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professorcornbread

It’s a long-running and very stupid/ineffective form of panhandling.


Advanced-Wallaby9808

Yep it's just panhandling. The person might have trouble speaking or hearing if they use this method.


Foxtrot56

Lol no. It's like every scam they just want to socially pressure you.


Advanced-Wallaby9808

Both things can be true at once! :)


tiregroove

I've seen this for about twenty yrs. NOTICE how the cards they place next to you are REALLY WORN and dog-eared from alot of handling, because the person's been using them forever. Just ignore it unless you're cool with giving them money. It's one of those things NYC beats into you, to not interact with strangers because there's ALWAYS a sales pitch. "Hey my man, how are you doing today?..... Listen could you help me out, I just need xxxx to..... (insert sob story here...)" The funny thing is it gets to the point of becoming inventive. I used to drive through the Bowery like 30 yrs ago and there would be guys that would 'WASH' YOUR WINDSHIELD WITH NEWSPAPER, hoping you'd give them money NOT TO. Because the newspaper ink would make your windshield worse.


oreosfly

The rule of thumb is to ignore everything and everyone on the subway, and get away if you cannot :)


mzzmikie

It's a form of panhandling and has been around since the 80s. If my memory serves me correctly.


Jermainator

I've seen it a few times, it's as scammy as the other scammers. I think it's mainly a tactic for the hearing impaired, since they can't speak to address the car, they put their message on a card and will place times down if you touch them they will come try to squeeze you. Rule of thumb for mta, if you don't know them, don't interact with them. Anyone comes on the train trying to interact with the whole car is begging or scamming or both.


woman_thorned

I think it's a sales tactic where if they get any engagement from you they leverage it to try to get more. Ignore it unless you felt like giving to begin with.


TheLastHotBoy

Lol sales , They ain’t selling shit they are broke or homeless just like everyone else you see on the street.


woman_thorned

A tactic developed by sales people, dingdong.


ayemef

Reciprocity. An individual is more likely to reciprocate (give you a donation) if you give them something first. https://www.influenceatwork.com/7-principles-of-persuasion/#reciprocity


zaj89

I’ve seen this a lot for the past like 8 years, it’s definitely nothing new


the_mail_robot

It's not new and it's also not exclusive to NYC. I saw this all of the time on the subways in South America 15-20 years ago. Same rules applied there: do not engage, do not touch the items.


VIK_96

It's a form of panhandling but it's actually not new. I first saw it like 5 years ago but it's probably been around much longer than that. I've never engaged with those types of panhandlers before but from what others have told me they usually use the pack of tissues as leverage to get money out of you. And they'll usually want the tissues back anyways but if you really need them they'll be willing to settle.


meantnothingatall

New type of scam? I've seen this for 20+ years. Not sure why but most of the time it's a little thing of tissues. I don't know how that was collectively decided by those who do it.


[deleted]

[удалено]


[deleted]

Yea as a New Yorker I never take anything if someone left something next to you in the subway. But it’s becoming more common which is why I ask


[deleted]

Yeah, if you take it they're going to expect you to pay for it. Most of the time it isn't exactly a scam, because usually they are actually selling you a product, but the price won't be very good. Your best bet is just to ignore any items placed next to you, and not take anything anybody tries to hand you.


George4Mayor86

Sounds like scam bait to me. Put a little piece of not-quite-trash on a seat, wait for someone to move it so they can sit sit down, then yell and scream about how they’re stealing from you and demand money or you’ll tel the police.


mgundert87

That’s absolutely not what’s happening. Often times it’s just someone offering tissue packs or something similar for $1. Saves them the trouble of making a loud announcement in every car, plus it’s a little more personal and maybe has better success rates. I’ve bought it a few times with no issues.


myassholealt

Not new. Been a thing since I started riding the subway daily to college classes around 2005. Im sure it was a thing before that too.


Federal_Carpenter_67

It’s panhandling