What does it mean for a panhandler to be a 'scammer'? They're not really homeless at all, they actually live in a mansion in Beverly Hills with a two car garage, and manage to pay for it all by asking for change on the street all day pretending to be homeless?
It's more like a guy who has been living in a $400 rent controlled 2BD apartment on Fell since 1991. He charges his roommate $800 a month, then goes and scams people on Haight for pizza money, but mainly just for kicks.
Panhandlers and the homeless are two totally different things. Of course one doesnt have to be homeless to panhandle.
By scamming, the parent poster was probably referring to stuff like "hey can I get a few bucks for a bus ticket" or "hey can I get some money for gas". That's pretty much always a scam.
