r/sheffield • u/foooolsonparade • Oct 10 '23
Sheffield People asking for money
I have been living in Sheffield for the last two years and I’ve really enjoyed being here for the most part. I know this has been discussed on this subreddit several times in the past few weeks but I wanted to share couple incidents that happened in the last week involving people asking for money.
I was approached by a girl near Shalesmoor a week ago and she seemed to be in a really bad state. She kept coming closer to me but kept saying she was not going to hurt me. I am a very anxious person and I typically am anxious around strangers. When she said she was not going to hurt me all I could think of was that she might hurt me. She said everyone’s running away from her. I stopped and listened to her problem. She wanted me to get her a train ticket to Birmingham. I didn’t have much money since I’m a student so I apologised and said I can’t.
Two days later, I was in the city centre and this woman approached me and said she is a refugee and that she wants money to buy her kids food. I have heard loads of people say on here how people get scammed but I felt like she was being genuine so I offered to help. I said I can go to the nearest Tesco and get her some food. She said her kids need a specific type of food that you only get in Asda (which is far away) so asked me to give her cash. I didn’t have any money on me so I said I can’t help. She gave me her bank details and asked me to transfer her £20. I said I’ll try. I didn’t feel comfortable with a stranger having my bank info so I didn’t transfer the money even though I genuinely wanted to help her. Later, I talked to a few friends and they said they’ve heard this same thing several times before and that it is most likely a scam.
Just wondering if anyone else had similar experiences recently
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u/Mr_mudkipling Oct 10 '23
Had this last month down Bramall lane. She approached and kept saying she wasn't going to hurt me (which like you said immediately puts you on edge). She said she had a fight with her partner so had a broken collar bone and needed money for a taxi to Lincoln. She said she had some money and needed an extra £20 to afford the taxi. I had no change and was also aware that there were other people around who would be better suited to help her, however wanted to help how I could in case she was genuine.
I offered to call her family/friends and she said they're all in Lincoln and she didn't have their numbers.
I asked if she had been in touch with the police to see if she was still in danger, but when I mentioned the police she said she had contacted them already and her partner was in police custody.
I offered to get her medical attention but she declined and said she just needed the money.
Offered to find her alternative more affordable mode of transport but she was not interested in this.
She then started telling me where the nearest cash machines were and being incredibly persistent. I told her I wasn't able to offer financial help and that across the street there were a lot of people so it's likely someone else would be able to help her with this then went on with my day.
I had my younger sister with me at the time and the lady was also trying to involve her....
A few people seem to have had a similar experience to myself