"Help me my dear friends"

Fobia

Anyone see this guy today on Shop street. Normal good clothed guy in his twenties (I think), with a sign saying "Help me my dear friends, I have no money to buy food. Thank you." or something similar. I first thought "begger" or "scam", but he wasn't being moved (there were tons of guards around town today). He also had a tissue up to his face as if he were crying.

Maybe it was just a beggar or a guy chancing his arm (and if so, not exactly very good morally), or maybe there's more to the story?

I was just left a little confused is all.

Thoughts?

PixelTrawler

did you donate...?

Tar.Aldarion

Fobia wrote:

Anyone see this guy today on Shop street. Normal good clothed guy in his twenties (I think), with a sign saying "Help me my dear friends, I have no money to buy food. Thank you." or something similar. I first thought "begger" or "scam", but he wasn't being moved (there were tons of guards around town today). He also had a tissue up to his face as if he were crying.

Maybe it was just a beggar or a guy chancing his arm (and if so, not exactly very good morally), or maybe there's more to the story?

I was just left a little confused is all.

Thoughts?

I ran in here to help you dear phibia but alas I know not.
I usually have a chat with somebody before giving them money, next time ask him his story. It'll be easy to see if it's a scam or whatever.

PixelTrawler

Its christmas, why not throw the guy a quid or 2 - thats the most you'll lose and you've done a good deed for the day...

I don't think it warrants an investigation...

Fobia

Joebloggs4817 wrote:

I don't think it warrants an investigation...

Well, if it is just a guy chancing his arm, he could be taking potential donations away from people who really do need it, and in the words of Jimi Hendrix: That aint too cool.

PixelTrawler

totally agree...

however you seem very suspicious about this person begging

was there something odd about this person that made you think they were faking? just curious why you chose to post about this one person out of all the people you see begging in and around galway week in week out

Tar.Aldarion

20 years old, in good clothes.
Most are old and crazy with much smell of booze...

Fobia

Well, he didn't look in any way poor. Looked like the a standard NUIG student. Maybe he was just given clothes by a charity or something...but why was he crying? And if he wasn't crying, why did have a tissue held up to his face?

PixelTrawler

possibly like you say, he was wearing charity clothes and because he is poor is underfed and has a cold hence the streaming eyes...

its too near christmas to be so suspicious... could be a million reasons why he was there...

rte arent attempting to film a second series of naked camera by any chance;)

Jamey

I saw this guy. Me and a few mates sat outsied Eason's just watching his actions for a few minutes. His sign read "No money to eat". So after a while people started bringing up food to him, rolls etc. Someone brought him up a take away from Mcdonald's and he ate it, then some one brought him up a bag of something, he looked in it, and threw it away. He was sitting on a nice looking rucksack, with loads of food around him which had been given to him. At all times he covered his face for some reason. He had his hand over his face like he didn't want his identity being revealed.

Definetily a scammer in my book. He wrote out the sign as if he had bad English, I know it's narrow-minded to say he was definetily a foreigner or whatever, but thats the thing, he had no characteristics whatsoever or anything to show he was foreign. A few people including the bald lad from zhivago with the tail and the tattoos gave him disgusted looks as they walked by. When he heard me and my mates talking about him he kept turning around giving us dirty looks.

Also there was loads of coins on his plate and he put them into a cup and then put out the plate so it looked like he hadn;t got much. This guy really pissed me off. I hope I'm write that he was only trying his arm.

JohnCleary

Go up to him and ask him does he want some food. Chances are he'll tell ya to fup off - thats how to check if hes a scammer

Redhairedguy

I have video footage from two days ago of this feck, emptying the contents of his plate into his rucksack, which was full of documents and papers and stuff, with a smile, then resuming his stance and pretending to be sad, even though he was grinning.

nobodythere

Ah yeah!!! I've seen him, he often sits beside ATM machines when people have just taken money out so they can't say that they have no money.

I hover around shop st when I'm bored and peaceful so I sat watching him for a while, he doesn't look like a bum at all. He's well dressed, gortex jacket and strikes me as Australian/New Zealish (?:p) maybe.

Anyway he keeps a few cent in his cup and just puts all the other donations in his front pocket.

I reckon he made €20 in the half hour I was watching him.

And if we're talking about the same guy, he got up and wandered around when two Gardai were coming

Redhairedguy

grasshopa wrote:

, he got up and wandered around when two Gardai were coming

Sounds about right!