Let none of us fail to understand that the real harm done by these scammers is that they obscure from our view people who are truly in need.  They are fraudsters - pretending to be the needy.  They are taking from motorists money which would, or should, be given to the truly needy.  Those who give money to these con artists allow themselves to imagine that they have provided assistance to people who are genuinely in need of assistance, but this is not at all the case.  Don't feel guilty when you drive by these scammers.  Feel guilty when you give them a reward for tricking you into thinking you are helping the truly needy.