Scam (again)

[BeachLife]

We have all heard of this one, but some guests of one of my neighbours who are new to the area fell for it

A chap approached them while they were sitting in the garden saying he had been robbed of his wallet and keys and needed to change the locks on his house.

He only had a certain amount of money on him which wasn't enough to pay the locksmith until he got new cards the following day  All of his ID was gone but he would get it sorted and return the small amount he needed to borrow the next day  (I am shoortcutting a long tale of woe he gave them here)

So, he convincingly asked for €55 which they naively gave him fully expecting him to turn up the next day - which of course he didnt,

Now, I have heard of this fella doing this for years on teh Torre forum but not in GA - you would have thought he would have been nicked by now,

He is smartly dressed - speaks vety good english with a Dutch accent

[Lesue]

I am reliably informed that this piece of **** is now operating again and has conned people on the Puerto Marino urbanisation. Please be careful and don´t be fooled by him. If this con artist tries it on with you tell him to **** off, and get a photo of him if you can.

[BeachLife]

I'm amazed that this is still going on Les.

I cant believe that its the same person (Dutch guy) as years ago but the MO is identical. He must be very smart not to have been nabbed after all this time.

On a similar vein - are those charity collectors that come around genuine ?  I always say no - but do feel a bit guilty in case I have it wrong

[John H]

How many times has he been reported to the police Rich?
If I was here on holiday would I want to spend a few hours finding a police station, wonder how I would get over the language barrier, make a statement etc all for the sake of me being daft enough to fall for a €50 con trick.
No I wouldn't, I'd rather be off to the beach or heading on my day out.
I wouldn't have thought it was a top priority case for the police either.
It's what makes it a good con trick, from the Dutch guys point of view
Charity man, con man I reckon and have for years.
There's one guy, claims he collects for a children's home......guaranteed to pull the heart strings, kids or animals, starts off with a friendly chat about the weather or something then he kicks into action
He produces some printed form of ID you could knock up in 5 minutes on your computer, has a list, hand written showing that Maria who is Spanish donated €30, Klaus who is German donated €50, Sandra who is Norwegian donated €40.........so come on, my words not his, are you going to donate to keep the flag flying!!
He always knows someone on the community as well, adds to the credence of being legit.
If you think about it not too far removed from the way the "locked out" guy operates.
Then there's always the waitresses in the bars who try and short change you..........the worlds full of people trying to make a buck

Regards all

John


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[Corporal Jones]

I agree John most people in GA are honest and having experienced both these scams over the years your radar doesnt initially kick in shouting scam. Eventually the penny drops but your sometimes left wondering was it a genuine needy charity or a cracking deal from iberdrola that youve missed out on. As for bar restaurant staff again i cant recall ever having too much change on the bill always if theres an error its short hmmm and when challenged very little arguing from staff just the oh silly me it was a 20 not a 10 you gave me wasnt it.Trust no one !

[Lesue]

What an incredible coincidence. After my posting yesterday about the "Locksmith" scammer I took a walk to the bins by the Hollywood to dump my waste bags in the bin. Walking back to my house through the Mercadona car park I passed a small silver car parked in the car park and close to the community gate where my house is. As I reached my gate a voice behind me shouted "Excuse me, do you speak English ?". I turned around and saw a man getting out of a small silver car and I shouted back "Yes, I do". He then said "I am in trouble, I need some fuel for the car and I really need your help". I replied "is that so, well I am about to call the police", he said "why ??" and I replied "because I want to". I went through the gate and hurried to my house, picked up my camera and hurried back to the gate, all of which must have taken no more than 3/4 minutes. Of course he was no longer there and his car must have miraculously filled with fuel and drove off with him inside it. He is quite tall, dark hair and was casually dressed with his sunglasses perched on the top of his head, that´s the best description I can give as it all happened so fast. The car was a small silver saloon but I don´t know the make or model. Please be careful, I reckon that this is not the last we will see of this scammer in GA, he will probably use the same "patter" again.

[Paul]

Had a young guy approach me as I was getting into my car last week with the same phrase "Excuse me, do you speak English?" needing money for petrol for his car. This was on Avda Escandinavia close to the municipal office. Spoke very good English, very convincing and could have been genuine but I had my doubts. He returned to his car.