Came across a website today where people were posting about their money problems in the hope of reaching people with money who would feel sorry enough for them that they would try to help them out of their financial predicament by sending them the funds they need.

There were people posting about being behind in bills, people claiming to be facing eviction, people claiming to need money to help a friend in need. One woman was looking for money to help buy a Christmas present for her 12 year old. I’m not sure if begging for money on the Internet is an example of having courage or being shameless. I’m leaning more towards it being evidence of having courage because most of those people doing the posting are surely aware that they’re more likely to be ridiculed and accused of attempting to scam money out of people who would be gullible enough to buy their stories, but they take their chances anyway. I’m sure a good number of them are being honest about their situation; but the funny thing about the Internet is that most of the people reading their stories are going to be others like them looking for help to get out of their financial predicament. And amongst those who would be possible givers, the majority will never believe that these people are honestly in need. There is a mindset that only scammers and otherwise dishonest people would beg for money.

If you’re considering begging for money on the Internet, you might want to keep in mind that people who have money they can afford to give away are unlikely to find themselves browsing websites where people in need go begging for money from anyone inclined to be a good Samaritan. You might also want to keep in mind that the average person is more likely to laugh at, scoff at or get downright angry at the beggar for having the nerve to expect other people to bail him/her out. Most of us are struggling financially ourselves but would never dare ask other people, even rich people, to give us money.

It is certainly easy to understand how someone might reach that point of desperation and make the choice to beg for money in the hope that someone who reads their story will feel sorry enough for them to offer help, but begging for money on the Internet works about as well as begging for money on the street. In the earlier days of the Internet there were people who were able to successfully deceive others into sending them money by making up stories about being in desperate need; but these days most Internet users are aware that the Internet is a hotbed for scams involving begging for money, and those who are honestly in need more often than not find themselves castigated with the scammers and treated with equal disdain.