Safety concerns with latest group of people asking for money on Toledo streets

TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) - You may have seen them out in Toledo recently, people standing on the corners, buckets in hand, all with similar signs, asking for money for a child’s funeral.

In Toledo, it’s completely legal to ask for money on the side of the road, ever since city leaders repealed some tough laws against it a few years back. But. according to a spokesperson for the city, what’s against the law is walking through traffic to ask for money, and that’s exactly what these people are doing.

Their signs read something along the lines of “Funeral, Dario Lucas 8 years old, died of kidney cancer, please help.”

13abc tried searching the name “Dario Lucas” on multiple outlets, but nothing comes up, let alone an obituary for a young boy who just died from kidney cancer.

Digging deeper, we started to find similar stories all across the U.S. warning this could be a scam.

Whether these people really need help with funeral expenses or not, their means of making money, according to city officials, is dangerous. Causing safety issues for drivers and themselves.

Toledo city officials tell 13abc they’re taking a closer look at this situation.

This is a developing story.

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