I Guess I Was Scammed Today

It happened about 4:30 this afternoon.

Susannah and I were traveling south on Bowen Road.

As we slowed to stop at the signal at Pleasant Ridge,

we saw a nice looking, neatly dressed man

on the sidewalk by the QT station

holding a cardboard sign which said,

"Stranded with children.

Need help with gas..." 

 

That's all I can remember that it said.

Our eyes traveled over to a woman holding a little girl

 in the parking lot of the station.

They also were neatly dressed.

The little girl even had a bow in her hair.

The only money I had was a $100 bill and a few 1's.

I'm thankful that Susannah was on a time schedule

(that's why I was driving her)

so I didn't really think of handing him the hundred.

I think that was a good thing.

 I dropped Susannah at home and headed right

back to the QT.

I was hoping they would still be there so I

could help.

Sure enough, they were.

I parked and got out and asked the man if

I could fill up his car for him.

He said "a guy" had already done that,

but nodded toward another lady who had stopped

and said something about her having given them

some cash, because that tank of gas

was not going to get them home

"in that thing."  "That thing" was a 

reasonable looking tan van.

I went in and had the hundred broken up

and gave them $50.

His matter-of-fact reaction aroused some

suspicion in me.

I asked them, "What happened?"

The man said they were from Spring, TX.

When they tried to use their credit card it was

rejected, making them suspect a case of 

stolen identity.

I left, made a big circle around, and came back by.

They were still there.

I didn't have any obligations myself, so I pulled

up into the Moore's lot and did a bit of surveillance.

I saw a person stop and send a child to take them

money.  I watched a few people hand them cash

from the windows of their cars. 

Susannah and I had felt so sorry for this nice

looking man having to beg.

"How humiliating for him," I had said.

Now I wasn't quite so sure. 

I guess what made me most suspicious was this:

With a tank full of gas and some cash,

why didn't they start for home so they could

get their credit card situation straightened out?

If this was a scam, it was unique and

well executed.

If it wasn't, I'm sorry for being suspicious.

 

Su