Would you let a stranger on the street use your phone?

Sad Professor

I've had a couple of experiences recently of complete strangers on the street asking if they could use my phone for a minute. In both cases I had the genuine excuse of not having any credit (I use data for almost everything). But the truth is, even if I had had credit, I'm not sure I would have let them. In the pre- expensive smartphone days I might have considered it, but with iPhones, etc getting whipped out people's hands on a daily basis in Dublin, it doesn't seem particularly wise to hand your phone over some stranger on the street.

Would you let a seemingly genuine person on the street use your phone under any circumstances? Obviously nobody is going to let some tracksuit-wearing scumbag who is slurring every second word use their phone. But how do you determine if someone is genuine? Or are you a deeply suspicious person who would refuse everyone regardless?

tvercetti

No!!!

Diego Maradona

Scummer in a tracksuit, no! Little old lady, yes.

Lionel Messy

No, i wouldn't take the chance. It's usually scum that ask you for things, you can spot them a mile off.

hondasam

Depending on the circumstances if someone was distressed or upset them yes I would other than that probably not.

MisterEpicurus

I wouldn't mind if you rejected my request to use your phone - but as long as you're prepared to face the consequences....(sharpening knife)

Holsten

Nope, wouldn't matter who it was.

Run_to_da_hills

Certainly not, if that person was on the run from being nvolved in a serious crime you could be found guilty by association from the number he dialed.

1ZRed

Everyone has expensive iPhones and smartphones these days including me so the answer is not no, but FŪCK NO!

purplepapillon

Diego Maradona wrote: »

Scummer in a tracksuit, no! Little old lady, yes.

Ha! Agreed! It depends on the situation. I did one time, when a young girl was sitting on the edge of the street in Temple Bar, shouting "help". She was nursing a passed-out friend (who was breathing etc. just sleeping really - I checked!), and her phone had gone kaput. She wanted to ring her bro to get a lift home. I lent her my phone, went and got her friend some water and sat down beside her for a while till she calmed down. She was scared, telling me it was their first night out out in town with fake IDs and it was terrible. I told her it would get better in time! Ah bless

i71jskz5xu42pb

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

Certainly not, if that person was on the run from being nvolved in a serious crime you could be found guilty by association.

There's some amount of pseudo legal guff that gets spouted on boards, the supply seems endless.

El Weirdo

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

Certainly not, if that person was on the run from being nvolved in a serious crime you could be found guilty by association from the number he dialed.

What utter nonsense.

WoollyRedHat

It depends. Would you let a stranger jump on your bed? If you wouldn't let a stranger jump on your bed then you shouldn't let a stranger use your phone.

hondasam

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

Certainly not, if that person was on the run from being nvolved in a serious crime you could be found guilty by association from the number he dialed.

Seriously are you that paranoid ?

Run_to_da_hills

El Weirdo wrote: »

What utter nonsense.

Not in England or the US.

Pushtrak

I already have, and would again but it would depend on the situation.

Amzie

No bloody way they'd run off with it! My faith in humanity is lacking!! There is Alot of theives out there:(

hondasam

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

Not in England or the US.

One phone call from your phone will not implicate you in a crime, they can trace all your calls and see you are innocent.

WoollyRedHat

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

Certainly not, if that person was on the run from being nvolved in a serious crime you could be found guilty by association from the number he dialed.

What if any single person in your phonebook had just robbed a corner shop, and you came up in their received calls list? You'd surely be charged for collusion to robbery.

B.A._Baracus

Generally .... No i would not. Fob them off with the "no credit" line.
You cant really blame people for saying no too. Alot could happen:


- run off with your phone.
- use it as a distraction. as you go to reach for it. they go for you.

Heck, dont even Barclays bank have an phone app now too? ... Where you can send and recieve payments? Can't help but feel there will be some sort of scam floating about in a while with it and "sorry, just couldnt use your phone for a second could I?"

Karen23

Looking at it from the other persons view I'd hate to be a genuine person in need of a phone and nobody would help but of course I can understand why people wont help each other anymore.

I was in an Aldi carpark and approached by a guy in working gear and gave me a story about just finishing work and he'd run out of petrol and had no money and could I help him out. I gave him whatever loose change I had in my purse but afterwards I realised how stupid I was to take my purse out when he could easily have grabbed it. It never dawned on me at the time because it was a busy car park and I'd seen him ask other people too.

Found out later on that this is a regular scam going on in shopping centre car parks.

MrReynholm

Depends on the person really but unless they're a rough looking skanger then I probably would.

I was mugged once as a kid and have never had any other trouble, have let strangers make calls on my phone or send the odd text plenty of times without issue and surely will again.

Not everyone is out to get you folks.

Run_to_da_hills

WoollyRedHat wrote: »

What if any single person in your phonebook had just robbed a corner shop, and you came up in their received calls list? You'd surely be charged for collusion to robbery.

Depends on the seriousness of the case, you could land yourself in court trying to testify your innocence. (an unnecessary waste of a day).

MrReynholm

What utter bullsh1t.

ColeTrain

No chance, I'd tell them to f*ck off to the nearest museum and use a payphone.

B.A._Baracus

MrReynholm wrote: »

Depends on the person really but unless they're a rough looking skanger then I probably would.

I was mugged once as a kid and have never had any other trouble, have let strangers make calls on my phone or send the odd text plenty of times without issue and surely will again.

Not everyone is out to get you folks.

Problem is alot are tho. But the bigger problem is you dont know who is and who isnt.

sad really.

Pushtrak

Karen23 wrote: »

I was in an Aldi carpark and approached by a guy in working gear and gave me a story about just finishing work and he'd run out of petrol and had no money and could I help him out. I gave him whatever loose change I had in my purse but afterwards I realised how stupid I was to take my purse out when he could easily have grabbed it. It never dawned on me at the time because it was a busy car park and I'd seen him ask other people too.

Found out later on that this is a regular scam going on in shopping centre car parks.

I'm sorry, but what is the scam? People grabbing handbags or people dressing up and asking for money?

brummytom

Depends on the person asking.

depends on the person

MrReynholm

B.A._Baracus wrote: »

Problem is alot are tho. But the bigger problem is you dont know who is and who isnt.

sad really.

A lot?

No, not really. A small amount are out to rob you or similar. A very small amount.

So small that I'm not going to be a dick to every stranger on the off chance they're one of them. I'll do as I've always done and trust my judgement of the person by the way they're dressed, talking and acting. I'll re-evaluate things if it ever does wrong of me.

Novella

Yeah, I would. I once asked a lady could I use her phone for a sec at a bus stop 'cause I'd left mine at home and I needed someone to pick me up when I got off the bus. She helped me out, although she did seem hesitant at first, and I really appreciated it.

ejmaztec

hondasam wrote: »

Depending on the circumstances if someone was distressed or upset them yes I would other than that probably not.

They could be stressed or upset because someone just ran off with their phone after "borrowing" it for a minute.:(

Karen23

Karen23 wrote: »

Looking at it from the other persons view I'd hate to be a genuine person in need of a phone and nobody would help but of course I can understand why people wont help each other anymore.

I was in an Aldi carpark and approached by a guy in working gear and gave me a story about just finishing work and he'd run out of petrol and had no money and could I help him out. I gave him whatever loose change I had in my purse but afterwards I realised how stupid I was to take my purse out when he could easily have grabbed it. It never dawned on me at the time because it was a busy car park and I'd seen him ask other people too.

Found out later on that this is a regular scam going on in shopping centre car parks.

Pushtrak wrote: »

I'm sorry, but what is the scam? People grabbing handbags or people dressing up and asking for money?

People pretending to have run out of petrol on the way home from work and wanting you to help them out when this hasn't happened at all and they're using this as a cover instead of the usual '' any odds '' cos that doesn't work anymore.

B.A._Baracus

MrReynholm wrote: »

A lot?

No, not really. A small amount are out to rob you or similar. A very small amount.

So small that I'm not going to be a dick to every stranger on the off chance they're one of them. I'll do as I've always done and trust my judgement of the person by the way they're dressed, talking and acting. I'll re-evaluate things if it ever does wrong of me.

and i'll remain cautious of most people as my experience has lead me to believe

B.A._Baracus

Karen23 wrote: »

People pretending to have run out of petrol on the way home from work and wanting you to help them out when this hasn't happened at all and they're using this as a cover instead of the usual '' any odds '' cos that doesn't work anymore.

Ah the ol' tapping story :pac:

After a while you hear so many. From "you wouldnt have a euro for bus fare?" to "I lost my wallet, you couldnt help me out with..."

Jesus Wept

Diego Maradona wrote: »

Scummer in a tracksuit, no! Little old lady, yes.

Scummers grow up to be little old ladies eventually. :eek:

Kirby

It depends. On the street? Definitely not. In a shop or on a bus or somewhere like that.... I would. I've been in similar situations before and kind people have let me use their phone so I always like to return the favour. But I would never just hand it over in the middle of the street. It could be gone in jig time.

SweetCaliber

For the money it would cost I'd just give them a euro to use a local payphone, that way you wont have anyone running away with a €600 phone.

kumate_champ07

lee3155 wrote: »

For the money it would cost I'd just give them a euro to use a local payphone, that way you wont have anyone running away with a €600 phone.

so you suspect someone of being interested in robbing your phone and you give them 1euro? why give them anything

kumate_champ07

it depends on the person and you shouldnt judge them on their appearance either. Ive let some 'dodgey looking' people use my phone because they genuinely needed to make a call, they didnt run away with it

read their body language, make eye contact, listen to their voice, make up your mind if its genuine or a scam/potential robbery

SweetCaliber

kumate_champ07 wrote: »

so you suspect someone of being interested in robbing your phone and you give them 1euro? why give them anything

No but I wouldn't take the chance, they could be down to earth and could leg it with the phone!

You'd be surprised.

TheStook

I remember on holidays a couple of years ago, my mam asks some genuine looking chap to take a photo of us, he says ok so we hand him the camera and whaddya know, he sprints off like Usain ****ing Bolt. Good feckin camera it was aswell.
Not the same but the same principle.
So no.

JohnMearsheimer

I did once in a supermarket in Vancouver. I gave a girl in front of me in the queue who seemed high as a kite a loan of my phone so she could call a taxi. She asked the checkout girl what the cross street of the supermarket just before she asked for my phone so I said feck it. She didn't do a runner with it anyway.

Carlos Orange

Sad Professor wrote: »

Would you let a seemingly genuine person on the street use your phone under any circumstances? Obviously nobody is going to let some tracksuit-wearing scumbag who is slurring every second word use their phone. But how do you determine if someone is genuine? Or are you a deeply suspicious person who would refuse everyone regardless?

Happened to me last week so I know the answer is no.

Then again it was also 11pm on an empty street, iirc he was wearing a tracksuit, it was my second day with a brand new phone and I was much more interested in getting home than entering into conversation.

The day before in daylight when I had two working phones in my pocket and a business man it might have been different.

beks101

I had this used on me as a pick-up line recently. Very creepy.

Some dude randomly stopped me as I was walking to work along a busy street in Toronto, seemingly distressed, asked if he could use my phone to call his boss coz he was running late for an important meeting.

He was in a suit and not dodgy looking, so I totally and completely reluctantly agreed, asked him what the number was, put it in and handed it to him half-jokingly saying 'if you run off I've got about 100 witnesses'.

He then pretended to wait for an answer for a few seconds, then said, 'well I've got your number now, I'm Jay, can I call you sometime?'

Kinda freaked me out for the rest of the day to be honest, expecting this random guy to pop up on my phone at any moment. Creepy McCreeperson.

Oranage2

yep i would if the person looked genuine.

i remember letting a junkie use it at the museum luas stop, he looked a good skin and he wanted to call his mates, he even offered me his sleeve so he didn't run off but i refused the offer - well afterwards i had 'Deco' ringing me about. heroin for the next week.

fasttalkerchat

I was locked out of the house with no phone or wallet. After 6 hours waiting on housemates to come home I asked a neighbour (didn't know her) could I use her phone because I was locked out. She said no. Not that she didn't have credit, just no. I couldn't believe it!

kegzmc

1ZRed wrote: »

Everyone has expensive iPhones and smartphones these days including me so the answer is not no, but FŪCK NO!

It's the same thing no matter how you say it. No is your answer.

saiint

ya i would no problem
i have one of those big blokia phones from the 80's
i need a reason to get a new one....

Fizzlesque

Yes, I would and have done. I don't have an iPhone or Smartphone, just the standard phone the kind a thief would probably upgrade for you if they ended up snatching it. Depends on who's asking, where I am, mood I'm in, vibe I get off the person, etc., but yeah, sometimes I would.

efb

beks101 wrote: »

I had this used on me as a pick-up line recently. Very creepy.

Some dude randomly stopped me as I was walking to work along a busy street in Toronto, seemingly distressed, asked if he could use my phone to call his boss coz he was running late for an important meeting.

He was in a suit and not dodgy looking, so I totally and completely reluctantly agreed, asked him what the number was, put it in and handed it to him half-jokingly saying 'if you run off I've got about 100 witnesses'.

He then pretended to wait for an answer for a few seconds, then said, 'well I've got your number now, I'm Jay, can I call you sometime?'

Kinda freaked me out for the rest of the day to be honest, expecting this random guy to pop up on my phone at any moment. Creepy McCreeperson.

Surely Jay Rae Jefferson, Carly's brother???