possible scam?

[four-thorns.livejournal.com]

as i was walking home tonight (about 10pm-ish), i saw a woman leaving a house with a baby in a stroller. i had just turned the corner and was walking away when she caught up to me and said that she just moved into the neighborhood and that she had just brough her baby home from the hospital because he was sick with an earache, and that she needed to go pick up his prescription, and her mother told her to ask a neighbor for money for it, and she then asked me for $35 (i was just walking down the street, there was nothing to identify me as a "neighbor"). i couldn't have helped her out even if i had wanted to, because i didn't have that much money on me, but i suspected it was a scam, too. as i walked away, i heard her approaching a man who was just coming out of his house with the same story.

if your baby had an earache, you wouldn't be wheeling him/her around the streets in a stroller after 10pm at night, would you? especially if your mother is around?

i dunno. just thought i'd let people know in case it is a scam. this was on highland a few blocks past the somerville hospital.

Comments

[jmspencer.livejournal.com]

pretty classic scam. usually if you ask to look at the "baby" they'll look at you blankly and then run away.

[hauntmeister.livejournal.com]

Probably the same woman who came to my door last summer, claiming to have just moved in. The scam that time was that she was locked out of her apartment, and needed $35 for a locksmith to let her in.

There was a thread about it here at the time, I think....

[ron_newman]

This one?

(I found it by searching the community for "locksmith". Then I tagged it with "crime".)

[hauntmeister.livejournal.com]

Thanks, that's the one!

[georgy.livejournal.com]

What is it with the $35 amount? Odd.

[talonvaki.livejournal.com]

It's the most cash you can get from CVS...apart from that, I've got nothing.

[julishka.livejournal.com]

it's an amount you can't get out of an atm, so if you needed to get cash then you'd probably, if you fell for the scam, give the person $40 instead.

the downtown version of the scam is: i just got my car towed with my wallet in it and am trying to "borrow enough money to take a cab to the tow lot." the same guy approached me on three different days, a few years ago. finally the last time he did, i pointed out to him that his car has been towed three days in a row and maybe he should just take the bus into the city from now on. he scowled and walked away. i shrugged and walked on.

[treacle-well.livejournal.com]

I agree it sounds like a scam, but:

if your baby had an earache, you wouldn't be wheeling him/her around the streets in a stroller after 10pm at night, would you? especially if your mother is around?

Advice from moms could come via phone--hence she's not necessarily "around."

I think if I were desperate and I felt my choices were to 1) go out with the baby in order to pick up prescription/try to get money for the prescription, or 2)leave the baby alone, I'd take the baby out.

[chenoameg.livejournal.com]

This is so obviously a panhandle that I'm surprised you felt the need to post about it.

If you think something like that isn't a scam, just offer to go with them to pay for it.

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

Yep.

[four-thorns.livejournal.com]

"I'm surprised you felt the need to post about it."

my purpose for posting about it was to let people know that there's potential scammer operating in the neighborhood. i suppose everyone should already be on their guard for these things, but sometimes it's useful to be reminded that they're happening.

[fitfool.livejournal.com]

also, if you want to help but don't want to get scammed, you could offer to walk her to CVS and pay the pharmacy directly. Just explain you'd like to help out but it also sounds like the perfect setup for a scam and then see if she's willing/able to go to CVS with you watching for a valid prescription, etc

[artic-monkeys.livejournal.com]

It is great that this is posted here. It would take a while to show up in a newspaper . There is great story at the somerville dog website (http://www.somervilledog.com/archives/000649.php) about how this blog helped stop the locksmith grifter. Everyone who lives in Somerville is concerned about the rising crime rate. In light of that, I am sure no one worth their salt would be offended if we were asked to actually show you the prescription or go to the pharmacy with you to verify.

[artic-monkeys.livejournal.com]

what did this person look like? If she was a scammer she may use different ploys. Can you give us a description?

[four-thorns.livejournal.com]

in her 20s, i think, white, average height. beyond that i'm not sure. it was dark out and she didn't get close enough to me to get a good look. but i did see the house she came out of. it's on highland ave, i don't know the number but i could walk by and find out what it is, because i remember the house (it has an interesting rooftop porch).

[tracy-rolling.livejournal.com]

That's not even a very good scam. It lacks the element of appealing to your greedy side in some way. Baby woman is gonna get nowhere with that one. The story isn't even interesting or entertaining.

Calling the Police

[lena-a-mermaid.livejournal.com]

The next time something like this happens to anyone, can they please call the police right away. They may be able to catch the woman in the act if she is still around. Like if you turn her down and she tries another house or another person perhaps the police would get there in time to catch her.

Plus the article in the SomeDog site said that the police said that if they got More calls on these scams then they would do a community alert.

Re: Calling the Police

[four-thorns.livejournal.com]

yeah, now that i think about it, i should have done that. i did see the house she came out of, though, so would it be worth calling the police with that information?

Re: Calling the Police

[artic-monkeys.livejournal.com]

no, posting it here does more good than calling the police at this point. especially since you did not lose any money and it may not have a been a scam. However; If another incident occurs with the same MO, or whatever they call that, you should report yours too. But I bet they will find your report here if they need it. Word gets around.

Re: Calling the Police

[cleanup-davissq.livejournal.com]

>>>"i did see the house she came out of, though, so would it be worth calling the police with that information?"

Yes, report it to the police.
How about posting the address of the house?!! Let's get tough on crime.

Re: Calling the Police

[hauntmeister.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry, I don't think advocating vigilantism is appropriate here, or anywhere else for that matter.

What if the house she came out of was a house she'd just tried her "I'm locked out" scam on? You'd start harassing an innocent person. In fact, maybe she'd just scammed the person in that house, and now that poor victim starts getting harassed by an LJ vigilante who wants to "get tough on crime."

Reporting the attempted scam to the police is the right thing to do.

Re: Calling the Police

[four-thorns.livejournal.com]

i agree with you. there was no evidence that this house was her home... and even if there was, posting the address here would not be appropriate. i had never heard of a "sick baby" type scam before (i'm young, what can i say... i also don't really look like i have any money, that probably helps too), which is why i was hesitant to call the police about it, but in the future i certainly will.

She Gets Around

[awwwfancy.livejournal.com]

I was having a pedicure at J's Nails on Highland, right near where this happened, and a woman that fits the description given here asked J to cash her check, as she needed to get a prescription for her baby at the hospital and didn't have cash on her. J said no.