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Is San Diego sucker city?
Smartphones and facial recognition apps make it easier to stop scammers
The Helpful Rebels were in the middle of filming a YouTube video titled "Exposing a FAKE FUNERAL Scam."
On September 27, a mysterious van crept through the PetSmart parking lot on Main Street in Chula Vista. Suddenly, it accelerated, and without warning, a man in the passenger seat hurled coins at Mark and Marc from Helpful Rebels TV, who were filming and streaming live. The attacker jumped out of the van, rushed toward the investigative duo, yelled at them, and then threw a soda can at Mark before running back to the getaway vehicle. The other Marc filmed the entire exchange.
This wasn’t part of an online prank — it was all too real.
The Helpful Rebels were in the middle of filming a YouTube video titled "Exposing a FAKE FUNERAL Scam" when the chaos erupted that Friday afternoon. Their 36-minute clip, which has garnered about 80,000 views as of this article’s publication, shows the confrontation from earlier in the day.
It all began about a quarter mile west of PetSmart on Main Street, across the 805 freeway underpass by the Stars and Stripes gas station.
Mark and Marc, who requested their last names not be mentioned, approached a woman standing in the center divider. She held a handwritten sign that read, "FUNERAL—EMA DIED IN A CAR ACCIDENT PLEASE HELP—GOD BLESS YOU," featuring a photo of a young girl and a CashApp $cashtag. As they neared, Mark held up two phones and had a GoPro camera attached to his baseball cap while Marc filmed with his own device. The woman calmly walked toward the gas station.
“Ma’am, what are you raising money for? Did somebody pass away?” Mark asked. She didn’t respond, waving and smiling at the passing cars. Speaking into his phones’ cameras, Mark asked their YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram subscribers (over 200,000 and counting), “What do you think, scammer or not?” After a few minutes entering the gas station, the woman ran out, yelling and throwing water at them.
This incident is part of a larger pattern in San Diego, where street solicitors and panhandlers have raised suspicion. The city’s reputation for kindness — San Diego was recently ranked the friendliest city in California by Preply.com— has made it a prime target for grifters, who increasingly exploit this goodwill.
In North Park, individuals have recently been soliciting donations, claiming to raise money to send San Diego firefighters to Florida to aid hurricane victims. Similar campaigns, some scams, have been reported across the county.
In July, Tony Heidecker encountered two women with several children at the Target and Ranch 99 parking lot in Clairemont. “They were begging for money, saying they needed help to buy baby formula,” Heidecker explained. “Or they’d ask someone to buy formula, then return it for cash. It was a big scam, and they were eventually kicked out of the parking lot.” Other users on the NextDoor app confirmed seeing the same group at a nearby Vons parking lot.
Another common ploy involves people holding an empty gas container, hoping to garner sympathy from passersby. Mark and Marc had shed light on this type of grift before the weekend.
On Reddit, threads going back a decade discuss these shams mentioned above and solicitors pushing empty baby carriages and on-location auto repair schemes. But now, due to smartphones and facial recognition apps, local sleuths connect the dots and post bulletins on all social media platforms. One local investigator pointed out similarities in the handmade signs scammers use: most feature black text, except for the word “FUNERAL” in red, the words separated by hyphens and bullet points, and even the same children's photos often reappear —similar to the sign Mark and Marc encountered in late September.
The comments on their Helpful Rebels TV videos overwhelmingly support the sleuths. While some San Diegans express concern for the duo's safety. One viewer, who donated to their cause through buymeacoffee.com, questioned why they seemingly target women.
In response, Mark clarified: “I want to assure you that my intention is not to bother or harass anyone, regardless of gender. Unfortunately, many of the scammers I’ve encountered happen to be women, but that doesn’t mean I’m targeting them specifically. My goal is to expose these scams and raise awareness so that people can be more cautious and informed.”
Here's something you might be interested in.
Is San Diego sucker city?
Smartphones and facial recognition apps make it easier to stop scammers
Is San Diego sucker city?
Smartphones and facial recognition apps make it easier to stop scammers
The Helpful Rebels were in the middle of filming a YouTube video titled "Exposing a FAKE FUNERAL Scam."
On September 27, a mysterious van crept through the PetSmart parking lot on Main Street in Chula Vista. Suddenly, it accelerated, and without warning, a man in the passenger seat hurled coins at Mark and Marc from Helpful Rebels TV, who were filming and streaming live. The attacker jumped out of the van, rushed toward the investigative duo, yelled at them, and then threw a soda can at Mark before running back to the getaway vehicle. The other Marc filmed the entire exchange.
This wasn’t part of an online prank — it was all too real.
The Helpful Rebels were in the middle of filming a YouTube video titled "Exposing a FAKE FUNERAL Scam" when the chaos erupted that Friday afternoon. Their 36-minute clip, which has garnered about 80,000 views as of this article’s publication, shows the confrontation from earlier in the day.
It all began about a quarter mile west of PetSmart on Main Street, across the 805 freeway underpass by the Stars and Stripes gas station.
Mark and Marc, who requested their last names not be mentioned, approached a woman standing in the center divider. She held a handwritten sign that read, "FUNERAL—EMA DIED IN A CAR ACCIDENT PLEASE HELP—GOD BLESS YOU," featuring a photo of a young girl and a CashApp $cashtag. As they neared, Mark held up two phones and had a GoPro camera attached to his baseball cap while Marc filmed with his own device. The woman calmly walked toward the gas station.
“Ma’am, what are you raising money for? Did somebody pass away?” Mark asked. She didn’t respond, waving and smiling at the passing cars. Speaking into his phones’ cameras, Mark asked their YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram subscribers (over 200,000 and counting), “What do you think, scammer or not?” After a few minutes entering the gas station, the woman ran out, yelling and throwing water at them.
This incident is part of a larger pattern in San Diego, where street solicitors and panhandlers have raised suspicion. The city’s reputation for kindness — San Diego was recently ranked the friendliest city in California by Preply.com— has made it a prime target for grifters, who increasingly exploit this goodwill.
In North Park, individuals have recently been soliciting donations, claiming to raise money to send San Diego firefighters to Florida to aid hurricane victims. Similar campaigns, some scams, have been reported across the county.
In July, Tony Heidecker encountered two women with several children at the Target and Ranch 99 parking lot in Clairemont. “They were begging for money, saying they needed help to buy baby formula,” Heidecker explained. “Or they’d ask someone to buy formula, then return it for cash. It was a big scam, and they were eventually kicked out of the parking lot.” Other users on the NextDoor app confirmed seeing the same group at a nearby Vons parking lot.
Another common ploy involves people holding an empty gas container, hoping to garner sympathy from passersby. Mark and Marc had shed light on this type of grift before the weekend.
On Reddit, threads going back a decade discuss these shams mentioned above and solicitors pushing empty baby carriages and on-location auto repair schemes. But now, due to smartphones and facial recognition apps, local sleuths connect the dots and post bulletins on all social media platforms. One local investigator pointed out similarities in the handmade signs scammers use: most feature black text, except for the word “FUNERAL” in red, the words separated by hyphens and bullet points, and even the same children's photos often reappear —similar to the sign Mark and Marc encountered in late September.
The comments on their Helpful Rebels TV videos overwhelmingly support the sleuths. While some San Diegans express concern for the duo's safety. One viewer, who donated to their cause through buymeacoffee.com, questioned why they seemingly target women.
In response, Mark clarified: “I want to assure you that my intention is not to bother or harass anyone, regardless of gender. Unfortunately, many of the scammers I’ve encountered happen to be women, but that doesn’t mean I’m targeting them specifically. My goal is to expose these scams and raise awareness so that people can be more cautious and informed.”
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