Hey Northeast Tarrant members...

[BFPW]

There is a woman going around in the NRH/Hurst who begs for money. She's about 5'8", 150 pounds or so, in her 40's-50's, wears a white shirt, blue jeans, and has a shaved head. Both times I saw her, she was wearing those same type of clothes.

Do not give her money.

Her sob stories are all bullshit. I was at the Target on Precinct/Davis with my aunt getting groceries. This woman came out of nowhere (was probably hiding behind some cars) and started begging for money. She was telling a story about how her car wouldn't pass inspection, and that she needed money to get a ride to a woman's shelter for help...blah, blah, blah. After about 15 minutes of hearing more excuses after excuses, my aunt finally gives her $20, and she scurries off pretty quickly. The whole time, there was a man in a white Ford Explorer (mid-late 90's model) staring at us at about 50-75 yards away. I suspect that that was the guy she was working for.

Fast forward 3 weeks.

I see her again at the Wal-Mart in Hurst. She's again begging for money. She's again very sneaky in her approaches, and tries to catch people off guard. So I get out of my car, and start following her. I find that it's very easy to lose her, despite her wearing a white shirt under the lit up parking lot. I call the police to let them know what's she's doing. The police arrive, but do not see her because she's constantly hiding behind cars and watching people through the windows of those cars. Next thing I know, she's gone.

She's definitely working with/for someone else, who keeps a lookout for cops. If you see her, call the police. She's a liar and a scumbag.

Also, I have a funny feeling that she's NOT into drugs. Her fingernails were very clean, as was her face. No scabs, etc...it makes her story even more believable because people think, "eh, she doesn't look like a druggie so I'll give her some money." I don't know much about the physical effects on people who do drugs, but my Aunt is a counselor and she was the one who pointed that out to me.

[Tom95YJ]

I was going into northern tool off of 183 in Bedford last week buying a low profile floor jack. She was there, She was asking everyone for money saying she was from Burleson and forgot her purse and needed gas $ to make it home. Northern Tool had chased her off but on my way home I had stopped at the Neighborhood walmart on Bedford Rd and Central dr. To get some dog food . She was there also with a different story. Once inside I called the Local Pd but when they Arrived she wasn't there

[CHeavin_2006]

some people...

[AlanP1964]

That stinks. I'm a soft hearted person to a fault really and if someone truly needs help, I'll generally help them. but scmubags like this just make you not want to help anyone. You just never know what to beleive. I was getting gas early one morning at the Racetrack in Hurst on Precinct Line. Guy comes up asking for money because he needs gas to get home. I reluctantly give him $5. He goes in the store, comes back out, gets in his car and leaves. Never gets gas. I knew I was had. Clerk asked me if I gave the guy money. I said, "Yeah, I'm a sucker. What did the jackass do with it?" Bought freaking ciggs! Same Racetrack a month later but during the afternoon-young girl going up to everyone asking for money. I glance over towards her car and her boyfriend or what is slunk down in the seat trying to hide. I refuse and tell her that the Hurst PD is just on the other side of the buildings right there and they would be glad to offer her assistance. She clammed up and scurried back to her car.

A lot of times, I will ride the train over to Dallas and then on to work. You see a ton of panhandlers around the light rail stations. Some are obviously in a tough spot, but the scam artists just make everyone so put off and afraid of being scammed.

[POS Racing]

No worries for me if some random person asks me for money they always fail.......

POS is not a giver!

[BFPW]

That stinks. I'm a soft hearted person to a fault really and if someone truly needs help, I'll generally help them. but scmubags like this just make you not want to help anyone. You just never know what to beleive. I was getting gas early one morning at the Racetrack in Hurst on Precinct Line. Guy comes up asking for money because he needs gas to get home. I reluctantly give him $5. He goes in the store, comes back out, gets in his car and leaves. Never gets gas. I knew I was had. Clerk asked me if I gave the guy money. I said, "Yeah, I'm a sucker. What did the jackass do with it?" Bought freaking ciggs! Same Racetrack a month later but during the afternoon-young girl going up to everyone asking for money. I glance over towards her car and her boyfriend or what is slunk down in the seat trying to hide. I refuse and tell her that the Hurst PD is just on the other side of the buildings right there and they would be glad to offer her assistance. She clammed up and scurried back to her car.

A lot of times, I will ride the train over to Dallas and then on to work. You see a ton of panhandlers around the light rail stations. Some are obviously in a tough spot, but the scam artists just make everyone so put off and afraid of being scammed.

I had a guy asking me for money for gas on 377. I said I wouldn't give him any money, but he did have a gas can. So I put some gas in that.

[Jiggerachi]

I'm the same way, I'm usually too nice and have been had a few times by these guys. I usually feel bad but you're right, you can't trust anybody's sob story these days.

There's a guy in same part of NE Hurst off 183, approached us in an electric wheelchair saying that his daughter's house burned down and blah blah blah... I really didn't have any cash so I told him but he wouldn't leave. I just put my kid in the car and drove off. I felt bad being that he was in a wheelchair, but oh well. I HATE being approached like that., he came up behind me from out of nowhere when I was off guard fiddling with my kid seat. Makes me very uncomfortable to be approached, maybe i'm paranoid.

Couple weeks later I'm pulling into the Aldi parking lot off 183 in the same area and I see that same damn wheelchair guy going from people to people...

[jrj512]

You can make more money begging for money outside of Walmart than the cashiers working for a living inside. You are a fool to give any of these people any money.

[motorollow]

You can make more money begging for money outside of Walmart than the cashiers working for a living inside. You are a fool to give any of these people any money.

+1 After working in downtown Dallas for 8 years you get accustomed to turning them down. Just tell them you have no cash and keeping walking. Don't even stop to hear their sob story! It sounds cold, but you risk becoming a victim if you stop.

[OZMDD]

I ask them if they have change for a $20. They generally do, and I tell them they don't need my money after all.

[sammm]

I used to work at 35/Mockingbird in Dallas. There was always an old'ish woman panhandling at the intersection of the service road. If someone gave her change she would throw it to the ground and yell at the person who gave it to her.

[Jiggerachi]

^ I knew someone who told one of the downtown bums he would go into McDonalds and buy him some food, he basically said F off, he wanted booze. One time we were approached by a downtown bum and my buddy asked him if he could spare some change. The bum just stood there perplexed for a minute and left us alone.

Motorollow, you're right, I used to live off Main Street and Field in downtown Dallas, we were strongly advised by police and locals not to give them money EVER, especially if you frequent the area. They will recognize you next time and will chase you around hounding you for money. We had a bum patrol hotline that we would call whenever we came across a belligerent one, which was just about every night. Those guys are mostly crackheads and can be completely unpredictable, never stop to hear their story or let them get too close to you. It sounds cold, but that's how it is.

[Rob®]

I was in downtown Ft. Worth a few weeks ago with my girlfriend. We just got out of whatever comedy club at like 1am, walk to the truck, get in, and some dude walks up to my window. Just because I love hearing stories, I opened the window to talk. He had his iPod blaring while he was rapping along to it. Took the ear bud things out of his ears and held them to my head, while rapping some more. I told him it sounded OK, but I'm a more east coast underground rap fan so I wasn't interested. He then finally asked if I have some money for him. Was saying he's broke, has no place to live, sweating a ton (he was), needed a drink of water. I said I have no money, he asked how I was going to pay for parking. "Already paid with credit card." Says I have to have change in the truck. I tell him no, it's a new truck, look at the temp tags. He goes and looks, then comes back to the window. I say I have 3/4 a bottle of water still, but it's warm. If he's really that thirsty it would work, no? Said thanks, but no thanks. Then asked for money again. I asked if he was going to use it to buy a new bottle of water or go home and use it to download something from iTunes. "Nah, I gets that s#!t for free. You just gotta know where to look, baby." "I know - I have a computer too. I also know that iPods don't magically charge themselves either, and I highly doubt some random stranger took yours home to charge it tonight." Dude just walked to another couple that just got into their car.

[aalvarez04]

I always think of family guy when peter gets approached by a guy with a cup asking for money and he acts like he puts money in the cup, then the guy says you didn't put anything in there! Petere says i put hope in there. lol.

[aalvarez04]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAvB6...eature=related
the clip! hah.

[SixAce]

I used to work at 35/Mockingbird in Dallas. There was always an old'ish woman panhandling at the intersection of the service road. If someone gave her change she would throw it to the ground and yell at the person who gave it to her.

Glad to her my ex is doing well. Perhaps I can get the alimony reduced a bit..

[sammm]

Glad to her my ex is doing well. Perhaps I can get the alimony reduced a bit..

I figured she was talking about some other deadbeat, not you.

[Version3]

With the gas thing, I'll offer to put some gas in their car... if they hesitate, they are full of shit and I say "...unless you were just wanting the money to do something else with it". IF they didn't actually want gas AND they get to this point, they usually walk off.

But the walk up and story you to death people crack me up. First, if they have a detailed story, they are full of shit. People add detail to add credibility. If they say "sorry to bother you but could I talk you into gas, my car ran out", I'm likely to listen. If they are on their way from Houston, and are trying to get to Tulsa because their son is a ______ ... -bullshit every. single. time. But when they do this, I like to cut them off over and over... to break up their rhythm before I tell them 'no'.

"Excuse me sir, sorry to bother you but I'm on my way from Houston to see my son for the first time in 15 years, and -that's my car over there [always a fucking beater -people with okay cars could run out of money too, right?] and I don't have enough gas to make it, and I'm supposed to be there in the morning for..."

Okay, so in the first sentence, I fire up the "fascinated" tone of voice, and ask enthusiastically "really? What part of Houston? I just moved up here from there like 2 months ago!" Or, for more fun, I'll get person on them: "15 years? Man, did an ex run off with him? Is it one of those things where she told you that you skipped out on the family, and she really never told you that she was pregnant? Did you know that you have lots of rights? Man, you can probably get her in a lot of trouble... but be careful, she can probably take you for a lot of money too. [this is where I give them the obvious 'what parking lot you gonna pick to beg for that shit?' kinda look]

Anyway, most of the time I can get a response off of the city thing and I'll just go to town with what did they do for a living there... don't they hate the traffic... does the A/C work in their car, because traffic in the heat sucks. If no, then recommend a local mechanic here (where they can't use it) that does really good work for cheap, suggest that they hit there if A) they don't make it out of town in time to meet their son, or B) since they have to come back this way anyway. As soon as they try to get their verbal feet under them again, I'll just stay at it with suggestions on how to keep cool... then I'll remember some crazy funny story about whatever bullshit I just made up, something that sounds like it's going to take FOREVER to get to the payoff... If I haven't left them to "yeah, okay have a nice day sir", they always start backing up and panicing at this point.

I also like to bust out the "I was just going to ask you, my credit card got declined", or "hey, how do you get to _____, I'm from out of town and (try to ramp up a story)". Change for 100 works too, much like above (if they have it they don't need yours) but mostly it baffles them or you get a "I wish I did, but they'll give you change inside." I counter with "no, they won't take it... said it was counterfiet. I've never had any of my $100s noticed before, it's total bullshit!"



I believe that I'm a pretty decent judge of sincerity... I'm sure I've been had by someone, but I'm much more confident that I've helped several people that actually needed it, and weeded out a ton of fuckheads to my own amusement.

[Version3]

That reminds me, I got hit with one of these guys trying to get traction to fire up his gig with me like a month or two ago in Downtown Dallas. I was over by the municipal building making my way to one of the cheaper lots. I should note that I always leave my top down, and only my console/glove box locked to save my garage remote, sunglasses and insurance card. Anyway, I see the lot I'm going to, and I used a smaller one as a shortcut. I'm about to pull out and the guy says "say man, whatchu trine ta fine?" I said, "I found it, thanks." I pull out on the street, past one building, then into my target parking lot. I park, make note of my space, lock things up as noted before, and start to walk to the bill-box for the lot. -here he comes. "Say man, you just gonna leave that all unlocked like dat?" Me: "Yep." "Man, dassa nice cahra... say, my name is [whatever the hell it was, he stuck his hand out to shake mine] and I wundah if I could maybe clean yo cahra or somethin' " -"What is it that you want?" is what I cut him off really abruptly with. But it was what I was doing that made this work. So, when this started, he wanted to ask about my car and I was standing at the box, my 3 dollar bills in hand to stuff into slot number 17 or whatever. I was placing my bills in (I had gotten them out while still near my car, and aware of who was or was not around) as he was going through the locked, nice car blah blah blah bit. Anyway, as he was saying something about cleaning my car, he reached for the bill-stuffing tool to hand me (helping for a tip I guess?). When I cut him off, you could clearly hear the sound of my 3.75" spring assisted SOG pop open, followed by me saying "What is it that you want?" sternly. I used the knife to stuff the bills. He backed up about 4 feet, before insisting that I have a nice day, and that he'll make sure nobody messes with my car.

My buddy was on the 5th floor of a building that overlooks this lot from across the street. He was watching for me to arrive, so we could head to lunch. So all he sees is an obvious pan-handler approach me, some obvious talking and my whip out a knife on the guy. I wish he'd been recording that!

[Titus]

I worked in Downtown Dallas for 5 years. The pan handling that goes on there is child's play. Spend a day on foot in Berkeley, CA and you will see some serious wacko pros. There is nothing like being followed to your car by a preaching bum who proceeds to bang his fist on your windshield, yell obscenities, and tell you how you are going to hell when you get in the car without giving him money for "coffee".

About an hour away from Berkeley, is Napa State Mental Hospital. I don't know if it is true or not, but I heard many times when I was a kid that when people are released from the hospital and have no place to go, they are given a list of shelters and placed on a bus that's first stop is Berkeley. Apparently most never make it past there.