To have trusted stranger

[slippersandtea]

Just been scammed into giving a bloke £40 after he gave me a long sob story about how he was the victim of a stag do prank and had been abandoned without his wallet. Then googled what he said was his mobile number and found a website with multiple other people who had been similarly conned.

Feel like a right mug now - think I'm going to blame the pregnancy hormones!

This is why people post "OMG am down to my last 50p and have to feed six kids for a month, anyone help" threads.

Because there are well-meaning mugs like the OP who will be straight on the PMs offering to paypal money.

This is why people post "OMG am down to my last 50p and have to feed six kids for a month, anyone help" threads.

Or the recent bizarre thread where an op was going to get a pay day loan to buy expensive logoed school jumpers, as supermarket ones were 'too cold'. Repeated as nauseum, despite many practical suggestions. Clearly she wasn't getting the offer of cash as quickly as she wanted.

Aww you did a nice thing. Hold on to that. What a complete arsehole. He will get his comeuppance and kindness will come back to you in some shape or form. Karma.

Had a lady stuck in Leeds message name on tinder for 20 quid to get home, gave her short shrift

If anyone asks me for money for whatever reason I either say no, or direct them to the Police station, bus station or local soup kitchen/homeless support place. Someone would have more chance of a getting blood out of a stone than money off me.
Sorry you got scammed OP, just say no in future.

I was going home from work and walking to tube years ago when I bumped into a homeless man selling magazines, and he told me while chatting about how he had been given the chance to be a chef but he needed £30 by the next day and he didn't have it. He was saying it in a chit chat "oh well, never mind" sort of way and not asking for the money. I offered to give it to him. He said no no and I said it was fine and went to the cash point and took it out. I went home wrapped in the warm glow which comes from the knowledge that you have changed someone's life. Only to see him a couple of weeks later saying exactly the same thing to someone else. I was gutted.

Nowadays I will usually give my dc money to give to someone asking for it, so I am clearly bringing them up to have as poor judgement as I do be as trusting as I am. Not 30 squid again, though, that is for sure.

We get a lot of people on the Tube who walk down the length of the train, asking for money......they usually have some kind of story, they are ex service people, just lost their home & just want to get accommodation for the night.

They are usually very convincing & polite, some of them may even be telling the truth, but there are so many scammers around. I don't give to them though (I do donate to a homeless charity) but it does pluck at my heartstrings so I don't blame you at all for falling for it this time. Like others have said you are the better person so don't feel foolish about acting from a kind place.

🙁 OP sorry to hear that this happened to you.

I have had a similar experience to Littlestrawby. A man knocks on my door, says that he is Mike, my neighbour, from no 65 at the street around the corner. Mike says that he's doing a sponsored run, that I had sponsored him the year before, and would I sponsor him again? As I hadn't sponsored him before, and his sponsor form looked dodgy, I (with a bit of difficulty 😡, manage to get rid of him).

About 6 months later he's back again!! Exactly the same script about being my neighbour and me sponsoring him before, but this time he says that he has "got himself in a bit of a pickle, and am I able to drive?" 😱😱 This is whilst he is stood about 10 feet from my nearly brand new car!! I simply went with the standard MN answer to a CF - "no". He replies "no?", looking a bit bewildered, then walked off muttering something about how he would "ask one of the other neighbours".

Fingers crossed that he won't bother coming back again as I can't imagine what he'll try asking for next time. 🤔

You did a good thing. I would rather fall for a scam than not help a genuine person in need.