I was just over at 8th st and Broadway when this woman approached me. She said that she got in a car accident and that when the car got tolled she left her money and phone in the car. And then she gave me a sob story about how her kids were in New Jersey and she needed to pick them up soon. When I asked her why she didn't contact the police she said the police can't give her money. I was done with her by then and told her I was not comfortable lending her money. Something about her demeanor looked mean and deceitful. I went with my gut instinct and I feel justified after reading this post.

I recently returned from NYC with my husband. Around 10.30 one eve on West 44th between 5/6 (lots of tourist hotels), a British Jewish guy approaches us with his story. Cab driver 'stole his back pack, now has no money, cards, or keys to brothers apartment in NJ where he is house sitting.

My husband was all set to give him a few bucks, but I started asking him questions, and he had an answer for EVERYTHING!

Local Police station?

Local Synagogues?

British Embassy?

He reeled the addresses off of all of them, ...How impressive for an overseas visitor staying in NJ, and only in the city for just one day... I thought!

He did not want a solution, he wanted CASH!

He then started eyeing my chest! (Creep!)

We said we didn't have any cash to give him, so he bummed a cigarette instead and went on his way.

Anyone heard of this guy?

Naturally, these scams are still ongoing. The eyeglasses scam happened to me today. Doesn't really matter where. At first I actually felt guilt but as he talked to me some more, things didn't make sense and I knew he was lying to me. He followed me from above ground all the way to the train platform. I gave him a few dollars anyway and he seemed satisfied enough and walked away. Why did I give it to him? I thought he might fake some anger and break something of mine that was within reach which are worth a lot more than his very cheap eyeglasses and they're an annoyance to replace just to get even with me. Or even worse, some bodily harm but that's very unlikely and that was the least of my worries. Now after I think about it, scammers probably would not put themselves at risk by grabbing my stuff or retaliate somehow with witnesses around unless they're stupidly doing it out of spite. Stand your ground, guys.

I went to the police to hear what they have to say. He told me the money I lost is for the peace of mind and it made him go away. I would rather increase the amount to get scammers arrested.

And the Korean Professor got me about five or six years ago. I didn't know he's been doing it for years. I've avoided giving out money to people because of that professor until today. Next one will be handled better. Thanks for the comments. Still relevant today.

In case anyone still lands on this page, I wanted to report that I was ALMOST taken by a new twist on the "dropped glasses" street scam today in Union Square. Instead of glasses, it was his insulin shot, and he was a diabetic of course, and his blood sugar was too high, etc. etc. I tried a few times to just walk away but he was very aggressive about following me. The episode ended at the Walgreens pharamacy where, after about 20 minutes of "trying" various approaches to get him a replacement insulin shot (obviously he just wanted me to hand over cash, which I refused to do- but if the man needed medical attention, I was going to make sure he got it) he realized it was going nowhere and just left.

My favorite part was when he "called" his regular pharmacy, and then reported that they refused to transfer the prescription. "Let me call them," I suggested, to which he screamed, "I'm not gonna give you the phone number of my pharmacy!" As though that were some kind of personal information.

One scary part of this scam was that he kept suggesting I come with him to "his" pharmacy on West 77th street. Probably he played this line knowing that no one in their right mind would follow a stranger that far at night, and would instead just say "go yourself, here's the cash." But what if the person played along? I hope this was just a scam to get $200, not anything worse.

I got scammed by the "gay guy" yesterday on the corner of bleecker and 7th. Approached me saying "I'm gay and I'm not hitting on you.. pretended he was crying and gave me the whole locked the costumes for the show he was working on in his apartment and needed to get a cab to his mother's building on 81st Street to get a spare key from his doorman. He said he would restore my faith in humanity by meeting me later last night to pay it back. I gave him $12 .. hey, I think we all want to believe that there are genuine people out there!!... and told him to pay it forward. He was disappointed at the amount I gave him saying it wasn't enough ... at that stage I knew I'd been had. A quick google search today brought me to this page and confirmed my suspicions. I'll be keeping an eye out for him going forward and will warn anyone I see him talking to. There goes my faith in humanity!!

I found this article while doing a google search for a Chelsea con artist. Yep, the gay guy (or so he says) with the bike. He got me in 2000 or 2001 with the cab story on 16th Street. (No bike at the time.) I remember thinking that I was probably getting scammed, but just in case... Stupid. He took my work number, put it in his cell phone, and of course I never heard from him. Five years later I was walking across Greenwich Avenue late one night and a guy on a bike came up to me and started out with "I don't mean to bother you, I'm gay so I'm not hitting on you, hahaha. Right now I'm shitting the proverbial brick." And then it all came back. (You need to find some new lines, guy.) I yelled at him that he got me already, his face went blank, and he rode off. Two months later around the same area he tried to get me again and I yelled at him that he owed me $10, and got the same reaction.

Two weeks ago (now two years later) he tried to get me again at Jane and Hudson. I was walking to the river (afternoon) and this guy was shuffling along Jane, looking disheveled, with a limp and a back pack. I don't think I would have recognized him if he hadn't have used the same stupid lines. This time he was missing a tooth. I yelled at him, his face went blank, and he shuffled off. Then this past Saturday while walking around Hudson and Jane with two girlfriends (late at night) I paused to look at some jewelry in a window while my friends walked a few feet ahead. Then I heared "Excuse me ladies, I don't mean to bother you, I'm gay" and I swooped in, slapped him on the shoulder like we're old friends, said "hey! how are you! You owe me money from the last time!" This time he was completely cleaned-up -- looked like he was riding his bike on Martha's Vinyard. His face went blank, he rode off, and in my liquor induced state I started to run after him, shouting, "don't give that man any money!"

That's amazing that he's been around since 1994. I'm really curious as to how many people he hits a day, how much he makes, and how many repeats he runs into, etc.

Yesterday, July 30, on 39th between 5th & Madison, a guy who put his arm out in front of me just as I was passing him, said I broke his glasses. A woman he was with kept saying something under her breath. I'm sure it was insulting whatever it was. Anyway, without thinking, I took out my wallet but had only a couple of dollars. He said he'd go with me to an atm so I could get more money. Not til he said atm did my alarm bells go off and I left.

I didn't think the "broken item" scam was still around until this incident.

Wow, until reading this I didn't realize a scam was pulled on me. I was near union square and a guy walked into me and dropped his 40 oz(which was in a bag). Looking back it was probably just water. What was strange is he didn't immediatly persue me, I think because I pretended like nothing happened. Then we caught up to me a block later and started following me, and asking me to pay for. I told him to look where he's going and walked away.

I was in LA in with a friend. We were walking along the street to a bar, when a guy standing near a freeway exit aproched us. He was carring a broken fan belt and asked us for money for a taxi to get home as his car had broken down. we both new it was a scam but gave him a couple of $'s anyway as it was quite dark with no-one else around, and we were tourists. We weren't sure what would happen if we refused.

Also on the same trip we took a visit to TJ. We were sat in a macdonalds when a small girll with very big sad looking eye's try'd to sell us hair clips. We had an idea that if we gave her money then there would be someone outside waiting to take it from her. So instead we bought her a meal.

Brian Ellington, who poses as wealthy and/or a pro athlete (usually wrestling, UFC or golf related) or sometimes an actor or sales VP for tech companies - also know as the "Lost His Wallet" con artist - operated in NY/NJ from late 2004 to early 2007. There are warrants for his arrest in two states right now. He had to go running home to mommy after a group of victims got together to hunt down his sorry thieving a--. He steals cash out of your purse while you're asleep, or cons you into paying for him with his 'lost his atm card' story, weasles his way into staying at your place pretending he has a big emergency. See www.james-brian-ellington.com for info. If you recognize his picture as someone who conned you but maybe you didn't know his name, please report to us. He is still on the loose currently operating between the Southwest and North Carolina.

Back in the '90s down on Wall Street, I fell for a guy who came up to me saying "hey, don't you recognize me? I used to see you every day, I was a security guard in your office building here." Proceeded to tell me how he got laid off or something and was now struggling to get by. The guilt of not remembering the security guard you saw every day... I fell for it and gave him money. Never again. It was such a scam.

I was at a traffic light recently in Hillside, NJ, and a guy came up to the car, "hey, I used to work with you." I'm like, "no, you're mistaken. I don't know you." Him: "yeah, yeah, boy you don't remember me? Wow." So I ask him, "where do you think I work?" Ummm. Uhhh. "Down at the Elizabeth Seaport?" he asks. Buh-Bye.

The key to breaking this kind of scam (aside from just walking away) is to ask questions. The little story always falls apart with too much questioning. They are relying upon guilt.

My daughter was scammed in Bayridge, Bklyn the other nite and I have a feeling the scam artist will be back.

Due to the fact that we have alerted the police I cannot give the facts here. Please be aware of a women who claims to give you free palm readings and can help you with your miserable life.

I got scammed last night. In fact, I knew it was a scam the instead I walked away but it was too late.

I'm walking down Columbus Ave between 73rd and 74th I think, to get my haircut. I am walking briskly, but not out of control. A couple stops in front of me (don't you hate this?) and I swerve around them. Then I feel a man in a puffy jacket bump into me and drop a bottle. I smell alcohol and I see it spill all over the sidewalk.

THAT was probably the selling point. I smelled it so I knew it was real, but I was very suspicious it was champagne as they told me it was. There are two guys, and they yell at me to get back and they want the bottle to be replaced. They were two guys who claimed they were bringing it to a baby shower, though I was also suspicious because they were not very dressed up for the baby shower.

They hassle me for about 10 minutes and bring me down a cross roads (at this point, I am thinking they will try to jump me, as they are bringing me away from people). They demand $42.40, but then bring it down to $32.40. I ended up giving them several bills....

I just couldn't figure why there was real alcohol in his bag. I should have asked to see the bottle....

I knew it was a scam as soon as I did it, and I fell for it. Im a college student and Im from a very small town, so now I learned my lesson.

animal fetish crush fetish The Rolling Stones postpone a show in the US to allow singer Sir Mick Jagger time to rest his voice...

What about the woman who rides the trains saying that she's trying to feed her children. It's always the same woman, and when I first arrived in the city, I felt like a crummy selfish b(*^^ because I suspected she was lying. She's still around, four years later. She has a very distinctive voice, and looks pathetic, but fairly comfortably dressed. Or the battery man. Does anyone use the batteries? Or the woman with they keyboard who always plays the same song. I actually like these last two, because the battery man has a non-invasive demeanor, and the woman is actually playing.

I've never seen anyone pulling the "broke my glasses/bottle" scam before and I can't even imagine why anyone would pay up for such a thing - I'd think it would be totally obvious if you did or didn't actually bump the guy, and if I knew I didn't, no way in hell he'd be getting my money.

I've seen the "Gotta Quarter?" guy for years - he normally patrols the Washington Square and Union Square areas, but one time I saw him all the way up on 33rd and 5th! It was so strange since I was so used to seeing him downtown. I guess he occasionally migrates, lol. I always wondered why he didn't ask for something bigger than a quarter though, except that maybe people are more willing to hand over a quarter than a dollar.

I also fell for the Mean People Suck sticker man, about a week after I first moved to New York. I was a dumb NYU freshman, what can I say.

I also saw the couple who were asking for money for their dead daughter's funeral - twice. The first time they came into my subway car I HONESTLY believed them about 95% as I just couldn't imagine someone would make up a scam THAT horrific, complete with a fake death certificate for a little kid. The second time I saw them I was totally blown away, and it takes a lot to shock me. That's definitely the lowest I've seen anyone stoop.

The very day I was officially moving in to my first apartment in the city, some guy went out of his way to brush up against a bag I was carrying and pulled the glasses scam. I must have looked like fresh meat. Now, I admit to growing up in the midwest, but I'd acquired plenty of street smarts before moving to the city... which unfortunately abandoned me.

He wanted $43 for his glasses and he was late for class. His mom couldn't afford to get him new glasses again. I was smart enough to say I didn't have that much and I could accompany him to the glasses store, but he was running late (for class) and he actually HAGGLED with me until I gave him $20. He seemed angry enough to be dangerous, he eventually won. (**** that, I'm much harder to intimidate now!)

As he was walking away with my money, I said, "you're not lying to me, are you?" He swore something to his mother and jesus that he wasn't. He even gave me his name and address and said if I ever had any problems, I should contact him.

I was right in front of my new apartment, so I went upstairs and watched from the window as he crossed the street with a huge skip in his step and that arm motion that says, "YES, SCORE!" He went one way, then the other down the street, apparently deciding that the class he was late for was in the other direction.

Unfortunately I recently fell for a scam like this (never again) because I was unfamiliar with it (until now). I am a life long New Yorker, and I am constantly on the look out for pickpockets and hustlers. I was recently walking near the very busy and crowded Times Square area at night when I gently bumped into this young black male (about 20 years old) with a male companion. I heard glasses drop. He then said that I had broken his glasses when I bumped into him - showing the brokn glasses to me. He said they cost hundreds of dollars. I only had $23 on my wallet, so I offered it to him (although I had more money elsewhere on me). He said it was not enough. I wasn't going to offer him any more money than $23 (naturally suspicious person that I am - I lied about not having access to an ATM). Instead of money, I offered to get him a new pair at a local eyeglass store, but they were closed. So I finally told him that I was going to the police station on Times Square so the two of us can exchange info and resolve this. He quickly changed his mind, and offered to accept the $23. Walking away, I grew increasingly suspicious. I immediately went over to the police station on Times Square. I told the officers about what just happened. They told me it was indeed a scam! They say street scams are common around Times Square where there are a lot of tourists. I gave the police a description of the suspect. They indicated that they will have officers in the area be on the lookout for suspect and others like him trying to pull this scam.

Anyway I am giving out a warning to anyone reading this (native New Yorkers and tourists alike) to be on the lookout in NYC. If anyone is walking in NYC (especially along Times Square), and someone tries to pull something like this on you - know immediately it's a scam!!! Continue walking along the busy crowded streets or better yet - tell that person that you are going to the police to have them resolve this (there are lots of cops around in Times Square, there's even a mini-police station with flashing neon lights). That will make crooks run off! Even if they fail to scam you, report the matter to the police immediately, and give them description.

New Orleans has a few scams I haven't seen anywhere else. Folks will hit up tourists with "I bet you a buck I know where you got your shoes," and the mark will say, "Yeah, where?" The answer is "On your feet." Why someone would make good on that bet, I don't know.

Then there's the little kid offering to sell you a bag of grass. Yep, it's a bag of grass.

The gay guy with the bike and the "costume designer" are one and the same. He's been around for at least 12 years; I first encountered him in Chelsea in 1994, right after I moved here, at which time he was on foot and working the costume scam. (The story eventually turned into a request for money, though I can no longer recall how he got from "please watch my costumes" to "please give me money.") Saw him around a couple more times shortly after that first time, then didn't see him at all for several years. When he resurfaced, he had the bike and was working the cab money story.

The dude is still around; I last saw him just a few months ago, somewhere near Union Square. He gets all pissed off when he approaches me and I point out that he's tried to scam me a jillion times before. He got REALLY pissed off one day when I shouted out a warning to two motherly looking middle-aged women he was trying to scam.

As for how I know he's gay, he often announces it when hitting up women: "Don't be afraid of me, I'm gay, blah blah."