The Pitters' Place

A few months ago outside my office I was accosted by this woman who told me a very long story about not being able to find a job and having young children to feed. The whole time she kept covering her mouth when she spoke, which was weird but I didn't want to judge. After many minutes of this she eventually asked for money, and I felt bad and offered her $2, since that was all I had other than a $50 note that was my lunch money for the next few weeks. She got a bit angry and asked for more, and I apologised and said I didn't have more, and she grabbed the $2 and went off in a huff.

Later I realised that covering one's mouth is a #1 sign of lying. Asking for more money was also weirdly suspicious.

And then I saw her again today, approaching me with the exact same story, again covering her mouth as she spoke. I'm almost certain it's a scam now. Reported her to social services. My dad mentioned previously having a similar encounter here (not sure if same person), but when he offered to buy her lunch and groceries and get her in touch with people who could help, she got angry and walked off.

I guess that might be one way to determine if someone genuinely needs help or is just trying to scam you. A while ago another scammer was busted and found to be collecting thousands a month with some made-up sob story. I hate that they do that and deter people from helping those who actually need it.

Also - my office area is extremely touristy and crowded with really rich people draped with jewellery and designer suits and branded handbags, and I'm still mad that she chose to target me, person who looks like a penniless teenager with clothes that don't fit, right outside a private sale at a high-end department store that sells bunches of grapes for $200. I guess I looked like an easy target idk.

I've always found it both confusing and obvious why scamming is illegal. I mean, yes, it should be illegal, because it's a form of theft. But on the other hand, it's simply telling someone a lie (which is not illegal), and then based on believing that lie, the person voluntarily gives you money. Just seems like a weird thing to be able to actually prosecute. We can legally tell lies for all sorts of reasons; to get away with all sorts of bad things. But as soon as the lie results in someone choosing to give you something, it's illegal.

They target people they think will be sympathetic to their sob story. A rich person in a designer suit is less likely to sympathize with someone struggling to make ends meet.

Also, I echo your sentiments about scammers deterring people from offering help to those who really need it. I am approached by beggars relatively often, and I usually offer them a buck or two, but every once in a while I turn one away and immediately regret it. What if that was the one that really needed help? And if I could be sure all of these people really needed help, I'd probably give them more than a couple dollars.

This is another problem that could be completely eliminated virtually overnight if the governments in this world actually cared about the people. There should be no such thing as legitimate begging because there should be no such thing as a person who doesn't have enough money to cover everything they need and most of what they want. I'm not even anti-capitalist, I'm opposed to unrestrained capitalism. If the wealthiest 1% control 10% of the wealth while the poorest 10% control 1%, that's perfectly fine. But when the wealthiest 1% controls more than the other 99% and the poorest 20% have absolutely nothing then the wealthiest 1% should be in prison for life.

But on the other hand, it's simply telling someone a lie (which is not illegal)

I think it's because it falls under fraud (and perhaps impersonation), which is technically also just lying. They also tend to target vulnerable people (e.g. online scams going after the elderly and wiping out their retirement savings), which can cause major harm, and ends up being a form of theft - it's not just lying but tricking people out of their money. Likewise lying in court is an offence, I think.

Yeah, I was gonna say, slander and perjury are lies that are illegal, or at least can have legal consequences. Also, hate speech laws are basically laws that target harmful and dangerous lies, and I think in some cases lying can constitute rape, like pretending to be your identical twin to sleep with your twin's lover.