Panhandlers

[TommyC]

Who employs the smart-suited, fast-talking people I once encountered at an American airport, who request sizable donations for unspecified causes ? The American friends I asked called them 'panhandlers' when I described them, but even they didn't seem to know who employs them, or what causes they are (apparently) raising money for..! Do they really make money, and is their activity legal...?

[apricot]

I was recently targeted by one in Warsaw airport. I guess if they ask for money and it is given freely then they may not be breaking the law. I don't see the difference between what they are doing and what the street beggars do though.

[TommyC]

Sure, Apricot.. Many thanks.. But what I was really asking was, why the sharp suits and the pretence that they're some kind of legitimate businessmen, if all they're doing is common begging...? Surely that makes them conmen, rather than businessmen, in which case,how can it be open and legal - especially on someone else's premises..?