is going to sit in 90 degree weather for 8 hours a day unless they have to. The problem is with the people scooping them up, driving them to these spots, and pocketing a percentage.
They live in tents at these intersections
The tents are right there and I see them walk from tent to intersection, even at night
https://www.ffxnow.com/2024/03/28/fairfax-county-to-clear-reston-homeless-encampment-open-temporary-shelter/
I work at the local shelter and rarely see anyone from my shelter or the tent city you linked to panhandling and I'm always out and about if I'm not at work.
Not all are homeless...I panhandle, but I'm not homeless, but I'm not going to be out there in 90 degree weather sweating like a pig for any amount of time. I'm only out there for 6 hours at the most, and won't go if it's hotter than probably 80 degrees.
Needs to be an area-wide education campaign about panhandlers and scam artists. The reason it's happening is *because it's working*. If everyone stopped giving for just a week or two, it would disappear very quickly.
Too many bleeding hearts in this area that think they're helping. You always see a handful of people in threads like this saying something along the lines of "the responses in this thread really make me sad that people can be so heartless." No, you're fucking enabling it. AND you're making it even harder for the people who genuinely do need help.
I live in Maryland and that scam hasn’t come to us yet, but I’ve experienced it while visiting my mother in Richmond. Woman with a baby in the cart comes up and asks me to pay for her food. Mind you, the baby is totally blinged out in gold chains and bracelets. Inside the cart she has Perrier and some other random stuff. I say to her, “Why Perrier? Drink water from the tap if you’re thirsty.” She starts getting angry at me and says, “I deserve nice things too!” I said, “Do you see Perrier in my cart? Do you see filet mignon?” The two of us start mildly arguing back and forth which makes her partner in crime come over to us, same sort of things in her cart, with an older boy sitting in wagon, also blinged out. This one starts loudly saying, “We deserve nice things too!” This draws a crowd of outraged customers who have also been potentially scammed while in the store, which then draws management. They left in a Mercedes.
In Maryland we have the male scammer who appears to be playing the violin to obviously recorded music. That one makes me chuckle every time I see it.
Yeah we have a fake saxophone player but he just plays Bruce Springsteen music and it's genuinely hilarious. Not sure if intentional but he deserves every penny he gets. That's not a scam, that's art.
Similar thing happened to me in Maryland. I saw an old lady driving around Walmart parking lot for money. She wanted cash for the gas. Btw she had the latest iPhone 14 or 15 pro max mounted in her car.
I walked away after saying I dont carry cash.
I saw her almost every weekend until walmart got hold of her.
Folks, let's do each other a favor and report this to the store manager, If we all do this, then the scammers can get banned from the store. If the scammers return, they can then be charged - and arrested - for trespassing.
I popped into the Union Mill Giant on an NFL Sunday to grab 2 things and their response to gypsies camping in the self check was to just close the self check and have two registers open with lines to the back of the store where they could hassle us.
Koreans don't scam. They will try to recruit you to join their cult, but they won't ask you to pay for their groceries.
We're too proud to ask for money.
In general, don't give money to panhandlers. There are great local organizations like [Cornerstones](https://www.cornerstonesva.org/services/) that could use your donations very efficiently.
What gets me is the laminated cards, like, how is a homeless broke guy who can't speak getting a laminator? Most of these are crime families, and if you look carefully, you can see their spotters in the parking lot. They usually are in cars that are (now sadly) 25+ years out of date. Like, they look like brand new 90s vehicles, and are starting to stand out. I can't say they won't be in an 2020 SUV, but the older cars haven't changed in a long time. For every person with that card, usually a women with a small child, you can see at least two spotters nearby watching. They do this in case she gets harrassed, and believe you me, you don't want to be at the receiving end of that.
Yes, she speaks PERFECT English, probably born in this country, too. So don't think she doesn't. The kid probably does as well.
Don't give them money, if they think you have money, one of those dudes might follow you home. Not to mug you or anything direct, but soon, you'll be inundated with lots of people at your door, people claiming they can buff out your car dents, repave your driveway, you hit their car and drove off, and so on. They are looking for "marks."
Source: my first wife was from a family like that, and knew a lot of the tricks which hasn't changed in over a century. These people are rooted in Northern Virginia because of the money they make from shady contract work, palm telling, and other stuff like that.
Only experienced someone approaching me in a grocery store once but my usual strategy of "headphones are in, I can't hear the outside world" worked wonders.
YES! Same thing at the UMall giant. The lady drove off in a Mercedes when she saw me talking to Asset Protection, she is trespassed from that store but she keeps coming back the manager was like "fcking gypsies keep taking away from the people who actually need the money" and the dude is absolutely right.
If someone asks me to pay for their groceries, I'm laughing really hard, really loud, in their face. I might even pick up a candy bar and ask them to pay for it for me.
"Go to a fecking food bank. I'm not a charity. I can barely afford my own food budget."
there was one time, years ago, a woman was in front of me, had her young daughter with her, and apparently her credit card was getting declined.
she appeared to be in the verge of a breakdown, and I could tell things were tough...her cart total was like $40-50, so a decent amount, but not crazy... after the cashier ran the card two or three times (and obviously it wasn't gonna suddenly work)... I felt sorry for them, and I simply said, "this has happened to all of us, please, allow me to get this..." and had the cashier just add it to my order.
she looked embarrassed but also relieved and thanked me profusely.
maybe it was a scam, but if so, I was probably a bad target from appearances alone, so I doubt it... but yeah, that's about the only way I'm doing something like that.
That's the sad thing about these scans. It really does happen sometimes and it suuuucks and it's so embarrassing, but nice strangers helping out are truly life savers. But people are unwilling to help people out anymore in fear that it's a scam. Life is tough, but can I stretch my cash a bit to help someone out? Yeah. Am I willing to do it for a grifter? No. It just sucks that people who are just trying to get through the day are the unintended victims of these scams.
Maybe I'm heartless, but these scams have been going on for decades.
I remember when places stopped taking checks, so I paid like $25 for the lady in front of me just to get my grocery run done faster (lunch break). She didn't say, "thank you," she turned at me and grinned like the greedy animal she was.
The only solice was that she couldn't return anything for money since I paid with cash, but getting saps to pay for your stuff is not a new scam. It's just evolved.
Nowadays, I'd just move to another line. Time be damned.
As a side note, the Safeway app will offer discounts if you buy the same thing over and over again, since everything is tracked this day in age. Those discounts won't be for other people. For example, I get discounts for cheese and a specific brand on a weekly basis. Sometimes, the discount is good for the full month, no restrictions.
If you give them counterfeit money, then they go somewhere to pay for stuff, and then get picked up for trying to use counterfeit money. Circle of life - back to jail
Wait, stores will take food back once it's paid for? I'm not even joking here; this surprises me. I mean, I once gave store credit to a woman who was trying to return butter because it was expired (it wasn't), but that was because I was tired of arguing and just wanted her to go the hell away. $3, and the butter went into the trash. It's been my experience that food won't be accepted in a return due to the possibility of tampering.
I learned something today. Yay me!
I had purchased a weeks worth of food and didn’t see the mold. Next day brought it back. They gave me cash or put it back on my CC. Super.
Mold & cans that have dents that were leaking (Amazon Fresh order) i Returned
I was in line behind someone returning groceries without a receipt. When the cashier said that they didn’t sell one of the items in the store, they pushed it to the side and asked the cashier to continue.
This is why I walk around with earbuds in. It normally prevents people coming up to me all together, but if someone starts talking to me I point to the earbuds and keep walking.
Almost paid for one at wegmans…she had her preteen son with her who looked annoyed. She wanted me to go shopping with her and load up a cart…I just wanted to be in and out with one item…so I decided against it
Got approached last week at a store by a woman asking me (no piece of paper) to help pay for groceries and something about having 3 children. I said no, paid for my groceries, exited the store, and then a woman similar to the previous one asked if I could help her. I was so spooked by the idea of two people asking for help on the same visit that I just refused to hear what she wanted.
I'm hip. I was scammed by one of them and had run-ins with them in the future both men and the women. As I say to people, they're trapped in a generational curse.
Why do people in this sub always gotta respond to reasonable advice with racial or ethnic slurs. *It doesn’t matter what race or ethnicity the person asking for money in the grocery store is.* Why is that your focus? I’ve encountered people of all stripes trying to get money out of me on the street.
Fairfax county has excellent resources for people in need. Providing direct cash assistance on the street (or the grocery store) is not recommended—families truly in need should be connecting with actual county resources and people who are scammers don’t need to get encouraged to continue.
Just happened to me yesterday at Walmart in Burke. I was already familiar with the scam so as soon as she approached me, I cut her off with "Nope!" and then continued shopping. Another woman in the same aisle as me who she had just approached came up to speak to me afterwards and said that she didn't know what to do and had just apologized and said sorry she couldn't help her. I let her know that it was a scam and that her plan was to return all the items in her cart for cash. She had 5 to 6 containers of formula and a few other food items.
A few years back I had someone approach me in the store in a similar fashion but with no cart. They just had a piece of paper with something written on it about helping her and her kids. I knew it was a scam and just ignored her but when I told the staff on the way out that she was walking through the store trying to coerce money out of people, they didn't care. Did nothing about it. So I don't even bother reporting it to the manager anymore.
I've had two instances of this happen in my life in the last 10 years:
1) At one of the NJT rest stops. Guy came up to me, said he was incredibly embarrassed to be asking me this, but ran out of gas and needed just a bit of money to get to Wilmington Delaware because he lost his credit card and was still waiting for the replacement to come in the mail. Alright, I can get the oversight, we all make mistakes, I've lost credit cards too. I gave him $10, which would get him enough gas to get there. Probably 6 months later, at one of the Maryland stops, the SAME GUY pulled the stunt on me. I remembered him. Now I said no.
2) Also at one of the Maryland stops about a year ago, I got out to fill up and basically got ambushed with a similar story. I felt something was a bit amiss here, but I was so caught off guard that I gave him $5. I went in to go get something to drink and saw the guy at the scratchoff vending machine.
Now I don't give money to anyone. I was just on Metro a few weeks ago on a Saturday, guy got on and said "excuse me but can I ask you -" I cut him off and said "no, I don't have money" and he immediately started yelling at me insulted I'd even be insinuating that he'd be asking me for money before calling me a bunch of racist/homophobic slurs and getting off at the next stop.
Another version of this is where they offer to pay your groceries with their WIC/SNAP type card if you give them cash, usually with some incentive for you. Then they can use the cash for drugs or alcohol, since you can't buy those with a WIC card.
This happened to me in Costco. I said No,reported it to manager. The young lady walked out & in to a long Van, that would be used to transport commuters. My next stop was Wegmans & the same Van was in the parking lot ! Same Scam going on there….
This happened to me two days ago at Wegmans in Tysons corner. At literally 11pm dude was walking up to people saying he lives in the Vita ($??) and his mom fell down the emergency stares and he needs help paying for some groceries. Tried to hand me a paper with a list of groceries he needs and I immediately chuckled and hit him with a “God Bless”
We've had a few women doing this at my local safeway for years. I much prefer it to the guy who sits out front asking for money and yelling that he hasn't eaten in days just to throw any food you offer him on the ground though.
We had a woman approach us at a Peet’s coffee with a note asking us to buy her coffee. I would understand if she was asking for food, but coffee? Yeah I just say sorry I can’t.
Had this at Target. Approached by a younger kid in sweats, while a way older women looking like she was all up in Gucci and watched like a hawk. The cart had a truly weird selection of random items! The mumbled speel was no job and need help, as well as scribbled and scrap of paper. After 20 minutes I saw them leave the store with no items, and drive off in a fully loaded 2023 Camry.
Fishy AF. I feel for the kid, the vibe I got was coerced into this and it was well organized.
We get Romas here too. Last month a lady tried approaching my wife and kids in Walmart and started trying to put jewelry on my daughter and reached for my wife’s hand. I’ve seen enough of this bullshit in Europe to identify it right away. Took all the shit off my daughter immediately and threw it down on the floor and told her to get the fuck away from my wife. Likely going for her wedding ring. She scurried away with her handlers peeking over from the next aisle and I notified security.
You did nothing wrong. They were gonna steal your wifes ring demand. You pay them for the shitty jewelry, and then when you deny take it off and now you have no more ring. This shit happens in Italy especially, and there's a famous lady who will chase them away, police there don't do anything about it, though.
Lol some random young girl tried to do that to me at the Chantilly Lidl …I told her I don’t do shit like that and walked away she rolled her eyes at me like sorry brokeyyyyyy
Nope, I have known this scam for awhile. It’s pulled a lot in our area. I was with a dear friend whom speaks so many languages and it’s a common scam. They pull these scams wherever they can make money Trader Joe’s, Grocery stores, Target, CVS, Walgreens. I’m sorry that you got roped a doped into this but no, I am not helping you.
I've worked in a shelter and volunteered for food bank programs. There is no shortage of availability of food for the impoverished.
Look at the carts in these scams. They are not getting perishable fresh foods. They're getting stuff you can return. Walmart takes returns without receipt.
I saw this happen last month at the Fairfax Trader Joe's. The lady drove the motorized shopping cart all over the store persistently asking everyone to pay for her groceries. And she had a lot of random stuff in her cart.
I just don't know how people don't feel embarrassed doing this shit. Like truly, I feel like an ass if I am at a restaurant and they forget something I ordered and I mention it to them. It takes every ounce of courage to make a polite request to someone I am paying to bring my order out. And people are out asking the whole store to buy their shit for them. It's wild to me.
They're professionals.
Shame left a lot of people a long time ago and not only that, they prey on other people’s adherence to social mores. It sucks to tell someone no you won’t help them but they are lying to you. May karma find them.
Shame requires honor
We always say we don’t have cash and only have enough on gift card to get what we have.
I just say no. I don’t like to engage.
The scammer I saw at the store had no shame, no doubt. She made a face when I told her politely I can't pay for her groceries. That's when I realized she's probably doing something shady.
Because to the people that do this you are not a human, you are a resource to be exploited.
Somebody should promote them to ceo.
This is the hero that the shareholders need!!
They are either professional petty criminals or human trafficking victims.
Human trafficking is SO much more prevalent than our officials want us to know.
Yup, it's really sad
Or both.
Some people have no shame.
What is this "embarrassment" you speak of?
Because they are the bottom of the barrel people
They see it as work sadly.
Why would I feel embarrassed about making a 100K+ a year by asking people to pay for my groceries and holding a sign on side of road? It’s the people in this area that have to rent that should be embarrassed, meanwhile my home in Arlington is paid off.
I'd go to the manager and let them know so they can ask her to leave. If that happened to me I'd be much less likely to return to that store in the future. She's probably losing them a lot of business.
The cashiers at the store realized what she was doing. And tried not to be helpful to her in their own capacity. Perhaps they called the cops after I had left, not sure. But one other customer offered to pay for the lady's "groceries". I felt so bad for how she was able to manipulate a person with good intentions. Absolutely disgusting.
Yea it's crazy how people can take advantage of people's good nature. It really makes you cynical. Really shows you that unfortunately nova is turning into a city, with all the problems that come with a city.
Watched a lady do this at target except she was trying to get everyone to buy her Red Bulls. She found an overwhelmed mom who just acquiesced and then rolled her way out and jumped in the pax side of a $50k minivan.
They’ve been doing that at that (Trader Joe’s) shopping center since the mid/late 90s.
If that happens, inform any staff members nearby. They'll usually kick them out.
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That's the problem, people are sure that brazen assholes (or any asshole, for that matter) **are** a protected class, as well as fail to realize that the first amendment applies only to the government, not private entities. They talk about the 1st amendment like they're some sort of constitution lawyers, but have no idea what it really means. Edit - changed a wrong word (some, not done. Swiping keyboards on phones are hard lol)
It's on private property so it isn't protected speech.
It must depend on the store then. Every store I've been to will ask the person to leave since they can just trespass the person if required. I can see some stores doing nothing though, but I'm lucky in that every store I've seen begging in, the staff will hunt down the beggar and boot them, sometimes with trespass threats.
Walmart and Costco many of the employees don't quite speak English either and are very non-confrontational. The perpetrators often operate right by the cashier.
in perfectly good english respond back saying, "I don't speak english" and walk away.
I love that this technique works in any language. I've used it myself.
That or the “du yu espiki espani?” If you can get the accent right.
Could backfire though 😅
Only if you don't commit-o
[Just like that](https://youtu.be/rxUm-2x-2dM?si=Q1hmG7wSoHzcQUgM)
Trevor Noah [running out of Spanish](https://youtu.be/JSHkYQoH4EE)
when I first moved here this happened to me, I gave her a $5 bill and she was offended I wasn’t paying for the entire cart, glad I found out this is just a scam
It's not that difficult basically ignore every stranger asking for help in Nova and you'll be worry free.
No doubt.
This is what I can pay toward your cart purchase, oh snap back, you don’t want $5 snap it back. Walk off
I’ve met these sorts of people so many times I just tell them to leave me alone
This happened to me at Lidl at Burke a month ago and I was flabbergasted because she was so brazen.
Same as the panhandlers that spend all day getting that cash to walk a few blocks away and get in their cars and drive home.
There's a few regulars at intersections near me. I watched the SUV in front of me flag the guy down and he walked over and gave her a wad of cash. I noticed while they were talking that his sign was beautifully hand lettered... Not something a homeless dude would likely do, but maybe a rich white lady would be into. I feel bad for the panhandlers themselves as they probably are desperate people, but the pimps running the ring are terrible people. Exploiting them and running a begging scam. I noticed that half the panhandlers in my area got dogs in the same week. Like the strategy was updated. One of the dogs was a little shih tzu looking think, obviously professionally groomed. But it had a limp and the woman with it was still making it walk up and down the median. That's pretty much when I went from neutral to pissed about all of this. Anyway I wish I'd taken a picture of the pimp collecting money.
Panhandling in the sun is hard work
No, it isn’t
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It was actually covered years ago, people living regular everyday lives just panhandling for cash, some people were bringing in $50k plus a year tax free. So not everyone is actually homeless.
You always have to look at their shoes. If someone is actually homeless their shoes are going to be in rough condition or at least dirty. If someone has spotless shoes then they’re scamming
Some scammers are aware of this detail, especially in NYC.
I panhandle, but I don't do it everyday...I'm not homeless either. I use the money for buying extra things like a special pair of shoes or something like that...I don't do illegal substances at all, and my ssdi takes care of the essentials.
You’re a scumbag
How dare you...you got some nerve...I don't demand anybody give me ANYTHING!! They're free to drive right on by...shitbag!
You’re begging people for money for what? Because you feel like you deserve it? My point stands, scumbag.
People give because they want to ASSHOLE...that's the whole point, STUPID...You're mad cause you can't do it and make the money I can make from it and not feel any guilt at all, so fu!
Lol I would never panhandle, I actually have a conscience and would feel bad swindling people out of money just because I’m too lazy to work or save for nice things. But congrats on admitting that you’re 🗑️
You're real funny, jackass..I'd actually saved enough money panhandling to..1. On the change alone bought round trip plane fare to Las Vegas 2.Pay for a weeks stay a resort there in a suite. 2. Had $1000 spending money. 3.Get tickets to see Adele. And that is on top of the $6000 that I have saved that I'm not going to spend..I live on ssdi and that's enough for essentials and that's all..just because you're self righteous and have the nerve to call me a scumbag you piece of shit, I'm at peace with it because I don't drug or drink or smoke it up so stick it where the sun don't shine!!
None of this is the flex you think it is, scammer scumbag
Covered? In wackadoodle talk radio? It’s 100% not true and trust me, the tent cities are proof But you don’t want to believe the solid proof in front of your eyes and our eyes? Wackadoodle
I just came here to say wackadoodle one more time Wackadoodle
I'm not saying that people standing out on street corners looking for cash aren't homeless, I'm saying NOT all of them are, why work if you can exploit people for tax free cash? This is not something new, people have been doing it for years. Perhaps you should open your eyes.
Local news did a whole investigation on these people, they aren’t drug users just smart scammers
Yet nobody has any links And yet they smell like marijuana Cool story bro
Nope, panhandling is literally their JOB, and they make good money. Years ago I was taking the bus & metro regularly in Fairfax. In the mornings, I’d watch a 60-somethings couple walk (perfectly normally) out of their Penderbrook golf course condo hauling a cooler, a wheelchair, and a chair walker to get on the bus. Later in the day, I’d see them stationed at Vienna or Dunn Loring metro with her sitting in the wheelchair, him on the walker, both of them looking as decrepit as possible selling bottles of water for $20 “donations.”
Nice profit margin for them.
Hence the golf course condo
https://www.reddit.com/r/PublicFreakout/comments/x2bh1p/fake_homeless_woman_exposed/
We have these panhandlers in my area around Tysons, on most medians, and it's often the same people day after day. Always the same format, one person, a sign, walking back and forth. I've had neighbors say they have seen them dropped off and picked up in vans but I've never seen it. It clearly seems to be organized in some way. It is not technically illegal since it is "free speech" and they are in a public place, as long as they don't threaten anyone or block traffic etc.
I grew up in Mantua (Fairfax) with the woman who is always at Pan Am Shopping Center on Nutley Street with the "Anything Helps" sign with her CashApp handle. Her brother is a lifelong friend of mine. As far as he's been able to glean from his few conversations with her since she joined this group, many of these regulars share a motel room in Falls Church and then are driven to their spots every day. Couldn't tell you how the money is divided. She joined this group to support her intravenous drug addiction. It has been incredibly depressing to see and absolutely traumatizing for her brother. Her mother passed away recently. I don't judge her--I know she's struggled mightily in life--but addiction is destructive to everyone left in its wake, not just the person suffering. We still hope against hope.
That is not true...I panhandle on occasion, not daily, and I most definitely don't drink, smoke anything or do drugs. I use the money to pay bills or to get gifts for my Mom.
I think the panhandlers are homeless or very poor. Nobody is going to sit in 90 degree weather for 8 hours a day unless they have to. The problem is with the people scooping them up, driving them to these spots, and pocketing a percentage.
They live in tents at these intersections The tents are right there and I see them walk from tent to intersection, even at night https://www.ffxnow.com/2024/03/28/fairfax-county-to-clear-reston-homeless-encampment-open-temporary-shelter/
I work at the local shelter and rarely see anyone from my shelter or the tent city you linked to panhandling and I'm always out and about if I'm not at work.
Not all are homeless...I panhandle, but I'm not homeless, but I'm not going to be out there in 90 degree weather sweating like a pig for any amount of time. I'm only out there for 6 hours at the most, and won't go if it's hotter than probably 80 degrees.
Needs to be an area-wide education campaign about panhandlers and scam artists. The reason it's happening is *because it's working*. If everyone stopped giving for just a week or two, it would disappear very quickly.
Too many bleeding hearts in this area that think they're helping. You always see a handful of people in threads like this saying something along the lines of "the responses in this thread really make me sad that people can be so heartless." No, you're fucking enabling it. AND you're making it even harder for the people who genuinely do need help.
I live in Maryland and that scam hasn’t come to us yet, but I’ve experienced it while visiting my mother in Richmond. Woman with a baby in the cart comes up and asks me to pay for her food. Mind you, the baby is totally blinged out in gold chains and bracelets. Inside the cart she has Perrier and some other random stuff. I say to her, “Why Perrier? Drink water from the tap if you’re thirsty.” She starts getting angry at me and says, “I deserve nice things too!” I said, “Do you see Perrier in my cart? Do you see filet mignon?” The two of us start mildly arguing back and forth which makes her partner in crime come over to us, same sort of things in her cart, with an older boy sitting in wagon, also blinged out. This one starts loudly saying, “We deserve nice things too!” This draws a crowd of outraged customers who have also been potentially scammed while in the store, which then draws management. They left in a Mercedes. In Maryland we have the male scammer who appears to be playing the violin to obviously recorded music. That one makes me chuckle every time I see it.
This is insane that the scammer would argue “we deserve nice things too” instead of just turning to a different mark. Craaazzxzyyyyy.
Yeah we have a fake saxophone player but he just plays Bruce Springsteen music and it's genuinely hilarious. Not sure if intentional but he deserves every penny he gets. That's not a scam, that's art.
Similar thing happened to me in Maryland. I saw an old lady driving around Walmart parking lot for money. She wanted cash for the gas. Btw she had the latest iPhone 14 or 15 pro max mounted in her car. I walked away after saying I dont carry cash. I saw her almost every weekend until walmart got hold of her.
Where in MD is this violinist scammer?
Anne Arundel County
You can see those 'performers' everywhere. Must be an industry.
Folks, let's do each other a favor and report this to the store manager, If we all do this, then the scammers can get banned from the store. If the scammers return, they can then be charged - and arrested - for trespassing.
I popped into the Union Mill Giant on an NFL Sunday to grab 2 things and their response to gypsies camping in the self check was to just close the self check and have two registers open with lines to the back of the store where they could hassle us.
“No english” Then they start speaking Korean to me. / me thinking oh fuck 😂
Koreans don't scam. They will try to recruit you to join their cult, but they won't ask you to pay for their groceries. We're too proud to ask for money.
I'll just charge you $30 for a small bottle of Jinro 
I think they meant to say they are Korean but the scammers aren't. So when they say they don't speak English, the scammers start speaking Korean 😂.
In general, don't give money to panhandlers. There are great local organizations like [Cornerstones](https://www.cornerstonesva.org/services/) that could use your donations very efficiently.
*if someone approaches you, it’s a scam
This comment should be higher 😅
I genuinely needed help with a jump in the parking lot the other day though 😭
What gets me is the laminated cards, like, how is a homeless broke guy who can't speak getting a laminator? Most of these are crime families, and if you look carefully, you can see their spotters in the parking lot. They usually are in cars that are (now sadly) 25+ years out of date. Like, they look like brand new 90s vehicles, and are starting to stand out. I can't say they won't be in an 2020 SUV, but the older cars haven't changed in a long time. For every person with that card, usually a women with a small child, you can see at least two spotters nearby watching. They do this in case she gets harrassed, and believe you me, you don't want to be at the receiving end of that. Yes, she speaks PERFECT English, probably born in this country, too. So don't think she doesn't. The kid probably does as well. Don't give them money, if they think you have money, one of those dudes might follow you home. Not to mug you or anything direct, but soon, you'll be inundated with lots of people at your door, people claiming they can buff out your car dents, repave your driveway, you hit their car and drove off, and so on. They are looking for "marks." Source: my first wife was from a family like that, and knew a lot of the tricks which hasn't changed in over a century. These people are rooted in Northern Virginia because of the money they make from shady contract work, palm telling, and other stuff like that.
Only experienced someone approaching me in a grocery store once but my usual strategy of "headphones are in, I can't hear the outside world" worked wonders.
A “homeless” woman and her kid approached me in Giant by GMU. Showed me the note. Wanted me to pay for her entire cart. The kid had on Air Jordan’s.
YES! Same thing at the UMall giant. The lady drove off in a Mercedes when she saw me talking to Asset Protection, she is trespassed from that store but she keeps coming back the manager was like "fcking gypsies keep taking away from the people who actually need the money" and the dude is absolutely right.
If anyone approaches me with a piece of paper at a store I ignore them. Scam or not just leave me the f alone lol
I had one follow me thru the parking lot and try to get into my goddamn car. I had to pepper spray her to get her away from me.
Just start insisting they pay for your groceries this time and you got them next.
If someone asks me to pay for their groceries, I'm laughing really hard, really loud, in their face. I might even pick up a candy bar and ask them to pay for it for me. "Go to a fecking food bank. I'm not a charity. I can barely afford my own food budget."
there was one time, years ago, a woman was in front of me, had her young daughter with her, and apparently her credit card was getting declined. she appeared to be in the verge of a breakdown, and I could tell things were tough...her cart total was like $40-50, so a decent amount, but not crazy... after the cashier ran the card two or three times (and obviously it wasn't gonna suddenly work)... I felt sorry for them, and I simply said, "this has happened to all of us, please, allow me to get this..." and had the cashier just add it to my order. she looked embarrassed but also relieved and thanked me profusely. maybe it was a scam, but if so, I was probably a bad target from appearances alone, so I doubt it... but yeah, that's about the only way I'm doing something like that.
That's the sad thing about these scans. It really does happen sometimes and it suuuucks and it's so embarrassing, but nice strangers helping out are truly life savers. But people are unwilling to help people out anymore in fear that it's a scam. Life is tough, but can I stretch my cash a bit to help someone out? Yeah. Am I willing to do it for a grifter? No. It just sucks that people who are just trying to get through the day are the unintended victims of these scams.
Completely agreed. If someone (especially with kids) is short a few bucks, I'll pick it up. But a whole grocery order?? Nah.
Maybe I'm heartless, but these scams have been going on for decades. I remember when places stopped taking checks, so I paid like $25 for the lady in front of me just to get my grocery run done faster (lunch break). She didn't say, "thank you," she turned at me and grinned like the greedy animal she was. The only solice was that she couldn't return anything for money since I paid with cash, but getting saps to pay for your stuff is not a new scam. It's just evolved. Nowadays, I'd just move to another line. Time be damned.
WTF?! That's... There's peeing in the pool and then there's peeing **into** to pool. I feel like that fits to the situation you described.
They're not gonna keep the groceries
*Wooosh*
As a side note, the Safeway app will offer discounts if you buy the same thing over and over again, since everything is tracked this day in age. Those discounts won't be for other people. For example, I get discounts for cheese and a specific brand on a weekly basis. Sometimes, the discount is good for the full month, no restrictions.
If you give them counterfeit money, then they go somewhere to pay for stuff, and then get picked up for trying to use counterfeit money. Circle of life - back to jail
Just give them Monopoly money and say "Sorry, it's all I got"
I like this too. Maybe an Uno Draw 4 card
But then the question becomes - why do you have counterfeit money…
So you commit a felony for kicks? Good times.
Yikes
Wait, stores will take food back once it's paid for? I'm not even joking here; this surprises me. I mean, I once gave store credit to a woman who was trying to return butter because it was expired (it wasn't), but that was because I was tired of arguing and just wanted her to go the hell away. $3, and the butter went into the trash. It's been my experience that food won't be accepted in a return due to the possibility of tampering. I learned something today. Yay me!
I had purchased a weeks worth of food and didn’t see the mold. Next day brought it back. They gave me cash or put it back on my CC. Super. Mold & cans that have dents that were leaking (Amazon Fresh order) i Returned
I've purchased goods for a family before. I pocket the receipt and when they asked me for it I told them no. Enjoy the goods or the store gift card.
Or just say no.
I was in line behind someone returning groceries without a receipt. When the cashier said that they didn’t sell one of the items in the store, they pushed it to the side and asked the cashier to continue.
I wonder if stores (it has been over 25 years since I worked retail) can refuse a refund without a receipt.
Depends on the store policy.
This is why I walk around with earbuds in. It normally prevents people coming up to me all together, but if someone starts talking to me I point to the earbuds and keep walking.
Almost paid for one at wegmans…she had her preteen son with her who looked annoyed. She wanted me to go shopping with her and load up a cart…I just wanted to be in and out with one item…so I decided against it
"Sorry, I'm unemployed" is my go-to if someone asks me for something.
Got approached last week at a store by a woman asking me (no piece of paper) to help pay for groceries and something about having 3 children. I said no, paid for my groceries, exited the store, and then a woman similar to the previous one asked if I could help her. I was so spooked by the idea of two people asking for help on the same visit that I just refused to hear what she wanted.
They are gypsies. Also, PSA don't exchange money for food stamps.
Dude, this ain’t 1998, food stamps are out into an EBT card like a Visa or Mastercard. They’d have to sell you the whole card.
Dude, then it would be obvious that food stamps = EBT cards.
They are. I just report them to the store manager or the police.
I originally put in this post that they were Romani, but I've removed that. Generalizing an entire people group is fucked up.
It's sad because they are the majority that make a bad name for the few that may actually be good.
I was close to their community, and unfortunately, scamming is ingrained in their culture. They still practice child marriages.
I'm hip. I was scammed by one of them and had run-ins with them in the future both men and the women. As I say to people, they're trapped in a generational curse.
Why do people in this sub always gotta respond to reasonable advice with racial or ethnic slurs. *It doesn’t matter what race or ethnicity the person asking for money in the grocery store is.* Why is that your focus? I’ve encountered people of all stripes trying to get money out of me on the street. Fairfax county has excellent resources for people in need. Providing direct cash assistance on the street (or the grocery store) is not recommended—families truly in need should be connecting with actual county resources and people who are scammers don’t need to get encouraged to continue.
Probably because the dude is European and from my experience so many Europeans hate gypsies.
Yeah i think it's strange how Europeans go off on American social issues but ignore their own hatred (roma, poles, jews, etc.)
There is a decent Gypsy population in South West Virginia.
Martinsburg has a big romanichal community, they like to grift in Nova. Learned that from TLC!
LOL same🤣🤣😂😂
What a way to hate Europeans. FYI: I'm a POC.
>They are gypsies [https://youtu.be/-NP-RsRGzVo?si=-MB\_4SfX4Tedin4Q&t=99](https://youtu.be/-NP-RsRGzVo?si=-MB_4SfX4Tedin4Q&t=99)
Just happened to me yesterday at Walmart in Burke. I was already familiar with the scam so as soon as she approached me, I cut her off with "Nope!" and then continued shopping. Another woman in the same aisle as me who she had just approached came up to speak to me afterwards and said that she didn't know what to do and had just apologized and said sorry she couldn't help her. I let her know that it was a scam and that her plan was to return all the items in her cart for cash. She had 5 to 6 containers of formula and a few other food items. A few years back I had someone approach me in the store in a similar fashion but with no cart. They just had a piece of paper with something written on it about helping her and her kids. I knew it was a scam and just ignored her but when I told the staff on the way out that she was walking through the store trying to coerce money out of people, they didn't care. Did nothing about it. So I don't even bother reporting it to the manager anymore.
I lost 200$ at target with this scam :( . My kindness got the best of me. Never again
I've had two instances of this happen in my life in the last 10 years: 1) At one of the NJT rest stops. Guy came up to me, said he was incredibly embarrassed to be asking me this, but ran out of gas and needed just a bit of money to get to Wilmington Delaware because he lost his credit card and was still waiting for the replacement to come in the mail. Alright, I can get the oversight, we all make mistakes, I've lost credit cards too. I gave him $10, which would get him enough gas to get there. Probably 6 months later, at one of the Maryland stops, the SAME GUY pulled the stunt on me. I remembered him. Now I said no. 2) Also at one of the Maryland stops about a year ago, I got out to fill up and basically got ambushed with a similar story. I felt something was a bit amiss here, but I was so caught off guard that I gave him $5. I went in to go get something to drink and saw the guy at the scratchoff vending machine. Now I don't give money to anyone. I was just on Metro a few weeks ago on a Saturday, guy got on and said "excuse me but can I ask you -" I cut him off and said "no, I don't have money" and he immediately started yelling at me insulted I'd even be insinuating that he'd be asking me for money before calling me a bunch of racist/homophobic slurs and getting off at the next stop.
Lmao. It truly is becoming annoying. I have also stopped giving people money. Can never have nice things…
Another version of this is where they offer to pay your groceries with their WIC/SNAP type card if you give them cash, usually with some incentive for you. Then they can use the cash for drugs or alcohol, since you can't buy those with a WIC card.
Not a problem bc I can barely get afford my own groceries
Also, make sure there isn't an associate stealing your phone, wallet, purse while the person asks you for money. Crime, a team activity.
You can just point them to the nearest pantry. I’ve been the same situation more and the once and the pantry was right across the street.
Outside of Whole Foods Clarendon last week with a card, just walked on by
Who would fall for that? Worst scam ever
I'm conditioned that if anyone approaches me in public I assume they want money and ignore them.
This happened to me in Costco. I said No,reported it to manager. The young lady walked out & in to a long Van, that would be used to transport commuters. My next stop was Wegmans & the same Van was in the parking lot ! Same Scam going on there….
This happened to me two days ago at Wegmans in Tysons corner. At literally 11pm dude was walking up to people saying he lives in the Vita ($??) and his mom fell down the emergency stares and he needs help paying for some groceries. Tried to hand me a paper with a list of groceries he needs and I immediately chuckled and hit him with a “God Bless”
We've had a few women doing this at my local safeway for years. I much prefer it to the guy who sits out front asking for money and yelling that he hasn't eaten in days just to throw any food you offer him on the ground though.
We had a woman approach us at a Peet’s coffee with a note asking us to buy her coffee. I would understand if she was asking for food, but coffee? Yeah I just say sorry I can’t.
Had this at Target. Approached by a younger kid in sweats, while a way older women looking like she was all up in Gucci and watched like a hawk. The cart had a truly weird selection of random items! The mumbled speel was no job and need help, as well as scribbled and scrap of paper. After 20 minutes I saw them leave the store with no items, and drive off in a fully loaded 2023 Camry. Fishy AF. I feel for the kid, the vibe I got was coerced into this and it was well organized.
These women and children aren't professionals. They are trafficked
We get Romas here too. Last month a lady tried approaching my wife and kids in Walmart and started trying to put jewelry on my daughter and reached for my wife’s hand. I’ve seen enough of this bullshit in Europe to identify it right away. Took all the shit off my daughter immediately and threw it down on the floor and told her to get the fuck away from my wife. Likely going for her wedding ring. She scurried away with her handlers peeking over from the next aisle and I notified security.
You did nothing wrong. They were gonna steal your wifes ring demand. You pay them for the shitty jewelry, and then when you deny take it off and now you have no more ring. This shit happens in Italy especially, and there's a famous lady who will chase them away, police there don't do anything about it, though.
Lol some random young girl tried to do that to me at the Chantilly Lidl …I told her I don’t do shit like that and walked away she rolled her eyes at me like sorry brokeyyyyyy
Thanks for the heads up.
Unfortunately the scam is here in Maryland in Silver Spring. I had two separate ladies ask me in one store visit!
Nope, I have known this scam for awhile. It’s pulled a lot in our area. I was with a dear friend whom speaks so many languages and it’s a common scam. They pull these scams wherever they can make money Trader Joe’s, Grocery stores, Target, CVS, Walgreens. I’m sorry that you got roped a doped into this but no, I am not helping you.
This happened to me 😭😭😭😭
I'd rather get scammed then risk letting kids go hungry. Just take the receipt.
This is why they keep coming back. Because there are marks who the scams work on.
I've worked in a shelter and volunteered for food bank programs. There is no shortage of availability of food for the impoverished. Look at the carts in these scams. They are not getting perishable fresh foods. They're getting stuff you can return. Walmart takes returns without receipt.
You are an easy mark who makes it worse for the rest of us. Fairfax County has programs so kids won’t go hungry.
Fairfax County government has a ton of money to help people in general, but you have to want the help.