Con artists use new version of old trick

Area residents should be on alert for a new kind of con artist operating in the area, according to University Police. This new breed consists of people who claim to be stranded -- sometimes with children -- and are in need of money for gas or car repairs in order to get home. Although Penn Police receive few reports concerning panhandling, Interim Deputy Chief of Investigation William Danks said flim-flam scams are becoming a trend in urban areas such as Philadelphia. "It's a pretty common scam, and there are variations of it... but it's been going on for years in big cities," Danks said. "It works because it preys on people's sympathies." "It's panhandling with a theme," he added. "It's becoming a little more difficult for folks to just straight-out panhandle. Now you're talking about someone who is dressed a little nicer than your average panhandler, who speaks a little better." In the case of the more advanced con artists, Homeless Outreach Services Coordinator Jenny O'Donnell recommended offering one's own services as a test. "I would offer to take them to a gas station if the car is there in sight. Money is not going to do any good if they can't get the car to the station," she said. Danks said individuals out to pull off a scam will refuse all offers of aid besides money. He added that people should test the validity of a story before giving money. "One of the things to say is 'Wait here, I'll call the police and they'll come and help you get where you want to go.' If the person is legitimate, they will say 'thank you' and they'll wait for the police," he said. "You'll know if they drive off into the sunset that, one, they aren't out of gas, and two, that they weren't the real deal," Danks added. While a car that is broken down or out of gas is a common story, sometimes children are added to the mix. Some con artists have their car in sight, with several children sitting inside. "It's more convincing. You see the kids and you can't help yourself. Everyone wants to help out someone's kids," Danks said. Interim University Police Chief Michael Fink noted that, at this "higher level" of panhandling, the majority of con artists are out to support an alcohol or drug habit. For this reason, outreach programs for the homeless stress that people should never give money to panhandlers. O'Donnell said that people approached by a homeless person should always call a shelter and inform volunteers of a homeless person's location. She added that even if a panhandler or con artist does not appear to be homeless, he or she may very well be. "There are a lot of people in the city living in cars," O'Donnell said. First-year linguistics graduate student Stephanie Winters was recently approached by a woman she suspects was a con artist. Winters commutes to the University from her home in Haverford, and one Sunday morning she was flagged down by a woman while stopped at a red light. "The woman told me she was from Newark and that her car had broken down," Winters said. "I would have given her a ride," Winters said, but the woman refused any offers of aid besides money. Winters later posted her experience on the newsgroup upenn.talk, where several other students replied saying they had been approached by a woman with the exact same story. One student claimed that she was approached by the same woman twice in one week.

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