Is this a scam?

Roger Hassenforder

At the weekend, the wife and daughter were sitting on one of the boxes on Patrick St. eating an ice cream.

A young one (20s) with an apparent French accent comes up and says she's trying to show how safe it was for a girl to hike around Ireland, staying in strangers houses, and could they (the wife) put her up for a night.
Apparently she looked a bit sketchy, the wife apologised, saying theres no room. Your one moved off.

Anyone come accross* this one?



(*please, it's a family thread)

grindle

Maybe yes, meybe no, but if they considered her sketchy I'd presume it's a scam.

If she looked like some hippy art college girl with a mid-Atlantic twang I'd presume no scam but still unwise to let a random pleb into the house.

TheBoyConor

If you let her stay in your house she might either refuse to leave or else during the night her boyfriend or other accomplice or several of them might come over too and rob the place.

Miaireland

I would consider this a scam. I have heard something vaguely similar in the USA.

At best the lady is very naive but I really think your wife was wise and spotted a scam

Roger Hassenforder

If she walked up said she was a French tourist running low on cash, that the wife looked decent and was there any chance of a bed?, she might have got one!

j8wk2feszrnpao

TheBoyConor wrote: »

If you let her stay in your house she might either refuse to leave or else during the night her boyfriend or other accomplice or several of them might come over too and rob the place.

Or "slip" while in the house; insurance time.
Scam or not, even innocently you could end up regretting it.

tedpan

Roger Hassenforder wrote:

Anyone come accross* this one?

*Across?

Roger Hassenforder

tedpan wrote: »

*Across?

I'll wear sackcloth tomorrow!

Flesh Gorden

I've met two people doing something very similar, so I'd be leaning more on her being naive rather than a malicious scammer

An American musician I ran into in Sín E who had busked and blagged his way around the country, armed with only a fiddle. His thing was joining in on trad sessions where he'd find someone to stay with.

Most recently an older French woman from Brittany who was on the flight as me heading to Leap for two days work before heading on to Kerry.

Actually it doesn't sound too dissimilar to the 'Jailbreak' thing that SVdP and Amnesty do every year, granted they have a fundraising element and a least one internationally recognised charity behind them, but it's the same principle.

College educated kids trying to get as far as possible including accommodation and food for free

TheBoyConor

Another angle I'm thinking is looking to come back to your house and then after a day or two calling the Gardai claiming kidnap or rape or some such.