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Scammers are engaging in deceptive panhandling and faking disabilities to take your money.

Over the past year, we have uncovered numerous individuals pretending to be homeless across the Greater Toronto Area.

A congregant from a church in Brampton reached out regarding people begging for money during religious holidays.

On Holy Saturday of Easter weekend, a man and a woman arrived at the church. Shortly after arriving, the woman placed her own twenty dollars into her begging cup to create the illusion that someone had already donated.

The woman soon disappeared, shifting attention to the male panhandler. The man appeared to be disabled, using a cane to help him walk. He begged for hours and received plenty of donations and food.

The man appeared to be disabled, using a cane to help him walk. He begged for hours and received plenty of donations and food. This individual has also been seen outside a mosque in Hamilton, begging for money.

During that occurrence, someone filmed him walking normally to a white Volkswagen Jetta after he was done begging.

At the church in Brampton, he made numerous attempts to go to his car afterward but noticed the camera filming him each time. He did not want to be seen entering the vehicle. The man made his way back to the church entrance. Once he noticed the cameras were on him again, he went inside the church just as evening mass was about to begin.

A mother and her son stated that the panhandler made a threat toward the woman. The police arrived shortly after, but the beggar was nowhere to be found.

Roughly one week later, he was spotted shopping inside a Longo’s grocery store in Mississauga. The man was walking without assistance and later walked out to the white Jetta afterward.

When confronted, he got into the vehicle and sped through the parking lot.

Scams like this are happening all across Canada. We will do our best to uncover them. Send us your tips through email at [email protected].