Monday, October 24, 2011

Con Man Alert

Hey, if you see this guy, call 911.  He's committing fraud.

"I wanted to let you know about a young-man, probably early 20's scamming people in Uptown. 
 
About a month ago I was walking down Broadway, in front of Target, and a young man stopped me and started telling this extravagant story about how he recently moved here from Poland and his family is still over there.  He is a student at Truman College and just got a job somewhere in the suburbs.  His car got towed and to get it back would cost $200 and he only had $180.  He needed his car to get to work that afternoon and his boss said that if he was late then he was fired.  He also started crying and going on and on.
 
Then yesterday I was at Jewel and the same guy was in the parking lot telling the same story to some woman.  I am pretty sure that she gave him some money too.  I wanted to let you know about this because this guy is a good actor and the story is somewhat believable and I don't want people to fall to the scam."

18 comments:

  1. poor guy, getting his car towed twice in about a month.

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  2. Years ago (and in another country) there was a guy who would hang around my bus stop telling people he needed money for gas to get his pregnant wife to a hospital. After meeting him a few times I took to walking over to him whenever I saw him talking to other people at the stop. It only took me a few times of asking him how the baby was doing after his ordeal from the week before. I assume he found another bus stop.

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  3. I have seen plenty of these guys all over the city and women with babies also can sing a good tune when they pinch them to scream and cry saying they have had nothing to eat for 3 days and need some money for food. In this ecomony people will be trying hard to con you out of money. Be on guard.

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  4. Don't know HOW he could get his car towed, since all Truman students, staff, and faculty get *FREE FREE FREE* parking in that great parking deck we paid for with TIF money (in exchange, the neighborhood got a "pay-to-park" invitation during school hours only, and a great view of the building's backside--which faces the street--while the building bustles with shiny new meeting rooms, testing centers, and un-used bike racks that can't be seen. Of course, all that activity CAN be seen if you're on-campus...or if you pick your way around the building (with all the kids and little old ladies) through the mud puddles and wasteland to get to the Wilson Red Line stop or Target or Aldi's or the Alderman's office. But back to the subject at hand....

    It's great to be sharing these con stories...they pop up everywhere, and they prey upon the compassionate. Twenty years ago, I got stopped by a woman on a Loop sidewalk, who told me about driving over from Indiana, running out of gas on the Kennedy, and having no money for gas to get home. I gave her $5 and wished her well. A few months later, I walked past a coat-and-tie at the same location, and heard the same exact story being recounted to him by the same exact woman! When I walked by through a few minutes later, she caught me and repeated the story...to which I replied, "Sweetheart, you told me this before. I suggest that you either fill up your tank before you leave Indiana, or stay there if you don't have money to make it back to Hoosier-Land." She cussed a blue streak and ran off, never to be seen again. Try that approach...it works.

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  5. I had the same guy come up to me as I was working on my yard two-three months ago on Malden. Same story.

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  6. I can only guess the people being scammed are new arrivals to Uptown or a major city for that matter.

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  7. Seriously, call 911 if he approaches you. He's committing fraud. God only knows how many people he's conned.

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  8. There's once scam a co-worker of mine nearly fell for. If you work downtown and have an office badge you wear on a lanyard or clip to your belt, you may have someone come up to you holding a FED Ex or DHL envelope. He will call you by name (because he's seen your name on your badge). The person will say they are "John" or some other common name and he works in the mailroom. You'll be unsure, because the mailroom guys are vaguely familiar. He'll wave around the envelopes and give you the story about how he was to meet his pregnant wife and she's gone into labor, but before he could meet her down on the street the car was towed. He's got to get the car back so he can driver her to the hospital in some suburb... you know the rest.

    So keep your work ID turned so people on the street can't see your name.

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  9. Any person with a well-practiced story is probably full of crap.
    An actual, real desperate person would not be so articulate.

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  10. Speaking of money I just ran the numbers for money spent to get elected 46th Ward Aldercritter this year. It minds the boggle.

    We're talking around ONE million dollars.

    Broken down that is over 150,000 premium pints of beer at the local watering hole of your choice.

    Perhaps this con man should consider becoming a political consultant.

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  11. We had a guy in RP that conned people into giving him money because his daughter needed nebulizer medicine for asthma.

    He was all over the place. I stopped a lady from giving him money once. He worked his story up and down glenwood in edgewater too.

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  12. "Any person with a well-practiced story is probably full of crap.
    An actual, real desperate person would not be so articulate."


    Politician?

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  13. I have a relative in a foreign country which recently passed away and left me an inheritance of $905,000.

    However...due to an emergency I am unable to pay the "transfer fee" of $2500 and will forfeit the money if I do not respond very very quickly.

    If you could advance me to sum of the transfer fee I will gratefully share the inheritance with you.

    Sincerely and with warmest of regards.

    Jacque Macrobean

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  14. These people are everywhere. I was stopped by someone in Lincoln Park, River North. It's not unique to Uptown. I guess original ideas are hard to come up with.

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  15. I like the 50-something woman on Michigan Avenue with a laser-printed sign explaining that her wallet was stolen on Amtrak, she needs money, and she has secretarial skills. I've seen her a couple times, so I know the story is bogus. Plus: If you just got stranded in the city, where would you have printed out your sign??

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  16. These people are hilarious. People actually listening to them, having pity and then giving them money is even more hilarious.

    If you are too ignorant/naive not to see these glaringly obvious scams, you deserve to be scammed. It's how you learn...

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  17. This guy is a trip...he has tried updating his "story" but it still involves his car being towed nearby. He pulled me in initially by telling me that everyone kept jumping away from him when he tried to talk to him and he was really a good guy (cue sad face from him and breaking voice). Got as far as "I drive everyday to school because I'm not from this neighborhood" (complete with charade hand movement mimicking driving) before I rolled my eyes and told him I'd heard this story somewhere before...Thanks Uptown Update.

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