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gassersgarage

gassersgarage

The California Kid
Joined
Jun 4, 2007
Messages
1,694
Location
Torrance, Ca
A while back, a lady bought some Disneyland tickets on Ebay. When she met the guy, she bought several tickets but took a picture of him. When she went to Disneyland with her group, they discovered the tickets were counterfeit. Her group pooled their money and went anyway. When she got home, she notified the local P.D. of the fraud. The P.D. notified the news media and they ran the story along with the suspects picture.

The day after the story ran, the suspect turned himself in. He said that when the story aired, he got phone calls and e-mails from people that knew him telling him to turn himself in. :D

Yesterday, I had a girl come to my door, soliciting funds for the local High School. I asked her for her High School I.D.. She said she had left it at home. I told her it was OK, I'll just take her picture and went to get my camera. When I came back, the girl was gone. Called the High School and found out, they weren't soliciting for funds. Today, I got a news letter from Neighborhood Watch. It was a scam that was going around.

Think I'll take a picture of everyone that comes to my door. :rolleyes:
 
Nothing wrong with staying smart and being alert. Life here is more like 50s America was. Many people never lock their houses or take the keys out of the car. People who don't know you still wave. Oh, we still have the self absorbed younger generation with near zero situational awareness, just like anywhere else. And meth heads but they mostly just steal from each other.
I think part of it is a simple physical/spiritual law, what you focus on is what you attract. A good example of that -we all know people who thrive on conflict and their lives are a magnet to more of it.
When I leave, I lock the walk in door to keep my brother in law out of my tools but even the UPS man knows you can just lift the garage door.

On tickets, never buy them outside of the proper channels. I know many people who have been caught on that one. Many scammers operate on greed. She probably got them at a discounted rate.
 
It's a shame that we have to be so wary of other people any more. I absolutely feel horrible when I see some guy standing at some intersection with a sign asking for money for food, or when someone approaches me at a shopping center and asks for a few bucks because I feel that if I give them money it won't go for food but for booze or drugs, or that I am being scammed.

I always drive away feeling like I could have given them a little money. :(

Don
 
Yeah but they need to take better still shots....lol

21willys said:
I've got 5 cameras on just my house. Well worth the investment.
Click to expand...

The problem with videos is that the still shots are less than great to view...most of the time, the details are very bad...Just saying....sorry years of trying to view gas station and cheap party store video still shots...
 
By the way.....

We've been taking a record number of scam, ID and other fraud reports than ever before......terrible that people lose thousands of dollars....
 
donsrods said:
It's a shame that we have to be so wary of other people any more. I absolutely feel horrible when I see some guy standing at some intersection with a sign asking for money for food, or when someone approaches me at a shopping center and asks for a few bucks because I feel that if I give them money it won't go for food but for booze or drugs, or that I am being scammed.

I always drive away feeling like I could have given them a little money. :(

Don
Click to expand...

Being in the trucking industry over 28 years, I've been a target many times. I used to feel like Don, bad if I didn't give them a dollar or two. You never knew who really needed it or who was just out scamming. One night I was parked at a closed fuel stop. About 10:00 PM every night they turned out the lights, even in the parking lot. I'd slept there before and never had a problem. About midnight, some black dude bangs on my door, so I get up and crack the window a bit. He gives me a sob story about how he needs $10 to pay a tire man to fix a flat on his truck, claims he works for the same company as I do, names off some folks I don't know. I'd only been with the company about 6 months, so I took him at his word, thinking he was probably telling the truth. Half asleep, I give him the $10, he thanks me and walks off, then suddenly starts running, I'm thinking, WTF? He jumps in the car with some dopey looking blonde and hauls ass. I knew I was taken.

Since then, I always listen to their sob story, and I've heard some good ones, car broke down, out of gas, got to get home to a dying relative, etc. Then I ask them if I can call the local PD and see if they know of any charities in the area that might help them out......they will usually mutter something and walk or run away!
 
sgtpontiac said:
The problem with videos is that the still shots are less than great to view...most of the time, the details are very bad...Just saying....sorry years of trying to view gas station and cheap party store video still shots...
Click to expand...

Ya the still shots suck at times but my cameras are not hidden and I have signs posted telling you to smile for the camera. It usually keeps people away.
 
donsrods said:
It's a shame that we have to be so wary of other people any more. I absolutely feel horrible when I see some guy standing at some intersection with a sign asking for money for food, or when someone approaches me at a shopping center and asks for a few bucks because I feel that if I give them money it won't go for food but for booze or drugs, or that I am being scammed.

I always drive away feeling like I could have given them a little money. :(

Don
Click to expand...
The city I worked for wanted the "Begging for alms" laws enforced. So much so, a city council member would go out and make citizens arrests. One day, I was passing by a freeway off ramp and saw a guy with a sign. He was wearing slacks and a Hawaiian shirt. I stopped to look at the sign and he was begging for money. I asked him what he was doing and why was he dressed so nice. Cheerfully, he said it was his second job. He had a full time job and begged on the side. I told him to leave the city or he was going to jail.

Ever noticed how these beggars seem to be so well fed? I don't give anybody anything anymore......:rolleyes:
 
Last edited:
donsrods said:
It's a shame that we have to be so wary of other people any more. I absolutely feel horrible when I see some guy standing at some intersection with a sign asking for money for food, or when someone approaches me at a shopping center and asks for a few bucks because I feel that if I give them money it won't go for food but for booze or drugs, or that I am being scammed.

I always drive away feeling like I could have given them a little money. :(

Don
Click to expand...

I was approached a few weeks ago by a 'homeless' guy begging for food money.
I pulled out $10 and asked him, If I give you this will you spend it on alcohol? to which he replied ' no sir !!!! I haven't had a drink for over 20 years" so I then asked him, If I give you this will you spend it on Hot rod parts? to which again he replied ' no way sir I haven't had a Hot rod since I was a teenager', so I said to him.
I'm not going to give you money I'm going to take you to my house,let you clean up and change into some of my new clothes and then my wife will cook you a five course meal.
He said 'won't your wife be angry?' to which I replied 'maybe but at least she'll see what happens if I give up drinking and hot rodding'
 
When I was still working, I went out to lunch. I got out of my car and started to walk towards a restaurant. An old shabby caddi pulled up along side with a Mother and 4 kids. She asked if I could spare any money to buy the kids something to eat. I said no! But I'll treat you to lunch. She said thank you and parked. As we were walking to the restaurant she said, for the price of the meals to fed the kids, she could buy groceries for a week. So I took them to a Whole Foods which was next door. I told them to get whatever they need. They got bread, milk, lunch meat and cereal.

Whenever bums came to our door, growing up, my Mother never gave money. Instead she would make them a sandwich. So I do the same thing. ;)
 
gassersgarage said:
When I was still working, I went out to lunch. I got out of my car and started to walk towards a restaurant. An old shabby caddi pulled up along side with a Mother and 4 kids. She asked if I could spare any money to buy the kids something to eat. I said no! But I'll treat you to lunch. She said thank you and parked. As we were walking to the restaurant she said, for the price of the meals to fed the kids, she could buy groceries for a week. So I took them to a Whole Foods which was next door. I told them to get whatever they need. They got bread, milk, lunch meat and cereal.

Whenever bums came to our door, growing up, my Mother never gave money. Instead she would make them a sandwich. So I do the same thing. ;)
Click to expand...

That is a very good plan!!! I am the guy that typically just says no, but I did used to feed one guy in Toledo all the time. I would see him sitting in the same spot almost everyday so I would spin through Burger King every now and again and get him a couple burgers and give them to him.

My wife was scammed a few years ago by a guy selling magazine subscriptions. I wasn't there, but heard there was over a hundred houses hit by him in the area.
 
Boy do I like that way of handling it. That way you know the money you spent is really going for food, especially good when it is kids involved. Good job, GG.

I guess scammers and con men are nothing new. In about 1952 ish I was a little kid and two guys came to our door saying they were from the US Postal Dept and that the regulations had changed on the size of the rural mailbox we had. They said we had to buy a bigger box from them as ours was no longer legal. One of the two guys made the mistake of hitting on my older Sister and that put my Dad's antennas up and made him mad and suspicious.

He told them he would have the money the next day and to come back, but instead he called the Post Office. There was no such regulation and when the two scammers came back the next day there were two FBI guys waiting for them. :D I hope they put them to work in prison making mailboxes. :p

Don
 
I drove otr for about 9 years and I used to see [alot of people that need a couple of bucks,for something to eat.] When I offerd them some food,they didnt want it.. Also I remember a guy,that would carry a gas can around at a truck stop+ask for a couple of bucks[just to get home],and he was there every day--like that was his job
 

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