It doesn't matter if you are or aren't you did what you thought was best and that's it. You're a good person. - Steve C, Team Marina

It makes you a decent person. My daughter had called me from the airport and told me she lost her wallet but just had enough to get home. Someone heard her and walked over and gave her 20 dollars so she could buy something to eat and have enough just in case. Thank you who ever you are that helped my daughter. - VALZONE#SCREWED

Yep, but so what. Kinda like my attitude towards loaning people money. They need it and i don't expect them to return it. But if she wasn't just a scam artist, having a cell phone, she'd have offered to take your number as a means to return the money to you. Or, at least, that's what i'd have done in the same situation. So i believe you were scammed. I no longer give people like that any money because i have no idea if they're just looking for easy money are are actually not really in need. Think about all the people that just run around in WoW asking for gold. For people with the nerve to do it, it's easy money and they may very well have a job that pays well too. Greed knows no bounds. I only give money to charities that i have researched http://www.charitynavigator.org/ that have good track records for how they use their donations. That way, i know it's going to causes i care about and to people in real need and not just to buy someone a Fillet, booze or a pack of cigarettes. I don't even donate at the cash register at the pet store and such because i don't believe those charities weren't setup with 50% or more administrative costs simply as a means for extra income. - ·[▪_▪]·

That's a big scam here, mostly done at gas stations where people say they're out of gas and just need a few dollars to get home. However, I always think about it this way -- Giving someone money with good intentions is my karma. What they do it is theirs. - Trish R

I think your heart was in the right place. If she was scamming you that will come back to her like Trish said. - DB, Lil LB's Dad

But how is your karma when you could have given those few dollars to someone truly needy, maybe it'd even save lives? Versus someone lying to scam money from you. If someone came up to me and just said "i'm hungry, can you spare a few dollars?", that, to me, is worthwhile. But to lie, it's a scam which implies they probably don't really need it all that much. So it's more than just giving to make yourself feel good. When resources are limited, it matters who gets the resources too, not just that it feels good to give them all away. BTW, i know some Nigerians that would love to talk to you about some investment opportunities. Scammers are vile and don't deserve anything. They waste resource that could otherwise be useful for _real_ problems and _real_ distressed people. - ·[▪_▪]·

She actually did ask me for my info so she could return the money and I said no, don't worry about it. I guess I'm more uncomfortable giving someone my address than $20. - Kelly W.

Oh and I can't tell you how many times someone has come up to me asking me for gas money when I refused, she just seemed more genuine, more panicked. And the fact that she appeared to be talking to a family member or friend on her cell phone trying to figure out what to do helped with me believing she was in trouble. But of course in the back of my mind I'm thinking--maybe she was just a really good scam artist. Honestly, I do think she needed help, but hate the fact that I can't feel good about it b/c of my doubt. - Kelly W.

Yea, i'd have given my phone number and if she ever called, just say don't worry about it. But that doubt is what really pisses me off about criminals and scammers. It's because of criminals/scammers that i doubt and question everyone. It sucks. I really believe it was a scam. If her car was broken into, had she called the police? Police should be there to file a report. - ·[▪_▪]·

According to her she did call the police and they did file a report, but they couldn't help her with giving her $ to get home. - Kelly W.

Robot, I wasn't saying I give to feel good or for the karma points. I only think that because if I feel compelled to give someone money, I try not to stress about if they truly need it or they were scamming me. I try to trust my instincts about it and if I feel doubtful, I just tell them "I have no money, sorry." - Trish R

You had good intentions and no matter what the situation was, you helped her. You did a good thing and you should feel good about that. To worry now is useless, it wont undo the past. - Heather

Honestly, based on your description, that sounds kind of bogus. I don't ever trust folks doing stuff like that. I always think of it this way: What would I be doing if I really was in their situation? Asking strangers for money would be way, way, way down on the list. I would try to find police, try to get help from the stores nearby, anything but bugging some random person. - Kamilah Reed (K. Gill)

If you live in or around Davis, CA and the girl was blond and crying, I'd say it was possible you ran into this chick: http://daviswiki.org/Crying_... - Corinne L

You live life with a generous spirit you're going to give a scammer money but you will also help pople in genuine need I think on balance I'd rather be generous sucker then too cynical - WarLord

There was a famous story a decade or so ago about someone who was doing research into how the way we present ourselves colors people's response to us. He dressed as a bum and walked around Penn Station in New York, asking for money. Some people gave him a quarter, some ignored him, and some said verbally abusive things. The next day, he showed up clean-cut and clean-shaven, in a polo shirt and slacks, again asking for money. This time, most people engaged him in conversation, and the average amount of money that people gave him was about $1. On the third day, he was impeccably dressed in a designer business suit and tie. People said things like "I know how you must feel--I lost my wallet once." and gave him enough money to buy his train ticket, lunch, etc. She may have been legit, but she could also have been a clever scammer. One possible test would have been to offer to follow her to a gas station so you could put $5 worth of gas for her onto your debit card. If she were a scammer, she would have made some excuse to not take you up on it. - Jeff Bigler