"Street Wise vendors and con artists" Beggars & Scam Artists Tip by midnight_mike

Street Wise is a publication which allows homeless people to earn a living. It cost $1 and the vendors sell it on busy street corners or anywhere a crowd is gathered. In theory, it is a really good idea having these people work for money instead of begging. Unfortunately, some of the vendors are really rude. Either they hand an unsuspecting tourist a newspaper and then demand money for it or they make a sarcastic remark about you if you ignore them. I rarely carry cash with me and I don't think I have to explain that to them.

The other thing to watch out for is the "Excuse me sir, my car ran out of gas and I need to get back to Indiana" scam. I have heard so many different version of this story. It is unfortunate because there are people who are truly in such desperate situations but no one will believe them because of people like this. I made this mistake once when I was in Vancouver when I gave a guy $20, but never again.

Homeless people hold cups in their hands on street corners. They are really in no position to make up some fancy story. It is the drug addicts who will try to steal and con you out of your money.