From an EVG reader last night:
Tonight I was approached by the infamous "wife and kid are in the car" scammer on East 6th Street and Avenue A. It was about 10:30 p.m., and he asked me if I live in the area ... He then told me his wife and child were stuck in his car, and pointed across the street to an SUV, and said if he showed me his birth certificate and gave me his iPhone, could I...
I interrupted him there and said "I've heard about you," and began to walk away. "You bitch!" He screamed at me. I turned to look at him, more shocked and amused than threatened, and he yelled "You dirty bitch!" Then I yelled as loudly as I could: "WHY AM I A BITCH? BECAUSE I BLEW UP YOUR SPOT, YOU SCAM ARTIST?"
The reader said that his description matches one left by an EVG reader several months ago: He's in his 30s or 40s, slightly balding, about 5-9, 160 pounds with dark beady junkie eyes.
Last night, the reader also noticed that he has a tattoo on his right forearm — the name Rosa spelled out vertically in capital letters. Per the reader: "He could be white or Hispanic. He was also wearing one of those straw fedoras so many dudes wear in the summer."
A well-placed EVG source told us back in March that this man had been arrested at Penn Station.
Previously on EV Grieve:
East Village grifter alert: Beware the broken vodka-bottle scam!
East Village grifter alert: Beware the man with the sob story who offers you a wedding ring as collateral
Snowy afternoon grifter alert
16 comments:
what is a well placed EVG source?
thanks for the tip
I ran into one of these guys once and knowing it was BS I said "no problem lets go to the gas station and I'll pay". He came up with every excuse in the world why that wasn't possible, and I walked away laughing..
This guy got me and I was too embarassed to tell my girlfriend. He got her two weeks later.
it's nice to know the neighborhood retains even a hint of its old character, as long as part of that character is provided by people who don't buy these gambits.
there's another guy to watch out for he asks if there is another supermarket around and then starts telling you he works in the movie industry and your voice is great for voiceovers, he asks for money for a fee of some kind, he gets indignant when you don't believe him
Hold on, I'm confused as to how this scam works. He gives you an iPhone and you give him somewhere from $10-$50 bucks?
Even if it's a stolen phone, couldn't he more easily resell it for more than that, rather than trying to do this scam?
I think I saw this guy on 13th bet. A&B this past saturday. He was in a sort of heated exchange with a woman.
Anon@12:10 PM, probably the scam works by the typical "mark" refusing to take the iPhone because the con-artist says that he's going to repay the money, so, gee, how can I take the poor guy's phone for a $5 or $10 loan?
Try accepting the offer of the iPhone before handing over the cash and he'll probably go ballistic that you don't trust him. But do it next to a cop who is watching because the other possibility is that the guy will punch you in the face as soon as you produce the cash.
I encountered this guy right outside the 9th precinct. I couldn't believe it, so I offered to escort him inside. He cursed and walked away. This guy's been at it for years with the same old story.
"more amused than threatened",
well unless you have gone thru the ridiculous process that the liberals inflict on law-abiding citizens who wish to arm and defend themselves, or are carrying an illegal firearm, that is a very dangerous attitude indeed.
any piece of garbage on the street is a potential threat. read the police blotter, see what goes on.
And what's with the birth certificate? I mean why would he have that on him lol.
When any stranger approaches me I cut him off and say the following: "you're either looking for directions or want money, and since I'm not giving you any money, where do you want directions too?"
Anonymous 11:37 -- You say "where do you want directions TOO"? Do the strangers correct you?
7:19 You failed to fix the dangling preposition in your snotty correction. Glass grammar houses...
Anonymous 11:39 -- I didn't fix any of it. If I had fixed it, I would have fixed the spelling too, and then it wouldn't have been a quotation. Eh?
Was approached at 1PM today by a guy fitting the description, he was wearing a white tee and baseball cap and asked me on 7th between A and B for money for gas since he ran out. He said he could prove to me with his birth certificate and his kids in a car etc etc. I just said I had no cash, only use credit and he just looked annoyed and walked away.
This guy struck again... Approached me yesterday around 11:20 AM at the corner of E. 9th and 3rd. Was wearing a bucket hat, aviator sunglasses, button up plaid shirt, and a sweat band on his arm. When I scoffed at him, said "Whatever, Scammer" and walked away, he left me alone.
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