Hi all,
I found this on another site and wanted to post it here. It sounds like instead of pandhandling some creeps are actually looking for "donations" for funeral services.
Read below...
1. A next door neighbor who I don't know very well knocked on my door saying she was raising money for the burial of her niece who had just passed away. At first I felt very sorry for her, but as she kept talking I noticed a few things. The death was sudden and unexpected, the girl she described as being very young and in reasonable health had died of an undetected heart problem. What got me was the woman was very talkative, but completely dry eyed. When I asked about the usual things she fumbled with explainations, and she stated that a local funeral home wouldn't work with them even through they had rasied half the money. They were trying for $1000, and I was aware that the this place in paticular was usually ready to work with the family if some time was needed to raise the funds. It just seemed off, but I chalked it up to not ever one reacting to grief the same way.
2. Several days later I was outside my apartment smoking, and a man I didn't know came up to me and stated that he was trying to raise money for his nephew's funeral. I had never seen this gentlemen before but I asked if this was the same child anyway, before I realized he was talking about a boy, not a girl. He seemed surprised at my question, but quickly answered in the negative. He too was dry eyed, had almost a salesman's pitch about the way he asked for the money, and he was dressed oddly. I live in Texas and for the past several weeks the temp has not been lower than at least 90 degrees yet he was wearing a dark athletic jacket. I told him I had no cash and he politely left.
3. My sister was filling up with gas at a local place and was apporached by a man who also had a dead nephew, was trying to raise money for the funeral and needed roughly $1000. My sister assuming he was a neighbor she just had not run into before gave him a $5, that being her only cash money at the time. I hadn't related the first incidents to her yet.
When my sister and I got together we not only noticed that this seems to be a very bad time to be a niece or nephew, and that in every instance the person asking for cash for the funeral was carrying a clipboard or a piece of paper to write names and amounts donated down. All used the phrase "raise money", or "donate" never a loan or made any suggestion of paying back the money.
I know I must sound extremely hard-harded and cynical, but I really think something is going on here. Has anyone seen anything like this before?
My reply to it was:
Really weird, but it def. sounds like a scam. Next time, I would kindly ask the name of the person whom they are raising money for, tell them you know the peope at the funeral home and you are going to talk to them about it, see how the person reacts, if they have a name and don't act jumpy when you offer assistance- maybe it is not a scam. If they can't offer up a name first and last and act weird when you offer to call the home, then it is an obvious scam. They are all probably working together...
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