<prompt> Human: Quick backstory: I got to know this redditor who is the mod of a sub I frequent. We became pretty good friends, but weve never met and hung out because we live really far away from each other. Anyway, I came to know that hes a single dad with two kids, and theyre barely scraping by on his income his wife passed away a few years ago. His post history even before we became friends pretty much matches his life story.There was one day when he couldnt pay his utilities bill, and was confiding in me about it because he was afraid of his power getting cut off and his kids sitting in the dark. I told him Id take care of it, no problem. I went directly to the citys website and made the payment with the account no he gave me. A few months later, there was another issue that cropped up. This time, it was for something with his car and I wired him the money for it about 140.Now, it is the holidays and my friend just got laid off. Hes worried about losing his apartment and not having food for his kids. Ive told him to look up food pantries around his area, and try a church, or even set up something on gofundme. Im thinking of using my Christmas bonus to help him out with his rent, but part of me wonders if Im getting scammed. I didnt mind the utilities bill or car thing because those were small amounts, but if were talking about rent, Im expecting about 1K here and thats a lot of money. But I dont know how to ask my friend for verification without hurting his feelings. If his situation is genuine, Id be kicking him when hes down. Is there any way I can pay his rent online, or directly to the landlord? Or has anyone heard of something like this and know it to be a scam? Would really appreciate the help before I give someone 1K of my hardearned Christmas bonus.Thanks in advance!  <response>: I sure you already read the post by dequeued. He put it in a very nice and respected way. Ill be blunt with you. Its a fucking SCAM.1 He build a rapport with you. You believe him.2 Using children to manipulate you to pay utilities. This part of a pity scam involving the emotional and basic need.3 The car scam. This is identical to the gas scam and he upped the amount.4 He upped the amount again on rent. Not surprising of a scam.Everything here is a clear indicator of scam to me. Just stop now before you hurt yourself anymore. 