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Views From Your Windows
A man intent on taking advantage of the kindness of strangers is now being charged with fraud by Queens prosecutors. Michael Cosmi would say very loudly on a cellphone that he was a doctor who had been robbed at JFK, leaving him with no way to get to NJ to see his patients. Various victims gave him $75-100 dollars to get back to NJ, after Cosmi promised to pay them back. Cosmi was busted after one unsuspecting police captain, who had given him $100 two weeks earlier, heard him telling the same sob story on the LIRR. Captain Bill tobin handed Cosmi over to authorities at Penn Station, telling the Long Island Press, "I wasn't carrying my gun, which was probably good, because I wanted to stick it in his ear." That is the problem with trying your scam in the same place all the time.
Queens DA Richard Brown said:
The ‘stranger in distress’ scam is commonly employed byYou can read the press statement from the Queens DA's office yourself - Cosmi scammed a rabbi and flight attendant as well! And the police found a notebook of Cosmi's marks, with their addresses. We wonder if he was still going to claim he would repay them back.
scam artists who prey on the good nature of susceptible individuals. By allegedly pretending to be
a physician in need in order to gain people’s confidence and exploit their kindness, the defendant did
far more damage than just allegedly steal money from his victims – he stole their trust in others,
making them less likely to help the truly needed in the future.
Another popular scam: The "You broke my bottle of medication and need to give me $40!".
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ive also had someone bump into me on the sidewalk then pick up a pair of broken eyeglasses and claim "you broke my glasses and now i cant see! you owe me $25!" clearly the glasses did not fit the person (they were child-sized).
lower east side scam - teenage girls asking for money so their dance troup can buy t-shirts to appear on a tv show.
same girls, three years in a row...
Can new yorkers even be scammed? I thought they were too jaded to fall for this B.S. Notice the guy was working the airport and the LIRR. Wouldn't a new yorker just tell the guy to go f*** himself? Don't get me wrong, I think most new yorkers are a much nicer lot than even THEY think they are, but I just couldn't see many falling for the oldest scam in the book.
When will New Yorkers learn? The sad-eyed character who "just needs a dollar to get home" is getting that dollar from a hundred people a day. That kid selling M&Ms on the subway (when he should be in school) couldn't shoot a basketball if his life depended upon it and the only uniform he is raising money for is his Air Jordans.
Last week, educated, articulate, informed Park Slopers were scammed left and right by one such character who just needed enough to buy a bus ticket to Jersey.
whats the deal with the M&M sellers?
ive bought them before, and i dont feel scammed since i still end up with a bag of M&Ms for the same price as any corner deli.
Years ago, a homeless-looking dude was walking straight towards me. I tacked left, so did he. I tacked right, as did he. Finally he ran into me, "causing" his dinner (a plastic box of lettuce and rice, apparently) to fall to the ground. Before he could even give me the spiele, I said "Give me a break, you just ran into me on purpose!" and kept walking.
Park Slope is the ideal scammers paradise. Educated, articulate, yes, but liberal and gullible as all get out. Having been there for 10 years, I've seen it firsthand.
one of those scammers (drop my bottle - you pay) tried doing that outside of this frat bar (dorian's) in the UES.
and boy did he regret it, after threatening the frat kid, the rest of his buddies poured out of the bar and beat the living shit of the scammer, kicking him as he covered himself on the ground.
The "we're the united homeless organization" not funded by the City scam on subways. The actual UHO used to do it, until the City reminded them that it's illegal. Now, the folks that do it are doing it to get cash for themselves. They never have charity IDs. I kinda doubt the UHO actually cares there are possibly homeless people doing this, though.
When I encounter scammers like this or the broken bottle scammers I will take note of their particulars so I can describe them when I report them to the police. You should too.
mortonstreeter- I wonder if we "ran into" the same guy. I told him to go run a scam on some tourons and eff off.
Mortonstreeter & Jamie - That scam is a popular one methinks. I've actually had people try that on me at least a couple of times (in Chelsea & Washington Heights among others), & even saw that scam being done on somebody else right in front me! Not to mention it happened to my roommate too, only the cops happened to be nearby & when informed of that the scammer took off running, heh.