I've read that here, beggars (those who appear to be homeless) are often members of gangs. Think Hell's Angels but with child abuse/slavery. It seems like there is a child-beggar (who should be in school) on every street corner in the touristy areas. A leader (like Fagin from Charles Dickens) controls a large number of them and assigns them to an area to work. It's always the same ones each day which I have seen for myself. I've watched them work - the child beggars working alone and women with or without a real baby (sometiems it's a fake baby, or if it's a real child (supposedly they rent babies by the day for this purpose) that appears to me to be unnaturally sleepy - possibly drugged or fed cough syrup).
Every thing about them is carefully engineered to arouse sympathy. In other words, they are highly skilled professional beggars who earn more than some of us. I know dozens of them by sight and have watched them out of curiosity as I have gone about my day. It is interesting to watch them in action. They always wear the same dirty, ragged clothes. They always have bo. They hold out a paper cup that only has a coins in it. People (usually tourists who don't realize they are being scammed) are always stopping to give them money. And food (even to the fat beggars, and many are very fat). EVERY time they get donation, they pocket the donation (whether it's money or food) and keep holding out the nearly empty cup. Some are very aggressive and follow, push, and grab people (I assume as a ruse to distract them so they can pick pocket them, but I haven't actually seen them stick their hand in somebody's pocket. However, 1000s of people report being pickpocketed here each year).
Not only that, but when they are on a break from their begging, I have watched them brazenly steal things from shops.
The best ones get a donation of at least a euro every minute or two by my own observations. Assuming they do this all day, some must bring in 1000 euros a day. Supposedly, the ring leaders of these gangs collect most of the donations at the end of the day, and they are very well off and own luxury property and cars.
Think about that next time you give money to a beggar in any place other than India or South America.