Marjorie reports that on Thursday afternoon a man came to her door needing $20.
“It was to call a tow truck for an accident his wife was in,” Marjorie said. She described him as 40-ish, white, husky and clean-shaven with glasses and Bermuda shorts.
“This guy walked right into my living room,” she said. “I told him I was going to call the police – they’re going to help you – and I reached for the phone and he ran so fast.”
This scam occurred around 3 p.m. near Northeast 86th Street and 17th Avenue Northeast. The man claimed to be a neighbor, but Marjorie lives in a block watch area and knows her neighbors.
Marjorie says other neighbors reported a suspicious white van in the area.
For advice from the police on what to do when someone knocks on your door, click here.
A good warning those of you who are new to dwelling in “the city,” but a bit tiresome of an announcement to those of us who’ve lived here for more than a year.
Duh.
The old “I have had a disaster and need your help so give me money” gambit again …
Has not changed since I was a kid …
Now the really sad thing is that this kind of crap could easily make us skeptical to give help to someone who really DOES need it … and is not skamming us ….
So as usual, watch out for your own safety first, and then evaluate the nature of someone’s presentation and statements with a good critical and analytical eye … and ONLY if everything makes sense … and IF and ONLY IF you can offer help without risk to yourself or family … they do so …
99 percent of these kinds of requests are skams.
Still, I over the years I have found people on my doorstep I did not know that were injured, nice folks who were hungry and wanted to work to earn a meal, and a variety of other events.
As civilized people and human beings we need to help where we can, but not be fools either …
OK, I understand now. Thanks, Mike. And thanks for posting the warning.
Thanks, G-Pod. I made it “scammers” to avoid confusion. This one’s white and says his name is Charlie. -Maple Leaf Life.
The title states Door-to-door scammer back in Maple Leaf. When was he here before this latest episode? There is a link via “scam” that states the man known as the “locksmith scammer” is described as being between 5’6″ and 6′ tall, of slight build, African American, and balding. But the posting here states “40-ish, white, husky and clean-shaven with glasses.
I wish this jerkoff would come to my door.. He would wish he hadn’t..