Maria writes:
I wanted to let you know about a scam that I fell for the other day. We live in a triplex on the corner of North 38th Street and Wallingford Avenue North. About 8pm our buzzer rang… I went to the door. A man who identified himself as Joseph was standing there. He gave me a very detailed story about how he and his partner had just moved into “that house just up the street.” He pointed north on Wallingford. Joseph went on to say that he had just gotten a job at the University of Washington as a janitor because his boyfriend’s father knows the president of the university.
He had locked himself out and he was $12 short of being able to pay the locksmith to get him in because his wallet was locked inside. I asked him why the locksmith couldn’t let him in to get the wallet, but he just interrupted me to say the the police officer that was on the scene said that legally he could not loan him any money in order to get into his house.
So we gave him $20… he left claiming that he would bring back the change… of course, never saw him again.
I figure the elaborate story told with such conviction and energy was worth the $20!!
Joseph is a tall, thin, well dressed African-American man. He mentioned that he was gay several times in the conversation… as I said, lots of energy/agitation as he told the story.
So… thought it might be good to let other Wallingford residents that this is going on in the neighborhood.
I thought this story sounded familiar, and a quick search brought up a Wallyhood forum post from 2013. In it, the poster links to multiple sites all describing similar scams in various Seattle neighborhoods dating back to at least 2011.
Discover more from Wallyhood
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
So, this crook hits a number of the pain points of guilt: he’s a working class guy doing a low paying job; he’s black; he’s gay; he’s new to the neighborhood in a vague sort of way. And the trap snapped closed. Sorry this happened, yet again, but being innocent as a lamb but wise as a serpent is still good advice after 2000+ years. Never, ever, give money to someone who shows up at your door with a sob story.
Yeah, the gay thing was the crowning touch, Cynical, but undoubtedly effective. He’s got good political savvy, I’ll give him that.
He’ll make a fortune in Wallingford.
Just look for the Bernie signs!
The real problem with this person’s naivete is what happens AFTER they hand over the $20:
It goes to help a person kill himself and to further sustain a habit fueled by our neighbors’ stolen personal items.
And it goes to violent, local drug gangs who get their supplies from ultra-violent drug cartels which terrorize impoverished communities
But the person who fell for this scam should not feel alone in making this mistake. Every day, thousands of cruise ship passengers pour into downtown, handing out $5 bills to heroin, crack and meth addicts, thinking they did their good deeds for the day. Seattle’s vicious gun-toting drug dealers couldn’t agree more.
Wow, I had a very similar thing happen to me back in 2006! A young, cute black man came up my front steps as I was working in my home office, whose windows looked over the porch. He smiled and waved in a very friendly manner, so I opened my door to see what was up. The first thing he said was, “Don’t worry, I’m gay.” (I’m female, so clearly he was saying I didn’t need to worry he was going to attack me or something.) He then proceeded to tell a tale about having run out of gas down the street, and he asked for something like 10 bucks. He supplied a lot of detail as to why he had to resort to knocking on a stranger’s door for the money (I’ve forgotten the details by now). I knew it was a scam but he was so earnest that I went ahead and gave him some money. I kind of regret that now, but it’s sort of hard to think clearly when you’re taken off guard and in the moment. And it’s hard to be harsh to someone who is so disarming and cheerful and didn’t at all seem like a shady person. So, yes, as Rickvid said, don’t be pulled in by cuteness or friendly manner or sob stories. If someone shows up at your door asking for money, it’s a scam!!
What’s really sad is these people could make a lot more money and live a more rewarding life using their talents in a legitimate way. But, for most of them, the real barrier is their drug addiction.
I honestly can’t believe people fall for this. It’s the oldest scam in the book. Usually the line is I’m stranded and trying to get home and I need money for train/bus/cab/whatever to get back home. I mean come on, folks. There are like a gazillion twists on the scam such as, my wife and I just had a baby and I need fare to get to the store to buy baby formula, our baby is hungry. How can anyone live in a city and not have heard of this scam like a million times?