You’re on some kind of local social media - usually a neighborly group where people can make requests, whether it’s part of a larger platform or local to you. Someone posts, pleading that they are broke and need food. They’re starving; their pets are too! But they’re unable to really leave the house due to declining health, can you help them?

You respond, because you’re a compassionate person and realize that many people are in need of help. You then ask them for a list of what they need. They give you an address - it’s local, so you can meet them face to face at least. But you have to ask them several times to give you a list. They keep putting you off, but finally give you some information - a list of groceries, some cheap, some expensive. Of course, they can’t answer the door!

Eventually, they ask you for more help - they don’t need food any longer, but if you could give them some money as their bed broke or something similar.

You give them money, and they keep asking for more and more things they need help with that all involve money instead of food. Eventually they disappear, and if you go to the local address they gave you, you’ll find they never lived there.

There are also variations where they don’t ask for money, but they still use your kindness to get free groceries - they do have food, but they need money, and they can convince some kind but naive person to pay for extra things they can sell - maybe to make rent, maybe something more nefarious, like illegal substances.

How to protect yourself
There are people genuinely in need out there, and only you are the judge of whether you can afford to help them out. One should help their fellow humans out as they can. That being said, like everything else, scammers are more than happy to take advantage of that kindness.

Never ever give anybody anything unless it’s face to face, and don’t give anything expensive. If someone posts on a board looking for beans or rice or something cheap that someone might have extra of - or even a small treat that someone might have as surplus - it’s less likely to be this scam. Be aware that there are face-to-face scammers that ask for expensive goods such as baby formula.

Don’t ever give someone money to help them out unless you know them personally, can talk to them to verify that they’re the ones that made the request, and are reasonably certain they need help. If you feel the need to donate money, donate to a reputable charity that helps out people similar to the requester, and direct them that way.