con woman

[downsouth]

The same thing happened to me a couple of years ago over in West Dulwich. The description of a lady around 5"3 with short hair also sounds familiar. She was quite well spoken and used the electricity meter story. I was suspicious however she was convincing and weighing up the pros and cons decided I could afford to lose ?5 if she wasn't telling the truth.

[ladywotlunches]

She got me a few years back too. Then, she had tried to visit friends on our road who were out and had run out of petrol - so needed a fiver to get some and get her 'little boy' home who was in the car. (must have been a while ago - ?5 would even get you to the end of the road in a car nowadays >:D

[Cassius]

FelicityNormal Wrote:

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> Thieves are losers and this woman's crimes are

> very, very minor.

The problem with this woman is not that she is getting a fiver here and a fiver there but that she has created doubts in peoples' minds of who is and who is not genuine. I have been treated kindly when in genuine need (mugged) and was very grateful to the people who showed me this kindness, however if too many people are tricked by scams like this then a real case of need might be ignored

[jumpinjackflash]

Is she very light skinned like she could be mixed race and looks about mid 30's? I think this was the same woman I saw whilst waiting for bus on corner of Mertins Rd/Ivydale Rd. she asked me for some cash and she was crying saying she needed milk for her kids. I told her didn't have any cash (only had debit card) but I wouldn't have given it to her anyway as did not believe her.

She asked everybody that walked by and even chased one guy on his push bike. If it's the same woman then she is very convincing as she can cry real tears! I actually flt bit sorry for her.

[*Bob*]

jumpinjackflash Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

I told her didn't have any

> cash (only had debit card)

She probably accepts debit cards anyway

[jaybee82]

Its everywhere there days. Tramps will have Chip and PIN soon, mark my words.

[FelicityNormal]

EDmummy Wrote:

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> Happened to mention this thread to a PC the other

> day and he said the lady was known to them but

> that he did not know she was active again. The

> lady has mental health problems and the PC said he

> would check out the posts on the Forum and take it

> from there.

[Asset]

oh well, it must be true then

[frump]

Jumpinjackflash, there is a previous thread which I can't find. She is doing the rounds in Nunhead and has been around for a long time. I posted before because she approached my daughter some time ago. Daughter was in school uniform and very upset by the distressed appearance of this woman who was harrassing her for cash.

PCSOs have said they'll look out for her but mention of this seems to inflame forumites who assume such intervention can only be punative when in fact they may be the only people who can gain access to priveleged information about other support this woman may need/ may reject/ may welcome............

[FelicityNormal]

These types of people are everywhere. I've frequently been accosted by people claiming their handbag's been snatched/they need cabfare to visit their child in hospital/ etc etc. You can usually tell when it is a scam. Sometimes, if I can't tell whether they are bullshitting or not, I will give them a fiver if I have it to spare. I don't know what all their real stories or motivations are but I will say this: you have to be seriously lacking in self-respect/a clue etc in order to resort to doing this type of thing in order to make your cash. Seriously. I can't imagine going from door to door spouting bullshit and trying to scam a fiver unless I had become a crack addict or otherwise lost my mind. There MUST be easier ways of making a living. Sane human beings naturally want to be able to have some sense of pride and dignity about them and you could not have that while pitching up to strangers' front doors, telling them a load of lies in return for a crumpled fiver. Call me naive, I don't care.

[pommie]

If she turned up at my door claiming to need money etc then i would tell her to ring a family member/friend to help her out.

[FelicityNormal]

True. If she really is "known" to police and they've mentioned her mental health issues, perhaps they have needed to section her before.

There is another woman who operates in Forest Hill and in the Lewisham Shoppping Centre who has her face covered in a thick layer of grease or Vaseline and comes up to you from behind and taps your arm and begs to use your mobile to call her son who has just been in a car accident and is in hospital. I've encountered her three times so far. Her son must be extremely unfortunate to keep on being involved in car accidents :)

frump Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Jumpinjackflash, there is a previous thread which

> I can't find. She is doing the rounds in Nunhead

> and has been around for a long time. I posted

> before because she approached my daughter some

> time ago. Daughter was in school uniform and very

> upset by the distressed appearance of this woman

> who was harrassing her for cash.

> PCSOs have said they'll look out for her but

> mention of this seems to inflame forumites who

> assume such intervention can only be punative when

> in fact they may be the only people who can gain

> access to priveleged information about other

> support this woman may need/ may reject/ may

> welcome............

[bigbadwolf]

This doesn't really affect me as I don't live in east Dulwich but from the looks of things some of you are encountering these people in the street when they're not begging. A lot of you have camera phones so why not try and get a a few snaps of the dirty dozen and put the up on the Forum.

[FelicityNormal]

That is probably what I would do too.

pommie Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> If she turned up at my door claiming to need money

> etc then i would tell her to ring a family

> member/friend to help her out.

[FelicityNormal]

She's probably willing to travel to your neighbourhood to beg if you will reimburse her cab fare:)

bigbadwolf Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> This doesn't really affect me as I don't live in

> east Dulwich

[Surprise]

wait a minute, someone described her as being tall and someone else said she was only 5'3...

...is there more than one?

[FelicityNormal]

I'd imagine there are loads of these characters in south London

Surprise Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> wait a minute, someone described her as being tall

> and someone else said she was only 5'3...

>

> ...is there more than one?

[bigbadwolf]

FelicityNormal Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> She's probably willing to travel to your

> neighbourhood to beg if you will reimburse her cab

> fare:)

>

> bigbadwolf Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> > This doesn't really affect me as I don't live

> in

> > east Dulwich

Ha ha Felicity I'll give you that one, very good. I'm next door in Forest hill and we get some of the nutters you suffer from. A few years back I kept encountering this woman who claimed to have Leprosy and she had some alarming wounds that looked like burns on her hands which added weight to her story of needing cash for treatment. I never gave anything which is just as well as she said her illness caused her skin to drop off but I know that Leprosy causes the sufferer to feel little pain when they burn or cut themselves. She used to appear at forest hill train station about 4 years ago.

[JJB]

> frump Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> > Jumpinjackflash, there is a previous thread

> which

> > I can't find. She is doing the rounds in

> Nunhead

> > and has been around for a long time.

She's run in front of my car a couple of times in Nunhead by the Church on Athenlay Rd in the last 6 months, sobbing at the window saying her baby is sick, needs money urgently, etc, needless to say it's the same woman - I told her to get lost on both occasions.

[brum]

Surprise Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> wait a minute, someone described her as being tall

> and someone else said she was only 5'3...

>

> ...is there more than one?

My guess is that the person who said she was tall is under 5' and the one who said she's small is over 6'.

[bigbadwolf]

Yeah but she's not short of a tall story though, sorry couldn't help it.

[Jacbuc]

sorry to hear that youve had the same experience aicardo, yes she puts you in a real dilemma and exploits the good neighbour in us. For my part I dropped a note round to all my neighbours warning them of the scam and Ive had numerous people thank me for taking the trouble. I hope at least that it has increased the sence of neighbourliness on the street. If you look earlier on the thread Ive put the email address of two community police officers who are looking into her escapades - they think that she is known to the police. best wishes

[julieju]

same thing happen to me recently. man on a push bike called at the door to say his wife was in labour and needed taxi money.he claimed to live further up the road and said i must know his wife.. i gave over ten pounds after being assurred he would return it.. never did.felt really stupid.live and learn

[Mikecg]

Bigbadwolf wrote,

"I kept encountering this woman who claimed to have Leprosy".

How do do you get a leper out of the Bath?

With a siv.

[BlueOne]

Oh Jeremy you seem to have misunderstood Honk's (and various others)point. This post contains a perfectly valid description which might help someone identify a bogus caller at their door.I totally agree with Honk over Wheeliegate but I think you're a bit confused as to why Honk objected to the spurious description bandied about during the Wheeliegate discussions in the first place.