This old con has been making the rounds lately, and I got hit this morning on the freeway on-ramp. Someone pretends to have car trouble or be out of gas. They are foreigner (often from Dubai for some reason) and have no money on them. If you would be so kind as to give them a bit of cash, you can have this gold ring (or necklace, or Rolex).

I gave the gentleman a piece of my mind and drove off. Fortunately I'd recently seen several Youtube vids on this scam, and I suspected as such before he even started talking. I did report him to the local po-po.

Anyone else run into this lately?

I have zero sympathy for people who are dumb enough to fall for this crap.

That guy should be embarrassed beyond belief he gave the guy $2500, he deserves to lose it.

I got hit up by a Latina in the back seat of a rather decent SUV. As I walked back to my car in the lot of Jerry's (a Home Depot type store) I was offered a gold ring for cash to help the "unfortunate" SUV people. I refused and they drove off.

If it is too good to be true, then it is.

A couple years ago, I was approached by a Gypsy looking family in an SUV in front of a Lowe's. They handed me a gold ring and wanted $40. I dropped it back on their lap and preceded to walk into the storefront while they kept trying to call me back for a deal.

"Only cheat the cheaters, boy; you can't cheat an honest man!"
-Mordecai Jones

"The Flim-Flam Man"

Greed, on both him and the scammer.

About 2 years ago someone tried the "extra speaker from an install" con on me in a parking lot. I thought that one went away a loooong time agao also.

quote:

Originally posted by sigmonkey:
"Only cheat the cheaters, boy; you can't cheat an honest man!"
-Mordecai Jones

"The Flim-Flam Man"

Glad to see your back monkey.

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:
I have zero sympathy for people who are dumb enough to fall for this crap.

That guy should be embarrassed beyond belief he gave the guy $2500, he deserves to lose it.

Agreed, being helpful is one thing but when the greed kicks in and you go for getting something for nothing then you are going to get deservedly burned.

quote:

Originally posted by wcb6092:

quote:

Originally posted by sigmonkey:
"Only cheat the cheaters, boy; you can't cheat an honest man!"
-Mordecai Jones

"The Flim-Flam Man"

Glad to see your back monkey.

Didn't realize he was gone.

As seen in Zombieland. Didn’t realize people actually pull this.

When I was stationed in Jacksonville FL there was a need gas scam that people were trying to pull all over. They approach you with a sob story of driving long distance to see family, but they're not home and they're almost out of gas. After seeing the same guy at the same station three days running I loudly asked if his sister was home yet, and how did he mamage to stay here for three days with no gas, money, or food?

quote:

Originally posted by P220 Smudge:
As seen in Zombieland. Didn’t realize people actually pull this.

That was a great scene.

This seems to be spreading worldwide, probably fueled by Youtube vids. That's how I first learned of it, in fact just days before it actually happened to me.

Here's the scam being run in Prague...

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:
I have zero sympathy for people who are dumb enough to fall for this crap.

That guy should be embarrassed beyond belief he gave the guy $2500, he deserves to lose it.

No. He is dumb, but no one deserves to be robbed.

I don't want to sound like Pollyanna, but we shouldn't have to worry about scammers.

I don't blame someone who doesn't lock their doors and gets robbed, even though I think it is dumb not to lock your door.

These scams are old, sure, but there is a new crop of ignoramuses and greedy people all the time.

quote:

Originally posted by Lord Vaalic:
About 2 years ago someone tried the "extra speaker from an install" con on me in a parking lot. I thought that one went away a loooong time agao also.

I got hit with that about 26 years ago when I was a teenager. Amazingly they had an extra pair of speakers available and were willing to sell them for just $125 (about the amount of my paycheck from the grocery store that week).

I bought them and actually thought they were decent full size speakers with 12" subwoofers. I sold them later for a few hundred bucks. Guess I was the scammer then...

quote:

Originally posted by Lord Vaalic:
About 2 years ago someone tried the "extra speaker from an install" con on me in a parking lot. I thought that one went away a loooong time agao also.

I've never heard of this, but I think some moron coworkers of mine fell for this a few months ago. They were bragging about buying some $5,000 set of home audio speakers out of the trunk of some clown in a parking lot for about $500. I didn't think of it as a scam until just now, I figured they bought some stolen goods. Either way, I know I would've walked.

A friend parted with $20 for a ring, if gold, would have been worth 3-4 thousand. Middle-eastern, beater car, "on way to airport with cash-flow issues". I told friend I would not pat $1.50 for the ring.

I got hit with the "flat tire" scam 3 days in a row when going to work, same con artist. My wife and I got hit with the flat tire scam with a woman who "had a flat on Blazer Drive" two weeks in a row. My wife told her she needed to keep her ass of Blazer if it kept flattening her tires.