Gas Can Scam

I was visiting a friend's panhandling blog and a woman wrote a comment about people that panhandle at gas stations. She wanted to know if these guys are legit or just pulling a fast one. I can tell you from experience that 99% of the time this is a scam.

There are guys that do this for a living. They actually drive from gas station to gas station hitting people up for gas money. What they want is money. They don't actually want gas. Let me give you an example. There was this kid I used to panhandle with. We got busted a couple of times for holding a sign too close to the off-ramp. He told me about this gas station scam so I rode along with him a couple of times.

Like I said, he didn't want gas. There were people that would offer to fill up his tank. (This is when gas was somewhat reasonable.) If his tank wasn't empty he would get caught in his lie. There were times when all people would do is offer gas, no cash, and the tank would get full quickly. This would put him in awkward spot if he asked someone for gas money and they offered to give him a few gallons. He would just drive away.

I tried this a few times but the gas station scam was never my thing. It's kind of like cold-calling. I couldn't deal with the rejection. Some people would flip out on me! I also didn't like lying. At least with holding a sign you can choose to give or not give. I'm not in your face.

There are obvious advantages to panhandling at the gas station. You are not a sitting duck. You can hit gas stations at peak hours and move along quickly. If someone tells you to leave or threatens to call the cops you can just move to the next gas station or town. When you are holding a sign you are a sitting duck. The cops can see what you are up to from a mile away. I'm also pretty sure you can make a lot more money doing the gas station scam. That is if you have the balls to pull it off.

I knew a heroin addict that claimed he could make $250 in just a few hours doing the gas can scam. I don't know if it's true but I did see a girl do it one day and she had over $100 in bills she was sorting through in her lap in a car.

If you see a van full of kids claiming to be out of gas, this is a ruse too. My friends and I used to pull this when we were teenagers and needed beer money.

Bottom line, don't fall for it. Once in a blue moon there might be an honest person that really is stranded and out of gas but most of the time this is how they are making a living. If you really want to help someone out, offer to give them gas. Have them pull their car up and you pump the gas. Believe me, if they are lying and their tank is full they will just drive away. If you put $10 on their pump they will pretend they are pumping gas and as soon as you drive away they will go back inside and get the change back.

Verify their story, use common sense, and use your gut instinct, and you won't fall this scam.