This happened back in February, and I was just thinking about it.
I was walking home from the train station through a wide pedestrian plaza and happened to see someone crouched down by a tree. I was in “isolation pod” mode – hood up, mask on, glasses off, earphones in – so I just kept walking to the end of the block. When I got there I turned back to look and the person was still crouched in the same spot, so I decided to go check on them.
It was a Japanese guy in his 40s who seemed a bit out of it. He said he’d been on the bus when he had a panic attack and had to quickly get off, but in the process left his wallet behind. He could get the wallet from the bus company tomorrow, but was still stranded.
I asked him where he lived, made some mental calculations, and said ¥5000 should cover a taxi, to which he agreed. I went into a conbini to break a ¥10,000 and gave him 5. He thanked me and went off to the taxi stand at the station. Didn’t exchange info and haven’t seen or heard from him since.
Now, I have to wonder if I helped someone who was stranded, or if I got scammed. What do you folks think?
Scam:
– he perked up a lot when I gave him the money
– he never refused my offer, and also didn’t offer to repay it (I would have refused: I’m more a Yankee curmudgeon type – I’ll help, but I don’t want to have to socialize with you after)
Legit:
– he seemed pretty shaken up the whole time
– he never specifically asked me for money
– if he was putting on an act, he picked a bad place: it took over a minute for me to walk past him, then come back, in which time nobody else walked by.
In any case, I’m happy with my choice. If I’d kept walking I’d have been up late at night wondering if I’d left a person who needed help to freeze. The money was what I’d spend on a few beers and snacks at a bar.
by SublightMonster