Generous, Stupid, or Both?

[Darth Loki]

A wierd thing happened to me on my way home today. I stopped to get gas and a stranger drove up and asked if he could borrow $20 to fill his car up. Apparently he got a call during a meeting about his Mom being in the hospital and ran straight out of work. He left his brief case in his office and before he realized he was already 30 mins away. He just needed $20 to get to the hospital where he'd have family to help him out. The guy told me he makes almost $150K a year and would come by my work and give me $200 tomorrow for helping him out. He wrote down my work info and I got his personal info (of course it could've all been made up with no ID). This guy looked like he could be making that much money, he had a real nice suit and a nice looking coat. So I gave him the $20 (it was only $20 after all). The guy thanked me about 10 times and went to fill up. I have a gut feeling, I'll never see him again.

So was I generous, stupid, or both?

 

[El Roranous]

I doubt you will see this cat again- unfortunately sounds like a scam.

 

[LOTRFan]

I never advocate giving money away blindly, given the circumstances you did well. Even if you never see him again, your heart was there, for your part.

 

[hairlesswookiee]

well either way... at least you'll be able to sleep at night knowing you did the right thing despite if he was lying or not. in times of emergency many people aren't thinking logical so his story could be true. whether or not he'll actually give you the $200 is something else. that's what i call being a good samaritan!!!

 

[pixletwin]

Generous. Definately. If he went through all that trouble just for $20, maybe he was the stupid one.

No. Your karma is glowingly good.

 

[Asura]

He's driving a car, and has no ID? That's a bit suspecious...stolen vehicle anyone! j/k... I say half stupid/half generious. But It's the thought that counts

 

[El Roranous]

You did the right thing Chris

 

[El Roranous]

I find the people who chase me down and try to make me buy their great (but really crappy) speakers annoying. :emperor

 

[gambit]

difficult to answer

but one thing puts me in suspicion is: why would the guy offer to return 200 $ tomorrow?

if he offers to return 50 or 100 $, it would make sense but 200 $ is way too much for 20 $ help only. then again, I can't say anything as I am not familiar with people of US,therefore I voted for both

 

[carbo-fation]

That was indeed very generous of you! You did the right thing!

 

[nash]

The guy was probably Mini-Rock

 

[El Roranous]

Let's be honest though. This was probably a scam. First of all, no ID. Secondly, a huge payback for something so small. He was basically filling your head up with the illusion that he made so much money a year that paying you $200 back was chump change. Add a whole dramatic story to stir your emotional side...well, don't expect to see him tomorrow. These crooks learn new cons everyday.:maul


...now I'm off to the gas station.

 

[Batty]

I'm not sure I would have given him the money (it's hard to say unless you're actually there), but it's nice to know that if I was in a situation where I needed money from a stranger, I might run into someone like you.

I hope the guy comes through for you. No matter what the turn-out, I certainly wouldn't call you stupid.

 

[Alice Adrenochrome]

The guy was probably Mini-Rock

But no, seriously. If only that sort of behavior (called "sharing") were more common among people.

 

[TheObsoleteMan]

Charity is it's own reward. Never give out money in a situation like that expecting to get it back.

Whether it was generous or stupid I'll leave up to you, but I will at least say that you sound like a stand up guy.

 

[Darth Waller]

What kind of car was he driving?

 

[choopie]

It was a generous thing to provide the guy $20, whether it was for real or for a scam. But I wouldn't have given him any of my information, personal or work-related. I would have given him the money and declined any offer of a payback.

 

[Vader AL]

What kind of car was he driving?

apparantly one that doesn't get good gas mileage if he needed $20....i'm thinking an Abrahms tank.

 

[Darklord Dave]

This is a common scam here in LA and I was a victim of it too. A guy approached me and said he just needed a bit of gas to get home. I gave him about 5 gallons and as I drove off I heard him trying to get more gas from the next person that pulled up.

 

[darthviper107]

It's only $20 doesn't matter that much as a scam, it's not like ebay where you try to buy something for $500 and get nothing.