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I was in the parking lot of Kroger on Seawall Boulevard in Galveston around 7:30 a.m. today, putting my purchases in the trunk of my car. The weather was drizzly. The parking lot was sparsely occupied.

Just as I finished, a pickup truck containing three Hispanic men pulled up behind me. The driver said that he ran a body shop and could fix my bumper. (Someone dinged the bumper a while back.) He spoke English without an accent, probably grew up in Texas.

I said, "I can't afford it," while backing toward the car door.

He said, "You don't know how much I'm going to charge." At this point his tone of voice was aggressive.

I said, "Sorry," and got in the car. They pulled away.

I am confident that these guys were up to no good. Someone who runs a body shop doesn't solicit business by driving around the parking lot of Kroger.

My only question is whether this was a scam or they were sizing me up for robbery. The three of them could have pulled off a strong-arm robbery, if not armed.

I've run into a bunch of parking lot scams, like the cheap electronics for sale, asking directions, out out of gas, etc., but not this one.

- Jim

Yep, you were being interviewed. Glad you didn't "pass" the interview.

I am a firm believer if someone's "spidey senses" are tingling, they shouldn't be ignored. How many times have we read of encounters where someone said, "I knew it didn't feel right, but ...."

I'm guessing robbery, and possibly auto-theft, over a scam. Robbery/grand theft auto is simpler and faster. The time it takes to perpetrate a scam is time you have to memorize faces and collect information that could be used by police against the scammers. In the mean time, robbers/carjackers would have been long gone.

Jumping Frog wrote:Yep, you were being interviewed. Glad you didn't "pass" the interview.

I am a firm believer if someone's "spidey senses" are tingling, they shouldn't be ignored. How many times have we read of encounters where someone said, "I knew it didn't feel right, but ...."

Robbery interview for sure. If you had continued the conversation at the rear of the car, it would have gone down.

I'm inclined toward robbery as well. Maybe they were going to do something that involved one of them getting in the car to "check it out."

I forget to mention I drive a Honda Accord, which is one of the highest-theft vehicles. It's a 2003 model and in less than pristine condition, but I'm sure a chop shop would take it.

- Jim

I had something very similar happen with my wife's car, which needed a new bumper at that time because of a collision. Turns out he was trying to scam me.

The man hopped out and asked if I wanted it fixed. He was with his girlfriend and child, so I felt okay in the moment. He said he would fix it for a fraction of the price of a new one. He would apply a paste to it, he said, and 'reshape' the fiberglass. After applying what looked like turtle wax, he said it would magically pop out the dents...

Your guy was a scammer, no doubt. Who knows what he wanted to offer, but it sure wasn't going to work. On top of that, anything like that with three men behind it could turn ugly quick. Probably a coincidence, but the man who offered to 'help' me was hispanic too.

Needless to say, I declined the original scammer's services.

Coincidentally, something similar happened to me last summer... at a Kroger's in Atascocita, and also on a early Saturday morning

Two guys in one vehicle offered to buff my driver's side front fender to remove a large scratch I have, which wasn't visible from their angle (so they must have looked at my car while I was inside). I said "no thanks" and the driver started raising his voice saying something about him having a legit business.

I doubt they're the same people, but perhaps there is something about fishing for victims at Kroger's on Saturday mornings...

77346 wrote:Coincidentally, something similar happened to me last summer... at a Kroger's in Atascocita, and also on a early Saturday morning

I doubt they're the same people, but perhaps there is something about fishing for victims at Kroger's on Saturday mornings...

I need some groceries this morning, maybe I should go to HEB instead.

My 2002 Tundra pickup has a few dents near the driver-side door due to my clumsiness in a parking garage invloving metal beams and backing out while turning.

Every so often someone will yell to me that they can fix that, usually when we both are driving. None have ever been agressive.

More recently, a car drove by me in a Home Depot parking lot and told me I had a flat tire, which I did not, which seemed suspicious.

Most of the encounters mentioned in this thread seem to be repair scams, i.e. "Soft robberies".

I probably would have just said, "No thank you" and left it at that. I'm glad you got outta there ASAP.

77346 wrote:Coincidentally, something similar happened to me last summer... at a Kroger's in Atascocita, and also on a early Saturday morning

Two guys in one vehicle offered to buff my driver's side front fender to remove a large scratch I have, which wasn't visible from their angle (so they must have looked at my car while I was inside). I said "no thanks" and the driver started raising his voice saying something about him having a legit business.

I doubt they're the same people, but perhaps there is something about fishing for victims at Kroger's on Saturday mornings...

My answer at that point would have been "I'm sure you do, but I just don't want to do it."

Many robberies seem to start out with seemingly voluntary requests sort of like the old "offer you can't refuse".

In some cases they are hoping the victim will give in but have no intention of robbery (Street corner "squeegee men" are a good example)

In some cases the rejection angers them and a "crime of passion" results.

And is some cases the plan is to rob the victim regardless of how they respond.

Maybe I missed a few good deals but if I don't walk into or call a business I'm not interested. Recently I had someone knock on my door telling me he was the guy that delivered the Chronicle to my neighbors and had a free offer. There wasn't a car around nor did he have a note pad or anything to take down any information if I accepted the offer. I told him I didn't do business with the Chronicle and closed my door. It definitely seemed like a scam.

I believe you were being scammed or set up too. IF the guy had a legit business, he might have
handed you a business card, and said something along the lines of "when you're ready to get that fixed
come by and see me". Glad it turned out ok.

RKirkwood wrote:Maybe I missed a few good deals but if I don't walk into or call a business I'm not interested. Recently I had someone knock on my door telling me he was the guy that delivered the Chronicle to my neighbors and had a free offer. There wasn't a car around nor did he have a note pad or anything to take down any information if I accepted the offer. I told him I didn't do business with the Chronicle and closed my door. It definitely seemed like a scam.

Those guys run around for this or that topic, alarms, magazines, ect. I refuse to talk to them when they come on my property. They are mostly scammers and some are flat out thieves. We encountered 2 recently (work).. both had warrants for their arrest, 1 being theft. Go figure.