

Residents catch on to local con artist..using a local wiki - philipn
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/26/us/26crying.html

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cperciva
Quoth the article: _City police [...] say she has not committed any crimes.
Officers have responded to more than a dozen reports, but, "it’s not illegal
to ask people for money" [...]_

I'm no lawyer, but this seems like a textbook case of fraud to me: A deception
deliberately practiced in order to secure unfair gain.

Asking people for money certainly isn't illegal, but deceiving them for that
purpose?

~~~
acangiano
The City police is not doing their job as they should. It is the textbook
definition of fraud.

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matt1
Here's a link to the Crying Girl Con Artist page on DavisWiki.com, the site
they mention in the article:

<http://daviswiki.org/Crying_Girl_Con_Artist>

(The internet is amazing.)

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pmcginn
Maybe I've been in a big city for too long, but it's really heartwarming to
see how many people in the wiki comments were taken in by her story and gave
money to her so generously.

It's been years since I've given money to anyone on the street, and I'll never
do it again. I've seen it all--the guy who stands outside Wawa all night and
then goes around the corner to his car and drives home. The guy who got me to
buy him a hotdog who I later found out had more than enough money to buy
dinner but was saving it for heroin. The thousands of people who just need a
"bus transfer" or got stranded by their boss/girlfriend/boyfriend. The kids
from the suburbs who play homeless for a few hours in the morning so they can
buy some Starbucks after shoplifting all afternoon.

Anyway, I gave up on listening to people asking for money. All they get out of
me is "sorry, no cash." It's nice to see others are more hopeful.

~~~
cperciva
The only time I've given money to someone on the street he gave me a lengthy
story which boiled down to "I just got into town and I need $5 to stay at the
hostel down the street". (I was aware that such a hostel existed.)

I wouldn't have believed him except that he said "I figure that if I can get
20 people to give me a quarter each..." -- I figured that a scammer wouldn't
have concocted such a complicated story just to ask for $0.25.

So I gave him the $5 he said he needed, and the look of shocked surprise on
his face -- and his effusive thanks -- convinced me that I was right to
believe him.

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aarghh
I do wonder though - when does this sort of thing stop being community
policing and cross the line into web vigilante-ism?

~~~
shadowsun7
If you go to the actual Wiki page you'll find all sorts of warnings and calls
for refrain, eg:

 _"Please please please do not try to contact her or her family through
Facebook or Myspace. They are definitely her profiles, but it won't do any
good to try to contact her this way. You could get in trouble for harassment
if you don't choose the right words, and she could potentially retaliate
against you. I learned from someone who knows this girl that her family is
already well-aware of the situation and gets several emails each day about it.
They do not talk to her, and they are very upset by the whole thing. No need
to upset that family any more than they already are."_

So it's still pretty alright. I'd say the line lies where there is malice.

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jasonlbaptiste
I wish every city had something like this (with good content).

~~~
philipn
That's what we're trying to do! If you see the message at the top of
<http://daviswiki.org> \-- we've just gotten a grant from the Knight
Foundation (i.e. Everyblock) to do software development, and we're now trying
to fundraise (in the interim) to cover outreach & education efforts (a huge
aspect of success).

<http://localwiki.org> has more information. It's going to be an entirely non-
profit, open-source effort.

If you think your community would be a good pilot then you should definitely
fill out the pilot recommendation form (and have other people do so as well).
We're really looking for places with creative, inspired, amazing people -- and
we want to work alongside them to really refine this model for local media!

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mattyfo
This is actually a pretty old scam. I remember one time I helped a guy get a
'greyhound ticket' but the second time (weeks later) he asked me for money for
the same thing I said no.

Although I am glad to hear that there are good people that give out there.

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mleonhard
This is an example of Human Flesh Search (人肉搜索) that has become an internet
phenomenon in China:

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_flesh_search_engine>

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raintrees
I am encouraged to see this happening. A continuation of taking responsibility
for our own safety/health/fiscal heartiness.

Speculation: Carrying this forward, as more of the data gathering,
documentation, and other work is provided in a neat package, does this promote
the type of police department we see depicted in the "Harry Cannon" short in
the original Heavy Metal? A "menu" of charges for various police services?

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jwtanner
The Internet makes it harder to lie. Internet:1 Con Artists: 0

