WATCH: Granny Warns Texas Drivers About Scammy Panhandler

Do you give money to panhandlers when you're waiting in traffic?

I do sometimes, especially when temperatures are extreme. I can't help it. If they are stretching the truth a little about their homelessness, or just begging for some beer money, I figure baking in the sun or freezing in the snow has to be worth a little something.

However...

I draw the line when it comes to using an innocent child to pull on the heartstrings of passersby. I find that to be extra-super-duper-ick-tastic.

I want to help when I have a few extra bucks, but people with far-fetched sob stories written on poster board, a child standing nearby, or any variation/combination of the two, usually aren't getting a penny out of me.

I've seen people standing in shopping center parking lots with their children present while begging strangers for money several times. It makes me cringe. It has to be humiliating for your parents to use you like a bucket of bait in a fishing tournament. Those kids don't have a choice but to do what mom or dad says.

I don't trust anyone willing to use a child that way.

And listen, even if they do TRULY need cash for little Susie's cancer treatment, they aren't going about it the right way. The internet is a great place to raise money in an emergency. It also provides added protection for donors because they can snoop around to find out if a story is legit, something you wouldn't want people to be able to do if you were scamming folks.

Ya dig?

People toss cash out the window, drive away, and don't think much about the cause, or its legitimacy, especially when it involves a child. It's much easier to tell an adult "No." than to say it to a sad-looking kid. That's how they get ya...

I can't vouge for what's truly happening in this Instagram reel shared by Dallas Texas TV because I wasn't there, BUT, it looks pretty on-brand for the kinds of scammy stuff I mentioned above.

Take a look:

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A post shared by Dallas Texas TV (@dallastexas_tv)

I think Granny is onto something here...

What do you think? Do you think there was a legitimate need for help, or do you doubt the truth behind the story on the woman's poster? Let me know in a comment below this article, and then keep scrolling for other interesting Texas-based content in the galleries below...