Panhandlers at Truck Stops

Head 'em off at the pass. When they walk up to your truck, roll down the window and ask THEM for a sawbuck!

 

Had a somewhat new version of an old story yesterday.


Almost empty truckstop parking lot, due to holidays. I didn't even notice the fairly new kia 4 door pull up next to me. Somewhat clean cut black guy, maybe in his 50's, gets out, walks up to my drivers door.

Starts in with a story 'I'm an E-6 at Fort XXXX, (350 miles away), and I stopped to help a lady change her flat tire on the side of the road. After she drove off, I noticed my wallet was missing, now I don't have enough gas to get back to base.'
(he looked a bit old to be an E-6, not impossible, but....)
I looked at him, noticed the car tags were for a midwestern state, didn't notice any base stickers.
I then told him we were 10 miles away from another large Army base, and guess he could get some emergency pay there, or he would pass another large Army base in one hour, if he was actually headed to Fort XXX. He mumbled something about having to get back to the base that night, and left.
He pulled out of the truck stop, went across the interstate, where there is another truck stop.
5 minutes later I'm leaving the truck stop, and he pulls back in, pulls up to a gas pump, but I wasn't there long enough to see if he pulled a wallet and credit card out.

I still suspect something fishy. I guess you can still show up at any Military base in an emergency and get a partial pay?


3 weeks ago my sister called me laughing. One of my brothers jumped in his car to go Xmas shopping an hour away from home, and realized he left his wallet home when he was standing in the checkout line.

He went back to his car, then noticed he was on 'E'.



We were trying to figure out how we could get some money to him, since he had no ID with him.
i called him, he thought he could drive slowly enough to get home, or almost home, or run out close enough to have a friend bring him a little gas. He was more worried about getting pulled over by a cop for doing 45 in a 65 zone, than running out of gas.



(He made it home)

 

that wouldn't have been on 20 between thomson, ga and Columbia, sc would it?

there's a guy running that same scam on about a 100 mile stretch of 20 between those points. tried it on me 3 times within about 6 months.

same description, different variations on the same story. has his military life history down pat, unit, mos, tour assignments ect ect ect twice I got the 'I hooked up with a girl and woke up this morning and my wallet was gone' story and got the flat tire story once. 1st time at the rest area at the sc/ga line, then at the loves west of augusta, then at the little truckstop at the 51 just west of Columbia. he's got his act down to the letter even the stressing over having to get back to the base as soon as he can before they come looking for him for being awol. pretty believable for someone who isn't paying attention and has a soft spot for military but my gut was telling me it's a scam the 1st time and after the 2nd knew I was right in listening to my gut. it's almost never wrong.

if he had given me one shred of proof he was legit I would have helped him but he couldn't produce any proof he was active duty and I as well also noticed no sticker or other visible proof on his car.....that threw up the big red flags because he should have at least had a parking sticker or something to that effect...... so just wished him luck and blew him off the 1st time.

2nd time I told him he should really remember who he tries to run the scam on he just tried it on me the week before and if he really was legit he should be more careful who he hooks up with in the future. he walked off.

3rd time it really got under my skin and I started calling him out on it rather loudly as I started to get out of the truck and he ran.

haven't seen him around the last few trips out that way but he seemed to be in his comfort zone working that stretch and with several bases along that stretch of 20 someone gullible could fall for it.

 

Yes. He had a silver kia with nebraska tags

 

same guy. hadn't seen him in awhile was hoping he'd moved on to other hunting grounds. guess not.

 

A serviceman with a military ID can get an emergency draw against his pay at the finance office at any US military installation, regardless of the branch. An E6 would know this. A first-termer might not.

 

He must live in the area.
Will keep my eye out for him.
He pulled into the empty slot next to my trailer, or I would have had his car on my dashcam.

 

Well, he did say his wallet was stolen, and if you believe that, you'll also believe it gets stolen every time he passes through that area.

I was wondering how his wallet would get stolen changing a tire?

'Pardon me maam, do you mind if I take my pants off while I change this tire on the side of the road so they don't get dirty? Here, please hold them for me, and be careful my wallet may fall out.'

Come to think of it, he could be an nco!

 

he's been running that scam for awhile now. at least a year. he must be doing pretty well with it.

I saw him last year and then wasn't running down there first couple of months of this year then started getting back down that way around mid year. one of the things I was thinking about once I started running back down there again was if that guy was still around.

I only saw his car once when he pulled up beside my truck in the rest area. he didn't have the kia last year it was a beat up impala but did have the Nebraska tags on it. the other times he was walking the row of parked trucks in the truckstops.

 

Why is it that when a driver enters a truckstop at 30mph and hits someone, it's always another driver? Obviously the best solution is to slow down and not hit anyone.... but if you're gonna tag someone, can't you aim for the guy exploiting people's conscience by pretending to be a serviceman?