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Ooh, we love a good street con story. A bunch of people are reporting that they've been swindled by a couple around Columbia's neighborhood. The Columbia Spectator reports that the con artists are a "homeless looking couple":
Their modus operandi is simple. Walking into unsuspecting passers-by, the couple—a young man and woman—drop a plastic bag containing a glass bottle. The bottle shatters. The man angrily demands to be repaid for the contents, while the woman insults the stunned fall guy. If the “bottle job” is successful, the couple runs off with cash.A Spectator photographer, who was a victim/mark of the scheme, was told the bottle held vitamins for the pregnant woman; he decided to pay the couple $40, and he wasn't the only one to fall for it. The police say this a common scheme, and the Spectator has seen it before, but in the form of "You Broke My Glasses." That's tough - there are scams all the time. We almost fell for the "Help me, I'm trapped here in NYC" scam at Grand Central last year ("I'm a professor visiting from Korea but I was robbed and need money to get to NJ"), but then the guy became disgusted with us when we tried to convince him to go the information desk or a consulate. And then we saw him Times Square two months later, when he asked us for money again.
Have you given money to a con artist? What are some good street scams?
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I put on my game face (aka my iPod and my big glasses) and ignore everyone who tries to talk to me on the street. At the mall in FL, displaying this behavior toward nail kiosk guys shocked my sisters.
MissPinkKatee really showed those mall guys.
You should check with your Torontoist connections, but this past week in Totronto there was a guy selling phony car insurance to people at the food court of a downtown mall for 200 bucks a pop. Oh, the gullible. Not exactly a grift, but still scam-tastic!
if you're buying car insurance for a scam artist in a mall food court, then you desertve to be scammed.
My buddy got caught by a similar scam a few years back, except the guy had said he was an amateur boxer on the way to a tournament and that my friend had broken his jar of cut creme (guessing he was talking about some sort of stiptic ?), and he pretty much shook my friend down for like $40. I stood there and giggled, but probably would've forked over cash too, the guy was pretty big and intimidating. My friend was smart and kept a separate stash of cash away from the main money in his wallet.
On 14th and 1st, some guy stopped me once and told me he had just come up from Florida...blah blah blah he was looking for some shelter to stay in but he needed money...i gave him 2 bucks...and went on my way...i mean he had an interesting story so i figured why not...
6 months or a year later...same neighborhood, same guy stops me...gives me the same story...halfway into his story, i repeat it to him, and hes like "how do you know all this? you're freaking me out"...i gave him another 2 bucks, cuz it was just funny...
Do those kids selling candy on the train "for their basketball team" count as full-on grifters? Oh, I think they do. I do indeed.
1. Riding over Manhattan Bridge on subway.
2. Guy carrying oriental rug between cars pretends to slip and fall.
3. People are scared for him.
4. He makes it into the car safely and suddenly realizes he's "lost his wallet" in the fall.
5. He starts asking for money.
6. He stops in front of me, stares me down, and says, "What are you laughing at, white boy? I got nothing now. You look like you got money, but I got nothing. You laughing at me?" Note how he plays to race and class at the same time.
7. He continues berating me in front of everyone assuming I'll pay him to go away, but I hold my ground. Of course, no one comes to my defense.
actually, schools really do have the kids sell candy for teams and whatnot, which i think is messed up, because obviously they're going to sell them on the subway, which is illegal.
my general rule is never to give anyone money ever, but i did once give $10 to a woman in my neighborhood who was desperately asking for money for diapers and formula. i didn't really care whether she was really desperate for that or just a fix (which i figured it was), something about her just broke my heart.
can't believe the broken bottle scam is still around! i think i paid a buck once in the late 70s to a guy who bumped into me and dropped and smashed his quart bottle of miller (this was before 40s... and enforced no-drinking laws). that was the last time i paid. since then i just laugh and keep walking, or forcefully say i'm not paying, or run, or run to a pay phone and dial 911, or dial 911 from the cellie (depending upon era and bigness of scammer).
the columbia kids fell for the oldest scam in the city. i've had it tried on me with: eyeglasses, booze, and crack vials.
Diapers and formula is a classic. I used to get harrassed by a guy who needed those "for his baby." Made me wonder by how much he was planning to mark them up when he got back to the hood to sell them to get the cash for his fix. What a world.
jen, i've seen the same guy as you describe.. probably 3 times over the past 4 years.. union sq, hoboken, and wtc if i remember right. He gets really mad if you tell him he's tried to scam you before. Somehow I got a kick out of that. aah, new york..
Got I hate cons, I've been hit up with implausible sob stories about 5 times since I've lived in New York. I like to say "gee, I'd like to help you, but I actually don't have any cash at all," as in, you want to lie to me, fine, I'll lie right back.
The most aggressive cons I've ever encountered were in Hartford, CT, and Rochester, though. The NYC ones had the sense to just move on when I wasn't buying it.
Laughter is a con artist's kryptonite...just keep laughing and they'll move on. If they don't, escalate to verbal assault and basically call them out on their con.
yes, they do sell candy for their teams, but throughout the whole year? and into the summer? i don't think so.
Most kids have changed their stories to "i'm doing this to stay off the streets"
the worst part is when they make the young kids sell candy...one time i saw an older gentleman berating a kid, he must have ben 10 or 12 years old for not selling enough candy...right then and there i vowed never to buy from those kids...they have pimps..wtf?!
helen, at least these kids are selling something and not just robbin and stealin. whether it's for b-ball or not, it could be a lot worse.
my fave con is the typical crack feind on the subway going on and on about his/her shitty life and how his/her kids are at home with no food. (if you're kids are at home, alone with no food, then perhaps child services should be called and your kids taken away). i never give into the bullshit these people dish out. it's not even creative anymore, it's the same crap played by a different charachter...
the only people i would even think of giving money to are street musicians, street dancers and kids selling candy.
as for your money, do what you want with it, but there are a plethora of good services out there that your money will do more good then harm if you donate it... better yet, get off your ass and donate your time too.
Re: Kids selling candy on trains to raise money for basketball uniforms.
Maybe five years ago, a handful of schools engaged in this form of fundraising (I, for one, could never understand what a junior high school athlete was doing on the subways asking for money at 11:30 on a weekday morning). Nowadays, the number of legit M&M sellers is zero. In fact, so many of them now proclaim that they are not trying to raise money for anyone but themselves.
Once, I engaged one of these kids and asked them to tell me more about their basketball team. I offered to buy the entire team uniforms if he could give me the coach's name and phone number.
The kid freaked and walked away muttering something about yuppies and body parts.
I cringe to admit this, especially since I normally have my "game face" on, but I totally got scammed in Washington Square Park one night in December of '04.
Gay guy comes up to me on his bike and says rather quickly, "I've just locked myself out of my apartment and my wallet is inside. I have to be uptown in 30 minutes for a shoot. Do you have any money you could spare for a cab?" I'm thinking that a gay guy's not going to scam me and after some tentative back and forth, I give the guy $20. 20-freakin'-dollars because I had nothing smaller. He asked where I worked and promise to come by and pay me back. Yeah right.
Worst part was by the end, I totally knew I was getting scammed. Even worst part was finding out a couple months later that my friend got scammed by the same man. I should have known better.
i love the scammers.. it's all part of the big city amusement arcade.. my fav is the Nun who used to go around Wall Street bars collecting for some convent thang! I once saw a bar owner ask her for ID and she started cursing her out !!!!
The scariest have got to be in San Fran... where they will walk down the street with you, follow you into cafés and shops, until you give them cash.
All part of the great wealth distribution! Have a nice day.
Friday night a guy dressed as a Hasidic Jew claims to be looking for train fare to get to Brooklyn. This one was totally laughable.
The dropped-bottle scam also comes as the dropped-food scam. Somebody with a big styrofoam container of food is walking down the street, eating from it, seems to be concentrating on the food and walking in a straight line, but then inexplicably veers into your path, makes a little body contact, drops the food, and then makes claims like, "That was my one meal for the day! I spent the last of my money on that! That cost ten dollars!" Usually, it's a dollar or two of rice and beans.
I've seen the "I need to go uptown to get my AIDS medication" scam too many times to count. Usually they claim the place is about to close, they can't afford a cab, without the meds they'll die/go into a coma/"get worse" because they're not supposed to miss a day, Medicare/insurance check hasn't come through, blah blah blah. The whole act is so tiresome you might just give them money to go away.
The Columbia University bubble is a big target. All the street people and "crews" (folks who get together in informal and impromptu teams to panhandle or hustle) know that the rich rube ratio is very high up there. I've seen pickpocketings, street hustles, grifts, shakedowns, chain snatchings, you name it. The only thing that pays more consistently for them is three-card monte in Chinatown: you get tourists and bridge-and-tunnel rubes who are out on the town to spend money and are very free with it.
A weird one when I first moved here: at a crowded crosswalk in Soho, a guy started aiming a polaroid camera at me. I could see another guy move around behind the crowd, and I suspected he was going to look for purses and pockets to pick. So I said "don't take my picture" but he moved in closer, so I pushed his arm aside (gently but firmly) and he "dropped" the camera and started screaming obscenities at me. Fortunately the light changed, but I could still hear him a half a block away.
Not a scam but also freaky: with some visiting friends, hanging out in Washington Square Park. A guy was playing accordian, and came up and stood right in front of us and played. He wasn't very good. He paused and said: "What do you want me to play?" My friend suggested a polka, at which point the guy lost it and started screaming "Don't tell me what to play! You f-g c-t!" and then launched into a vile string of obscenities, while we ran away as fast as we could. Freak.
Overall though, I've seen much more aggressive street antics in other cities, like DC and LA, than here.
girlacross-i have seen this guy too. he even told me i could take the cab with him and he would repay me when he got to wherever he was going. i didn't give him any money and wished him well. and then i saw him again about a month later, in the same spot, and he gave me the same story. i said "come on! didn't you do that last month?" he got mad and left.
Re: Kids selling candy on trains to raise money for basketball uniforms.
Can you imagine any of these 'kids' not robbing you at knifepoint?
They charge $1 for a $0.60 chocolate bar. Thief.
buying a metrocard. Just as my card popped out of the "refilled card slot" a girl at the machine next to me dropped har card in front of me. weirdly enough I completely ignored her, too consumed with the balancing act of getting my card and wallet in my bag. my natural instinct is to pick up anything anyone drops, and I realized after the fact that this was most likely her plan, a way for her to distract me and get my new card. she nearly threw her card across my path.
The "Korean Professor" has hit me and several of my friends since 2000. I bumped into him on 46th and 6th avenue. Except that time he said he was a visiting professor from UPENN and needed money for the train ride back. Then starts spitting out comp sci jargon... Since he is dressed nicely it's easy to get scammed by him. Gothamist should get a picture of him and post it up, shouldn't be too hard since he's been scene around Korea Town.
once in 1998 on the UES and once in 2005 in Chelsea, the same guy approached me and said I should be on TV...he said he's casting a show like the simpsons and i'd make a great voice for the cow...i don't know why i = cow voice (i'm a pretty small girl) but he then tried to get me to go with him and "record" something in the studio. it's by far the most bizarre scam i've ever encountered and i can't believe it happened twice to me in the course of 7 years...
I ran into the glasses guy in time square. I didn't give him anything, but i still felt bad and considered that i may have actually rammed into the guy.
A year earlier in park slope a guy was telling me I had caused him to drop his inhaler. He was upset about some little plastic bart inside being broken, but did not direct any anger or belligerence my way. Having been born the previous day, I asked how much such things were to replace. I had too much time on my hands, so one thing lead to another. He later said that a bunch of crack had been stored in the bottom of the inhaler, which had been spilled). By the time this seemed really messed up, as opposed to the short of shady i had been desensitized to by various roommates (who later turn out to be deadbeat liars), I was already in another neighborhood next to an ATM. This did not end well, and I'm still mystified that I could have been so easily persuaded to feel responsible.
I hadn't even heard of that sort of thing before (only scams predicated on greed, not guilt), I'm not used to calling people liars to their face, and it was distractingly hot out, but there really isn't any excuse. The 200 he 'borrowed' is inconsequential, but I'm continually ashamed to have encouraged people like that.
"i'm a tourist from out of town - can you break a $100?" they pull out the $100, you (like an idiot) open your wallet because you want them to see that NY'ers are nice, they grab your wallet and run. You are left walletless.
girlacross and xnxox--same guy, different place: Soho, circa late '99, on my way to work at a restaurant. He was late for a shoot, lost his keys, needed money for a cab, asked me where I worked so he could bring me the money. I thnk I gave him 10 bucks, knowing I'd probably never see him again, but every so often I like to "test humanity" and see if they'll come through. Why I set myself up for such a letdown I don't know. When I got to work, it turned out one of my coworkers had just encountered him on the way as well and had done the same thing. We thought it was hysterical. The guy must've thought nothing but idiots worked at that restaurant.
So many gullible people on here. Nearly EVERY time a stranger on the street comes up to you, they're a scammer. I don't care if I see someone bleeding to death, asking me for money. I just walk by and mind my own business and don't give them anything, not even my attention. Or, if they get in my face, I simply scowl while opening my eyes wide, which is my "fuck with me and I'll kill your sorry ass" stare. Works every time.
Bickle - I know what you're saying - gothamist should change the title to "New Yorkers Are Easy Marks" . . .
But there's so many people who ask/beg/scam in this city, people (actually, in this case, me) just feel guilty for not "testing humanity" (as mentioned above too) after awhile. Even those who go a year or two without giving "them" $$.
The con on Metro-North and other commuter trains is a guy in T-shirt and jeans, a little scruffy but not homeless looking, trolls the late-ish trains (10pm and on) saying that either he lost his wallet or got mugged, and needs some weird off amount like $2.30 to get home to somewhere in the suburbs. People either give him a buck or 5 bucks.
This was a nightly routine in the late 80s-early 90s when I worked the semi-late shift and took the 11pm/mid/1am trains on a regular basis. I saw the guy every night for 6 months.
There used to be a young black guy with dreads who'd go around asking, "You got a quarter?" He always worked the area surrounding Astor Place. I always lied to him, saying "No, I don't." I wonder what ever happened to that guy?
girlacross, what I don't get is why you gave him money for a purported cab when he was on a bike. Even if he legitimately had to be uptown, he was RIDING A BIKE. I can get from Washington Square to 125th Street in less than half an hour.
And also, what makes you say he was gay? He was effeminate, perhaps? And all "effeminate" men are gay, right? Or maybe just because he scammed you.
Why be effeminate if you're not gay? Is it a turn on for any female to have a raging hetero flamer for a mate?
I'd like to know how much Korean Professor and SoHo camera guy make in a year. More than most of us who are reading Gothamist on the company dime right now, I bet.
yeah, i remember that guy that used to comb the late trains at grand central trying to get 2.30$ or whatever. there was another older guy who used to do that but just used the "i'm a hungry veteran" thing which sucks when you are sitting down in a seat and they corner you.
though it's more of a joint crime rather than a scam, whatever happened to the dudes on the subway who would swipe you through for a dollar? they ran rampant in upper manhattan in the late 90's
Once my friend and I were walking in Penn Station and this dude comes up to me and he says he needs a couple of bucks for a train to get back home in New Jersey. The first thing he said, though, was "I'm just black, not homeless". After he said that I knew it was a scam and tried to drag my friend away, but he insisted on helping the dude after he pulled out a military ID and saying stuff like "I have job but just ran out of money and I've been stuck here for six hours".
I mean seriously, who says that?
once at about 8:30 am in clinton hill/bed stuy: a short black guy with fancy dreads, dressed like a fashionista, carring a big bag like photo stylists do. claimed to be 'out here' for a shoot but got lost and scared of brooklyn and needs to get back to manhattan but lost his wallet. obviously a scam, but i carry a spare pay-per-ride metrocard and i offered it to him and he refused, saying he wanted to take a cab and couldn't i give him some cash for that? this is right in front of the C train entrance. i said sorry that's all i've got and offered it again and he turned and stomped off in a huff.
a few weeks later- same guy, different tale (mugging), near union square. told him he'd tried it on me before, same stomping off in a huff.
the worst thing about these scams is that they prey not on people's sympathy or guilt, but very specifically on their kindness. it takes a special kind of sociopathy to do that.
Two days after I moved to New York some guy was walking arounf my neighborhood with a clip board and a picture to two young black kids. He would ask if you had seen that they had been shot while playing basketball about ten blocks away. Then he would ask for some money to "help their mothers pay for burial." He would even offer to take your name so you were thanked. I saw him again about 10 days later at which point I said "they must be awfuly ripe if you haven't buried them yet." He cursed me out.
I, too, was taken for $$ by the locked-out-of-his-place guy on a bike who had to be somewhere in a hurry. I encountered him on Park Ave So. & 30th street about six years ago. I think I gave him $15. Even before I fished the money out of my pocket I thought to myself, "He needs to be somewhere in a hurry -- but he has a *bike*" He asked for my work address, so he could repay me, but of course I never heard from him.
More recently I gave money to a guy who works in Fort Greene, down around BAM. Carrying a clipboard and with a very intent manner, he starts out by saying "Did I get you yet?" and proceeds to tell you about the kid who was shot in the playground right around there -- didn't you read about it in the newspaper? -- and whose family cannot afford a proper burial service. He asks you to sign the clipboard, recognizing you to the family as a donator. I gave him $5 and a fake name when I moved into the area two years ago. I've seen him a couple of times since then, always with the same line. I'm dying for him to hit me up again -- "Did I get you yet?" "Yeah, buddy. You got me."
Has anyone ever given money to someone, sensing a scam but willing to take a flyer on humanity, and had it not be a scam?
I don't think I have, though once I got stuck without any cash at a tollbooth in Seattle. I parked my car to the side and walked back through the waiting cars asking people for the loan of $5 or whatever it was. I'm an honest-looking guy, and some people wouldn't even make eye contact. It was pretty disturbing, and gave a little more sympathy for people who don't have even a shred of credibility and yet can actively beg for money all day long. Eventually someone (a young couple) gave me the money, and when I asked for an address to send repayment they essentially said, "pay it forward."
I fell for this same scam in Boston once about seven years ago. I was up there on a business trip and a guy bumps right into me drops a bag with a glass bottle and says "did you do that on purpose?" I'm originally from a small town and had never been in any situation like this before and apologized. He said it was whiskey for his Mom in the hospital, which made about zero sense. I gave him $20 figuring that was a good trade-off for safety, considering I was carrying about $400 cash at the time.
This happened to me a few months back (sunglasses), but I didn't know it was a scam until reading this post. I walked and the guy dropped his sunglasses and proceeded to pick them up, but I kept walking not wanting to get into it. He literally chased after me for one block and then confronted me with,
"Hey you broke my glasses."
"Sorry", I said as I walked into my work building.
That was that.
Bickie said:
"I don't care if I see someone bleeding to death, asking me for money. I just walk by and mind my own business and don't give them anything, not even my attention."
Although I appreciate and understand this attitude, I have to say that I've been on the other side of the coin.
A couple of years ago I was riding my bicycle between williamsburg and fort greene when I was knocked off my bike by a van. The dude didn't stop and when I got up I realized my wrist was sliced down to the tendons.
I tried to stop two people for help, and when the third said, "sorry man, I'm late for work.", a bit pissed and bit in shock I screamed, "DUDE, I'm FUCKING BLEEDING!!"... and thankfully the guy stopped.
The difference between me and scammer, like you said, I wasn't asking for money, I was asking for someone to help me lock up my trashed bike. But the guy had to give me at least a little attention to figure that out. I think you can do that without setting yourself up to be victimized.
WHEN I WAS IN HIGH SCHOOL I WAS ALLOWED TO USE THE FAMILY CAR TO DRIVE TO SCHOOL ONE DAY. A VERY LONG DRIVE, IT WAS IN ARIZONA. ABOUT 60 MILES. WHILE IN SCHOOL IT STARTED TO SNOW (FLAGSTAFF) I TOOK OFF EARLY TO GET HOME BEFORE IT GOT TOO DEEP, FORGETTING TO GET GAS. BEFORE I RAN OUT I PULLED INTO A GAS STATION AND PENNILESS, BEGAN TO ASK FOR CHANGE FROM ANYONE WHO PULLED UP. IT TOOK A LONG TIME AND NO ONE BELIEVED ME. THEY SAW A DECENT CAR, A BORED AND LAZY LOOKING KID,SUSPICIOUS.... NO EYE CONTACT - JUST ROLLED UP THE WINDOWS. FINALLY A CRACK HEAD GAVE ME SOME CHANGE AND I GOT HOME ON FUMES. SO NOW I GIVE MONEY TO ANYONE WHO ASKS. I DONT CARE IF THEY ARE LYING. I FIGURE I GIVE AWAY 5 BUCKS A WEEK MAX. ITS PART OF THE LOCAL ECONOMY.
ONE DAY THIS YEAR ATAT XMAS TIME I GAVE MY FAVORITE HOMELESS PAL TEDDY 100 BUCKS. JUST GIVE IT AWAY. YOU CAN ALWAYS GET SOME MORE. IF YOU HOLD ON TO IT FOR TOO LONG IT WILL FIND A WAY INTO YOUR HEART.
"And also, what makes you say he was gay?"
Because I'm a gay woman and can spot a gay man at 10 paces. Anyway, yes it was completely rediculous that I fell for the guy. I NEVER give people money or acknowledge a request for something. Was that one time in my life I went against everything I knew instinctively about scammers. Yeah, he was on a bike, but could have put it in the trunk of a cab. Whatever. I said goodbye to my $20 long ago.
A couple of years ago, I was approached by the bike/cab guy in Washington Square Park a few times, and every single time the first question he asked was, "Hey, are you gay friendly?" After I told him yes, he completely went into character mode and started talking in an overly exaggerated feminine voice, telling me how he needed a cab really badly, and that since I was gay friendly, I should be a friend to him and help him out. Twice he wanted a cab, and then another time I think it was a hotel. I wonder what ever happened to that guy...
This winter, I spent a few nights a week playing hockey in central park. Nightly at the 110th street 2/3 station there would be a woman who constantly would ask, "do you have 50 cents?"
After a few weeks of giving her some spare change, and getting hit up for it every single night I got tired, and switched up my response.
"Do you have 50 cents?" she asked.
"You bet I do!" I replied, and kept walking.
There used to be a semi-scraggly skinny guy in the West Village who would approach women with the sob-story, "Hey, I'm a costume designer and I just locked myself out of my apartment. Don't worry, I'm not hitting on you - I'm gay -- so anyway -- I have a whole bunch of costumes that I need to get into my apartment over on Perry Street. There's a spare key over at my friend's apartment, but I can't leave the costumes out on the street! Could you come back to the apartment with me and watch the clothes while I go get the key?" Something like that.
The first time he approached me, I listened even though I knew he was shady. The second time(!), I cut him off after he gave me the "I'm not hitting on you" bit. He was annoyed.
Funny, I was talking about this just the other day, wondering if anyone ever actually accompanied him "back to the apartment".
Eww.
Lots of subway scammers over the years come to mind. But anyone living in Manhattan in the 90s remembers the Irish guy who used to ride the 2/3 all the goddam time, talking about his sick pregnant wife and 7 kids and no home and no job. Every time I saw him he had more/fewer kids and the story was tweaked slightly...
Weirdest tagteam grift I ever witnessed though was in Hong Kong. Long story short, riding the bus in from the old Kai Tak airport with a buddy. Brit-like guy strikes up a conversation with us. Along the way, Chinese guy squeezes into the empty seat next to him. Bus arrives in the city and we all get off. Brit guy suddenly shouts "Oh my god, I've been pickpocketed! Call the police!" Amazingly, another Brit-like guy claiming to be a detective (complete with badge) just happened to be nearby and was ready to spring into action. As witnesses to the 'crime,' we'd have to come down to the station and answer a few questions. The 'victim' says all his money for his trip, credit cards, etc. were in that wallet and would we be able to give him a bridge loan to tide him over? The fake detective starts getting edgy. He's in a hurry. We smell a rat, look at each other and bolt. I wouldn't be surprised is some similar if not less complicated scheme wasn't being pulled on the Airtrain, airport buses or subway from JFK.
p.s. yo Snickers, that racist comment proves you to be an assus holus. Those kids selling candy arent' really bothering anybody unlike the self-righteous screaming preachers. Go back to the burbs from whence you came...
The "dropped food" gag was tried on me, but he was wearing a jacket for a company I knew quite a bit about. So I kept asking him questions until he freaked out and ran away. I was just pissed he got food on my jacket.
Later that year I saw this guy walking towards me and he swerved towards me at the last second and practically threw his glasses down in front of me. Unfortunately for him, I stopped short and he looked pretty ridiculous. Didn't stop him from trying the gag though. He didn't seem to like me laughing my ass off at him.
I cant wait for the next person to try this, since I carry a camera all the time now. They'll make a wonderful addition to my web page. Still, it's pretty sad that people feel this is the best way to get a few bucks.
I got the "you made me drop my sun glasses and it scratched the lenses" bit near Rockefeller Center a few years ago. Just before the dude and I passed I took one huge step to the left to avoid him and he reflexively went with me to ensure I would clip him. I kept walking and got about 20 feet before looking back. Only then did he claim it was my fault. He did not immediately try to stop me. I yelled back that he stepped into my path and I kept on walking, fully expecting to get jumped from behind. Never happened thus I know he was a scammer.
I got suckered at home in San Francisco once by a one armed black man standing by a parking garage machine asking if folks had a dollar for change, and I got completely suckered...he had a good stalling routine of counting his money and talking to stall and then walks away with the money. I knew I was suckered as soon as I gave him the dollar. Now he hangs out in North Beach and I see him all the time hanging out by a pay-phone working the same routine, and I just smile knowingly, though I occasionally get the urge to smack him and take my dollar back, but when it comes down to it, I'm only bitter because I got suckered, I've given plently of folks a dollar before without them needing to sucker me. 40 dollars, though? that's a whole different league.
Had the broken glasses scam over at Bryant Park. Same drill of the guy bumping into me, claiming that I was swinging my arms and thus broke his dropped glasses. Unfortunately for him, I wear glasses and know that you don't snap a lense by just having them skitter across the pavement. Turned him down, plagued by a nagging guilt of what if I was wrong. Well, a quick web search found his photo up on Columbia web page warning students that he had been practicing the scam up there as well.
One scam I forgot until now....
On I-95 at a rest stop in Connecticut near Stamford, a very clean cut preppy looking white kid, polo shirt and all, asking for $10 for gas to get back to college. He said he had called his friends but didn't want to wait the 4 hours for them to arrive.
I turned him down, but I also thought, what college kid these days doesn't have a credit/debit card, etc..... Very odd.
Does anyone have any good suggestions as to how to deal with these people? What if trying to walk away doesn't work?
Does anyone have any good suggestions as to how to deal with these people? What if trying to walk away doesn't work?
[60] Posted by: Maeve | April 28, 2006 10:13 AM
If it is a broken glasses thing, just say "I have insurance to cover it, we just need to get a police report..." They usually walk away at that point.
(Yes, I got that from some website this past week)
A couple years ago, I was driving back to nowhere PA and stopped at a rest area. There was a guy on the phone with his supposedly preggo wife in the car. He told me a story about how she left her purse and they were headed to a funeral and they needed gas money. I opened up all my birthday cards and laid out 120$ along with my address. I never heard back, but I'd like to think he just lost the address. Otherwise, it was a hell of a scam.
I've been the subject of attempted scams by Israelis. They've never been successful because 1) I never give anyone in the street or on the train money; 2) my Hebrew isn't as good as I like to pretend it is so I don't understand half of what they're saying anyway. ;)
Hey, was the Union Square "I'm new to town, blah blah" guy gay and Southern? The same guy came up to me twice in Union Sq. saying he was new to the area and y'all are so friendly and that he just needed money for something or other...I didn't give him money, but I bet he's still at it.
The quarter man (of Astor Place, etc fame) is still around, although perhaps not asking for quarters - I saw him walking on the street a couple of weeks ago but not asking for quarters. I first saw the quarter man 6 years ago, and legend has it that if you talk about him, he will appear!
A girl from college said that she once saw him sticking quarters into the toy/candy machines in the lobby of the Toys R Us in Union Square. Maybe he doesn't ask for quarters anymore because that store isn't there anymore.
I have a good nose for who is truly in need since I've been there myself.
If you genuinely are desperate I think you are much more likely to get very good at stealing food (like I did) and knowing where the safe indoor places are to be during the wee hours.
I am especially offended to see the repeat performances (on subways, etc.) of career "desperate" people.
What if it was Jesus?
Well, I rapped upon a house
With the U.S. flag upon display
I said, "Could you help me out
I got some friends down the way"
The man says, "Get out of here
I'll tear you limb from limb"
I said, "You know they refused Jesus, too"
He said, "You're not Him."
The freakiest scam I ever came across was the summer of 1998 near 57th St. I'd just moved here from the midwest and still had too much "niceness" in me. I came across a woman dressed in a plastic sack crying and screaming she'd been raped and robbed and could someone help her. I gave her $10 (which I couldn't afford to give - I missed dinner that day) I also offered to walk her to the police station, which she declined. and then I saw her again around Times Square a few days later and felt like such a fool.
What if it was Jesus?
Uh... Jesus was sort of a scam artist. he manipulated known prophecies, to pretend to be something he was not.
Just another religious zealot with a martyr complex.
There seems to be plenty of martyrs still coming from the middle east.
Jesus was not the only "Healer", prophet of his day. His story some how stuck because people wrote it down and it could be used to control people and maintain power and influence as well as scam for money (collection Plate)
Religion, the biggest scam on earth.
Anyone run into the guy with the British accent asking for a dollar to get a hot dog? I eat lunch on the steps of St.Patrick's every day, and he usually asks us for change 2 to 3 times per week.
How embarrassing - I fell for the broken glasses scam, and didn't realize it was a scam until I saw this. It was in Harlem a couple of years ago, and think I gave the guy like $27 (all the money I had on me). Damn it.
The strangest, most incoherent "scam" ever--
Right outside my house in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, a black man approaches and says his mother's been in a car accident. She's in the emergency room down the street at LICH, and by the way, we go with him into the emergency room to see her if we like. He needs money for a tow truck to get his mother's car out of the street, he says. Tow trucks are expensive and he doesn't have enough cash. Forty dollars should do it, though. Oh, and by the way, he works for NBC and can get us tickets to see either Jay-Z or Dave Matthews if we help him out.
There are so many things wrong with this stream-of-consciousness scam it's hard to know where to begin. I had no ill will toward the man, and was actually kind of amused by him (Jay-Z or Dave Matthews? Did he do some kind of "music white people like" research?) until he held up his hands and said in a patronizing voice, "Don't be afraid, neighbors. I'm black, but I'm not a criminal."
His assumption that I was a racist turned me from amused to downright angry. Even if I were going to give him money for his entertainment value, he lost out after that comment.
I used to work at the Metropolitan Museum, and I would leave work via the 84th street entrance, near the 86th street Central Park Transverse. For three years running, two guys worked that plush, tourist-rich intersection, claiming that their car had conked out, and they needed money to get back to NJ. Occasionally, one would carry a hubcap, or a part of a jack! Props! After a while they recognized me and stopped hitting me up. We'd actually wave to one another occasionally - the local grifters.
not a scam per se, more of a slick panhandle:
raggedy looking guy gets on the train, asks what stop you're going to. if you name a street more than three minutes away he starts furiously sketching in charcoal. after about two minutes he smiles and hands you the drawing, putting intense pressure on you to pay "for services rendered," never mind against your will and poorly to boot.
i was riding uptown late one sat night with my girlfriend and gave this dude three bucks for his little act.
i was so disgusted at being beaten (i grew up in brooklyn and know the deal) that i just crumpled the thing up and trashed it, not even keeping it for the entertainment value.
Though a non-contact scam, it's worth mentioning that the Patrolman's Benevolent Association (PBA) does not solicit donations over the phone. Anyone calling, claiming to be an NYPD cop and asking for donations is a scammer.
Had a great little chat with a real PBA receptionist about that after one particularly abusive call. Note that their site, http://nycpba.org doesn't even have a donation link.
After 12+ years living in the city, nobody. gets. anything.
It was on the D train when a panhandler hit me up about 2 years ago saying he was a "Gulf War vet" and needed money for his shelter. Being a vet myself, this was the first time I'd heard this one (usually it's Vietnam they use). All I said was, "Really? Who were you with?" He shot me a quick look and said, "The First." So I said, "First what?" (Because that's just military jargon, right?) So he says "First Platoon" and by then everyone nearby was laughing at him. I was in the Marines for six years, and it really pissed me off. I hate these guys that claim they were in the service to scam people. I imagine its only a matter of time until we see the ones claiming they were in Iraq or Afghanistan...
That guy in Brooklyn with the two dead kids has been going on for years. There was also a guy selling red ribbons to raise money for AIDS.
I gave a guy a dollar once for hailing me a cab. I was about 19 and returning from college. He tried to tell me that I should pay him and not the cabbie the fare. I didn't buy it, but he scared me a little so I gave him a buck.
I also lost $10 bucks on three card monte when I was about 15. I felt very dumb at the time, but now I know that I was just a silly teenager.
Most scams smell like scams if you let them sink in. The scammers just don't give you time to think.
The guy I hate is the one who "gives" out MEAN PEOPLE SUCK stickers. He seems to be giving them away, but if you take one he asks for money. He's been doing it for years near Astor Place.
I was outside of my building once with my room mate talking, and a man walks up. He first gives us a sob story about how he's from out of town, his wallet and phone were stolen, he's suppose to be staying in some fancy hotel but he has no money to get back, etc. He asks for money, and I refuse to give him any. He then starts to get really upset, asking for more money, I tell him there's a police station down the street to report his missing wallet. He then starts yelling, saying that he's "going to fucking kill someone" for about five minutes until he gives up and shoves off. This was in Chelsea around 20th & 8th during the winter.
I have encountered the (ambiguously) gay man on the bike too. He accosted me on a Sunday morning in 2002 on 5th Avenue in Lower Midtown (probably at about 29th Street). He had fiar skin and reddish hair and appeared to be on what looked like a child's bike (low with a banana seat). He was slick and very fast talking, immediately launching into a tale about how he was working on a Tony Scott film and they were shooting over at Silvercup. He told me he was locked out of his apartment and had a bunch of expensive gear stashed in his entryway and it was going to get ripped off if he did not get a cab immediately. He had a cellphone which he urged me to hold on to until he brought back the money. Unfortunately for him I was producing a film at the time and was actually on my way back from a weekend production meeting. I had enough knowledge of Silvercup to know that it was unlikely they were shooting a big budget feature over there (I was fairly sure that Sex and the City was shooting on all of the big stages at the time). When I asked him which stage he was shooting on and what his position was on the film (I could tell this guy was not in any union) he balked and rode off. Months later he tried the same scam at 33rd and 5th on a colleague.
This is a great thread!
For once, I'm proud I'm such an asshole. I didn't know about the glasses scam either, and one day in 2002, I bumped some kid as I was coming up out of the 23rd St. subway entrance. He dropped his glasses, but I kept walking. I thought it was his own dumbass fault for pausing at the top of the stairs and didn't stop to investigate. One of his buddies came chasing after me, but I wasn't about to make it up to him. I hate people who just stop in the middle of busy thoroughfares. Part of me was even a little proud I bumped him.
I predict the next variation will be involve me bumping some asshole standing at the mouth of a subway station as he yammers on his cell phone, trying to get a last minute chat in before he goes underground. He'll drop the cell and want a replacement for that.
Anyone on the Upper West Side familiar with the skinny little guy with the cookie-duster who contorts himself into a shape like he's deformed and whines pathetically, "Please! I'm hungry, very very hungry!" You can usually find him on the 1 or somewhere in Lincoln Center. It's been awhile since I've seen him. He's very good at making himself seem pathetic.
Also, you know those guys with the overturned watercooler bottles who work for the United Homeless Organization (UHO)? They get to keep all the money. The first $50 or so goes to the organization, and everything else they get to keep.
I was waiting in the LIRR area of Penn Station when a preppy guy starts loudly speaking into his cell phone. He is telling this sob story to his girlfriend about how he lost his wallet and doesn't have $20 to get home.
I got my wallet out and was pulling out a $20 when luckily another guy beat me to it and handed him a $20.
If the person does not seem poor or desperate, I'm much more likely to fall for their scam.
I had a similar situation to the broken bottle about three weeks ago. I was on 56th I think between 10th and 9th. A male and female were walking down the street towards me and I moved over only to be hit by the guy, dropping his bag and breaking something. The girl started yelling at me to apologize and come back. I checked for my cell phone and wallet and kept going.
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."
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
animal fetish crush fetish The Rolling Stones postpone a show in the US to allow singer Sir Mick Jagger time to rest his voice...
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!!
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.
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.
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?