I would have had to say to this git, "Then sell your phone if you're needing money that bad."

Offer to buy the phone for the $3 in your pocket. See how that would have flown.

I did that to one woman panhandling with a Coach Bag, she flipped shit about that suggestion.

And I did mention that to this particular bum, he said it was an Obamaphone. Those are basic flip phones.

Well, now we know why he's broke and homeless. He's an apple user! :P

Homeless dude + iPhone 6 + Square™ + Bank account =/= Needing money.

Now, it's possible some organization or other gave him a used iPhone 6 (doubtful, but possible), and he could've used various 'donations' to buy the Square™, and it doesn't tale much money to start some bank accounts. But if he has all of this set up, then he is not in dire need of money, since he's obviously smart enough to figure something out in terms of getting a job somewhere; even if it's seasonal, part-time, or just tidbits here-and-there. Plus I think Square™ charges you a fee per transaction anyway, so he wouldn't be getting the whole donation.

Man. Homeless people sure are more high-tech now than when I was a kid.

Most of the fake homeless I encounter have iPhones or Samsung 5s or 6s, many have multiple phones. Those always point to being fake homeless, and when questioned over the phones, I always get the same stories, either its an Obamaphone or a friend loaned them the phone.

I've had this happen to me on the Strip.

Why can't they just try to scam the rich, loophole-finding assholes out there? Those are the guys that deserve it.

Square is free to have. but they take a flat 2.75 percent from swiped cards, or 3.5 percent +15 cents for manually enter cards. You just need a bank account to link it to and 'smartphone' to run the software.

There no way i give them my card regardless.

Ah, okay. I thought you had to pay for it first.

You only have to pay for it if you buy it in a store, it's $10 and it comes with a $10 card inside the packaging to redeem for credit on your account. They intend for the units to be free so they can get them to as many people as possible and thus make money off all the sales, but stores have to be able to charge something non-$0 for it (keeping inventory and whatnot). If you go online and have them mail you one, it's free.

For some reason, your depiction of this dude makes me think of Friar Tuck...

Good lord, your surrounded by real life Nick Wilde hustlers!

Thank you, Rabbi- Tom for the info on this scam.
I told my mom what to look out for and she was understandably shocked.

You gotta be shitting me...*pukes*

go back to your arc noah

Was he looking for Mitch's Chicken?

Too fat and older for that 'Mitch'.

As I live near Eglin AFB and Hurlburt Field, it's not an uncommon for me to see homeless with stolen valor.

A little trip for some gear that looks old-military, a few strategic rips ... and your average 'homeless' becomes a vet down on his luck and forgotten by the VA...

And, unfortunately, people give them lots and lots of stuff.

Theres one asshole locally that's been pulling that scam for years, along with his "Pregnant " wife, who's never shown pregnancy in 5 years.

Most of the locals know better, but since we see a few million tourists each year... yeah, they don't know better.

I spent almost seven years in the air force, I refused any help until I turned 65 then I got a VA card just in case ($35 bill arrived Monday for 'Outpatient Services.') I also have Medicare Part A because you have no choice, part B? Never, it's $212 a month and I get $691 from Social Security. That goes to bills so we can keep this tumbling down house. I'm kinda strange, if I didn't work and earn it it isn't mine, I don't accept gifts even from my family. Maybe I'm a bit crazy but then, thems tha breaks right?

Take care all.

SGT: (E4 over 6) David R. Dorrycott, USAF. Served at Lackland AFB, Sheppard AFB, Clarke Air Force Base RP, Reese AFB.

No, I do not want anything, I'll fix this house myself, somehow.

I don't think anyone could make that up if they tried... XD

We have Salvation Army, St. Vincent DePaul Society, and other charities. The locals just refer the panhandlers to one of those.

The gall of some people is amazing. This would be the stuff of comedy were it not true.

I had one who wanted me to make a run to the ATM. I said no, but thanked him for his (so he claimed) service to this country and reached for a handshake; he pretty much snubbed me, and I was disgusted for ever having stopped to talk to him

You could make money selling limited edition booklets of all these 'based on real encounters' drawings.

In the corner next to the restaurant I work there are three guys that collect money "for their football team uniforms". the problem is they have been doing it for years. They used to be young boys, they are now grown adults and they continue to collect money at the same corner every weekend.

They frequently came asking to fill their bottles with ice and water at our soda machine and I gave it to them for free... then then they started grabbing cups from the counter without even asking and bringing gallon size bottles and filling them with soda. Eventually they were told not to do that and of course they went apeshit with insults and threats and we had to call the cops.

Just another day in the life of Rabbi-Tom. Seriously? This needs to be a reality show!

I tend to have bottled water snack bars on me. When they ask for money for food, I give food rather than money which can be used for booze drugs, or IPhones.xD

I get how you feel though, we have people in Indy who make bank on this and get into new cars parked a distance away. Seen it happen.

yaah i`m poor and homeless but i got beter electronic gadgets than you working sob.
i know those.
and they get angry when you point out that if they sold there gadgets they could live of that mone for atleast a month lol.

Portland has them in abundance.

Main reason why I try to avoid down town whenever possible. Still get plenty of them in the 'hood, mainly parks.

Tech is everywhere, man.

Homeless... But not out of the Techno-Loop. Riiight. If he can keep a Go Fund Me account, he ain't homeless.

So do you run across any people in actual need? Or is it that you only comment on the lazily greedy?
.

Occassionally I do come across those truely needy and homeless, Those I will assist when I can. But those are rare and far between.

Today, with my neighbor as witness we came across three of the local grifters. One doing stolen valor, claiming to be an ex-vet, yet couldn't name his base, unit or equipment he alledgedly used....clearly not a vet.

Another was a female asking for any help, I offered to cover her for two nights at a Motel 6, she declined the offer, rather have the money over the hotel.


Third was another female, sign reads Homeless, Hungry and Broke, Yet she has bags of groceries behind her, then tells us that they weren't grocieries but garbage. She too insisted wanting money over assitance. Later tonight I drove past where she was begging, she literally tossed 4 bags of groceries into the ditch, which I retrieved and took to a local homeless shelter which they acknowleged this was far too common a theme, tossed food others would eat. The shelter confirmed she wasn't homeless, but a professional panhandler.


I hate the professional panhandlers.

I am humbled by your near saintly patience on these individuals.

I nothing more than want to bitchslap most of them.

I'm not shiftless, I'm a professional vagrant.Happens to me in Insurance City all the time -- as I've mentioned in comments. I say round 'em up and put them to work in one of the Klintons' Koncentration Kamps.

Wow, they really think they're smart and everyone else is stupid, eh? Sheesh...

Yes, I've run into those kind of people. They live better than my wife and I do.

They make more money daily than I do in a week by shaking their cardboard signs and their sob stories.