photo by Diane Krauthamer
“Dear PoPville,
I just wanted to let you know about a scam that (I am ashamed to say) I fell for on the corner of Corcoran and 17th NW yesterday near Dupont Circle.
Two people in their early thirties, a white woman with dark hair and a clean-shaven man with light brown skin and a yellow beanie, approached me. They seemed very embarrassed and frazzled and came up to me as I was passing Annie’s Steakhouse. They introduced themselves and said they were husband and wife. They told me that they had just moved to Dupont Circle a week ago and their car had gotten towed by District Towing, and that both of their wallets/keys/phones were in the car since they had just left the car to run a quick errand or something (which, in hindsight, red flag). They provided a lot of details — they said they had just moved from Minnesota or Michigan (I can’t remember which) that they had out-of-state plates, lived on 17th Street, mentioned that they had tried to call the Mayor’s Office and their folks using other people’s phones, etc. We had a bit of small talk about where we were from. They introduced themselves but I have since forgotten their names.
I can’t express how genuinely friendly these people seemed. I never give money to anyone on the street but I just felt so bad for them; their distress seemed genuine. I recently had my car towed so I knew how they (seemingly) felt and it’s an awful feeling.
They were essentially asking for money, which…
