Is this... Like... A real thing?!! People are that shameless?

Hippies get the rope.

Yes, begpackers are a pretty big thing. The worst part is that they tend to go to more rural places where people haven't figured out the scam yet and think they're really just dumb students who didn't budget well and give the little money they have to help them

Yep, seen this multiple times, if they truly want to go home, they could just contact their embassy in our country but nope, fuckers want to continue going!