Being approached by beggars while at a gas station/store

I wanted to share a common occurrence (and the last one in more specifics) and get some feedback to see what yall do/what you think you'd do in the circumstance. I typically am not out in the open and "stuck" unless I am filling up my car or washing it at a car wash, but at least once or twice a month I am approached by individuals I would call "career beggars". I haven't been in a situation where I couldn't defuse the situation, but you never really know. Maybe being a information security/risk management professional makes me overly cautious?I've learned to refine my situational awareness, so I am not usually surprised anymore even if I can't leave the situation immediately (filling car with gas), but I ran into an incident a few weeks ago when I was a passenger in a car with others and realized I was in the worst possible position to defend anyone.For context, my mom, sister, friend, and I were traveling from College Station to Dallas TX, and we needed a fillup mid-way. I didn't have a choice (without being awkward) in seats since I was the last to be picked up so I was in the back-right position in the vehicle. The car has a gas fillup on the left side. Being the red-headed fireball of a sister she is, she barked at me to not get out of car (cause I intended to do sentinel work). I did have enough sense to wear a shoulder rig that day though...A man comes out of nowhere and starts his run asking for money. By this point the fuel hose had been connected, and she didn't have much of an escape path should something go south. He came around the side blocking her exit and started his rehersed speech. I assumed my sister was smart enough to know that she needed to be defensive (21, graduated TAMU in 3 years, graduated with honors), but she was a deer in headlights. She even started asking us if we had money to help (and didn't recognize the danger even after the fact when it had cooled down).It was at this point that I understood I had made a fatal flaw if anything went down. First, had I already been outside, I could have been in a better shooting location. Two, both my mother (back left position) and sister were in the line of fire from my position. Three, if I made a move to get out of the car, he could have taken that as a sign of aggression and moved on my sister.Thankfully, nothing had gone south by the time I realized my mistake. Instead, I crossed my arms into my open outer shirt, snapped the snap (audible), and made my presence known by saying (assertively but not too aggressively) "Sir, we can't help you. Sorry." He must have seen where my hand was or was just jarred by piercing eyes and just decided to take it to the next car. Given my career, I see it as an embarrassment despite the fact I work with information security (not physical sec)Does this happen often (career beggars) and how do you defuse the situation?TL;DR Didn't want to be awkward and gave up defensive position without knowing it too late. Didn't assert myself to my sister and provide passive "guard duty" at a gas station where I knew we might have the best chance of an encounter. Don't let yourself make my mistakes. via /r/CCW http://ift.tt/2be1FyS