While stopped in your car listening to the radio, singing at the top of your lungs a woman comes to the car with a large bucket and asks you to donate to her worthy cause, should you donate or should you keep your window up?
Everyday in Memphis people ask for money and everyday a victim is born. Scam artist are racking up the dough while their victims are fooled into believing they have donated to a worthy cause.
Many students at The University of Memphis have dug into their pockets and given from their hearts, only to discover weeks later that they were scammed.
“Sweet-talk crimes make up about half of the scams going on today,” said Latonya Able, a media consultant for the City of Memphis.
Mary Beth Pearson, senior psychology major at the U of M, said she was stopped by a woman and was told an intricate story.
“I was in the parking lot of David’s Bridal in July when a woman who was shaking started telling me that her boyfriend hit her in IHOP and the cops took him away,” said Pearson. “She kept saying we could validate it if we wanted, that we could go over and ask.”
Pearson said the woman claimed to be from Jacksonville, Arkansas, and she needed money for the bus to get home to her children, since the police couldn’t take her over the state border. said Pearson. She gave the woman $12.
The only problem is that it was all a lie.
Pearson said she saw the woman two months later outside of a Walgreens.
The woman gave her the same exact story.
“This time the woman was better dressed. She told me, ‘Do I look like I do this for a living?’ When I didn’t give her money she got mad, then moved on to someone else.” Pearson did not report it, and despite the woman’s insistence that her story could be verified, Pearson didn’t check, because she said it sounded so real.
Cameron Hadskey, sophomore, said that she was stopped one day in Germantown by a lady saying that her van had broken down and that she was trying to get the $11.53 needed for a new part from Auto Zone. “I didn’t give any money to her. You never know what is a scam. It’s a good thing I didn’t because a week later a man gave me the same story,” said Hadskey.
“Some tips for you: If you are asked to give a sum of money, beware. If you are asked to withdraw money, even if they promise to mail it to you or redeposit, watch out,” said Able.
Able said that doing your research is a good way to avoid getting scammed. “Call to ask and find out if the business or charity they are claiming to represent really exists,” said Able.
And the most important thing is to report anything suspicious or anyone you know is running a scam as soon as you can, said Able, “before they pack up and move on to swindle the next area.” Also, if the person is honestly in need of help, the authorities can help them.
“Next time I’ll be a little less trusting,” said Pearson.
“I think I’ll give the next person 35 cents and tell them to call someone who can help,” said Hadskey.
