Summertime not only brings with it heat and the fear of hurricane strikes. It also seems to bring out additional con artists and schemers -- those who concoct fascinating stories in an effort to get members of the public to contribute financially to their causes, or toward their so-called problems.
These con artists seem to be everywhere -- in front of food stores, hardware stores, banks, ATMs and even on street corners.
Usually, they come with white sheets of paper with information written on them, which is supposed to indicate a need by the person making the request; or it's on behalf of some child or relative who needs financial assistance. Sometimes the information is typed in a neat manner. Sometimes it is handwritten on an old piece of paper and the information is barely decipherable.
For the ones requesting financial assistance for a sick individual, sometimes a photo of that supposed individual is attached to the sheet. Sometimes the ones seeking "sponsorship" to travel to play ball, or for some other sporting event, have the person's name and a short note revealing what the sponsorship is supposed to be for.
Over the years, the stories and sheets have become more creative all in an effort to get money out of the unsuspecting public.
Good-natured people get suckered into these scams. They want to help, not realizing that the money is not going toward the declared cause.
While there, at times, are a few people genuinely seeking assistance, we think many of these sponsorship requests are scams created by people who have spent most of their lives developing such scams. They make a living seven days a week, year after year, selling fake sad stories in order to get donations they do not deserve.
Sadly, some of the scam artists use children to approach people to ask for money. It's disturbing because it teaches kids to lie, cheat and steal. The kids spend hours on the streets or in parking lots trying to make their quotas.
People going in and coming out of banks and ATMs feel threatened when approached by some of these people, many of whom are aggressive. Businesses should not let them lurk around their premises. If they are not invited they are trespassing. If they are lingering in public spaces they are loitering. The police should be called to remove them.
This activity must be stopped. It has gotten out of hand. Our public spaces should not be filled with fake beggars trying to make a living from deception.

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