Me han engañado muchas veces. Deception or Scam?
I saw a little boy sitting at the corner of the street. He was crying, and so I asked him why? He said that there was a puncture in his bicycle wheel and that if he didn't get home very quickly, his mother would hit him very hard. I asked him how much would it cost to get it mended, and he said $1. I gave him the dollar and he was very happy.
A few hours later, I saw the same boy in another part of town pulling the same trick on a tourist!
Is this an engaño or estafa?
Has anyone got any other "engaños" they have seen?
9 Answers
In the Dominican Republic very young children (as young as four and five) are very skilled at pulling on the heart strings of people for money. They are often on the street alone and will approach with stories of needing money for their "sick" mother or money for medicine or food. They really are quite believable. If it hadn't been for our friends who live their and warned us, I would be broke by now.
We were also told that single people had to be extremely careful not to "fall in love". Apparently, one of the biggest scams was to convince people from the US, etc that love at first sight did exist. Of course marriage and entry into the US was the ultimate goal.
I was strolling along Copacabana beach in Rio when a stunningly beautiful girl came up to me. She caressed my face and put her arms around me in an embrace. She asked me if I wanted to go back home with her. I said, "No thanks, I can't afford you". She replied "I know you can't" and she went on her way. About half an hour went by and I was buying a coffee in a bar and I realised what she had meant. She had emptied all my pockets!
Earning a living, I guess 
Ganarse la vida.
I would call it "hambre".
Once again, I was walking along a beach, this time in Bocagrande, Cartagena. It was raining and an attractive lady approached me and asked if I was looking for business. To get rid of her, I said "No thanks, unfortunately I am only interested in men". At that point she said, "Tienes suerte esta noche. Much gusto!" She opened her raincoat and I saw straightaway that she was a he - and completely naked!.
I sometimes give money to people playing the violin or the guitar in the street, especially if it´s one of my favourite melodies. But that´s definitely earning, not cheatning.
There was this guy, who was always nicely dressed, who would show up in this parking lot outside a local restaurant every few weeks and ask for money to fix something wrong with his car. It was a different problem every time, but his car was never in sight. He didn't realize that he was talking to the same people every time and they all recognized him.
Apparently the panhandlers working the West Side of LA make over $200 per day (tax free) if they are any good.
Another scam that I have seen in South America was the young "soldier" at the airport. This soldier who is dressed in uniform and holding his air ticket and a pile of money in his hand, goes up to a tourist and says that he is on his way back to his base. He arrived late for the flight and missed it. If he doesn't get the next flight, he is going to be in a lot of trouble. The problem is that the airline needs $90 to change his ticket and he is $5 short. The tourist pays up and the soldier then moves to another part of the airport to pick up another $5.
I wonder if that would work for me. I need a new line of work.
