Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Scammed in my own driveway

Just call me a soft touch and get it over with.

Late this morning I pulled into my driveway and noticed a woman and two kids I didn't recognize. I thought maybe they might have been visiting a neighbor.

As I stopped my car, the woman and the kids (about 3 and 4 years old) approached my car door. The woman looked like she might have been crying and said her car had run out of gas and asked if I could give her $9 for an hour and a half. I started to make room in my car to drive them to a gas station, but she explained a friend was on the way and would drive her there.

I had just been to a leather shop where the owner had done a small job for me and not charged me, so I gave the woman $5.00. As I walked into my building, an upstairs neighbor asked if I had given that woman money and told me she was scamming people and had been to our building before.

After a few minutes I called the police department to report what had happened and to ask if an officer could contact the woman, perhaps to offer information or assistance on where she could apply for financial help. The dispatcher told of another caller who had given the woman $20.00.

When the officer came to my door, he explained that a law in Woodstock prohibits this type of solicitation. Great! As if this woman doesn't have enough problems, she could face arrest. And what would happen to her kids? Here comes DCFS.

I don't mind parting with the $5; she won't go far on that. I don't know if the cops were able to locate her or, if they did, what action they took.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thought you would have been smarter!!! Isn't it sad how caring people seem to always get taken advantage of??

Richard W Gorski, M.D. said...

You have nothing to be ashamed of...you were compasionate and charitable...you must have listened to the sermon on the mount. Good man!

Another Lawyer said...

Really? Five dollars, American. And then you called the police, to report the crime?

Then Blueshield says, I thought you should have been smarter? A lady asks me for five bucks, she has small children ... I give it to her and "I should have been smarter?"

There's a whole lot of suspicion and fear of strangers out there.

Of course, no one could have realized that the lady was lying AND SIMPLY GAVE HER THE MONEY ANYWAY ... because its sad that someone would panhandle in your driveway.

We "americans" are just a bit strange.

Gus said...

I didn't call the police to "report a crime." I didn't even know a crime had been committed. Gee, maybe I'm lucky I didn't get arrested to participating in it!

And I didn't request an officer to come to my door. All I tried to do was alert the P.D. to a woman and kids in need. I tried to provide all the information by phone and save the officer a trip.

I even offered to drive around and spot her, to save the PD's fuel.