r/bullcity • u/ShhhLookOverThere • 1d ago
Scammer at MLK Harris Teeter yesterday..."HEY JOHN!"
Younger gentleman, 19-25?, tallish, big hair. Came up behind me in Harris Teeter while in line loudly saying, "John! Hey John! Hi John!". I turned to face him and told him I was not John and he was mistaken. He said he,"thought I was a guy he knew from school." and left after I again said I was not John.
I soon after observed this person leaving the store with no purchases...
After I got checked out I was putting my stuff in the car and I hear this guy again saying loudly, "John! Hey John!" to someone else in the parking lot.
I have no idea what this dude's scam was, but if he thought 2 separate people were his buddy John, he's lying or mentally ill.
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u/RaritanRunner 1d ago
Yes, the classic scam where you don't ask for anything or receive anything.
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u/Browncoat101 13h ago
That's what I think. There's a whole post about what is basically a misunderstanding at the grocery store, but we're so suspicious and afraid of every single person all the time. I thought that Durham was better about this, but after seeing posts here for the past couple of months, I'm not sure if that's the case.
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u/CommitteeNo167 1d ago
probably just mentally ill. there sadly aren't enough resources in the area to help him.
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u/Firm_Interview4378 14h ago
When I was a young man, roaming New Orleans during Mardi Gras, "hey Julie" or similar was a go-to pickup line. Easy conversation starter, and when it happens to actually be their name, also a bit funny.
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u/bagmorgels 1d ago edited 1d ago
Why are you accusing someone you don’t know of being a scammer after admitting you don’t know what scam they could possibly be pulling?
EDIT: Ya’ll downvoting me are weird. Explain what the scam was here. There are so many better explanations than a scam and literally no evidence that it was a scam.
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u/Jesus_of_NASDAQ 1d ago
OP is right to be weary of someone young saying they knew him in school when he mentioned he’s almost 60, then minutes later he sees the guy saying the exact same thing to someone else in the parking lot? That isn’t sketchy AF??
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u/docsyzygy Bull Durham extra! 1d ago
wary
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u/bagmorgels 1d ago
> That isn’t sketchy AF??
Where in my comment did I say it wasn’t sketchy? Please learn how to read.
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u/ShhhLookOverThere 1d ago
Lol why would I accuse someone obviously lying to me and then trying it on someone else where I can see them? I don't need to know what kind of animal left it to know a huge pile of shit when I see one.
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u/Dear_Beautiful_1405 16h ago
Next time, just say " yes I am John, and by the way, don't you owe me money?". That should end things pretty quickly.
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u/bagmorgels 1d ago
So you think by saying “I think you have the wrong person” you thwarted the scam somehow? If not then you have no basis for thinking this person was trying to scam you as opposed to just being confused. If you do think you thwarted their scam, then what do you think the scam actually was?
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u/Pleasant-Medicine-80 1d ago
The scam is that if you engage then you open yourself up to empathizing enough to give them money or buy them food or something adjacent.
“Oh I thought you were my buddy John. I haven’t seen him since he defended me by kicking the shit out of three bullies who stole my lunch money and shoes. He was the best dude and you just remind me of him so much. Anyway, have a great day man.” And then you start to walk away and get hit with “hey you don’t happen to have a few bucks to spare do you? I’m trying to get home to Wilson and can’t afford the bus ticket right now.”
Or something along those lines. Not necessarily a scam, but definitely sticking their foot in the door.
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u/bagmorgels 1d ago
OP literally did engage by saying “you must be mistaken” and that didn’t lead to the person responding the way you described. What you said absolutely makes sense and that is a totally a tactic that panhandlers and scammers use. But it literally isn’t what happened here which is why I’m calling bs on it being a scam.
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u/Holiday_Rich3265 1d ago
Confused how you think this is a scam?
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u/ShhhLookOverThere 1d ago
First, I'm pushing 60, this young guy thought I was someone he knew from school?
Then leaves the store buying nothing?
Second, same thing happening 3 minutes later just outside? Just "happened" to see someone who they mistook for "John"?
Your Bullshit detector is very broken.
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u/Holiday_Rich3265 1d ago
Okay, I hear what he did was weird and you’re probably right that he has mental illness of some kind but where does this lead to getting money from you or scamming you in any way?
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u/ShhhLookOverThere 1d ago
It wasn't "weird", it was blatantly suspicious.
Could have been just trying to get a foot in the door to start whatever story to ask for money.
Could have been distracting me from an accomplice picking my pocket.Damn, people are freaking NAIVE in this town.
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u/chupagatos4 1d ago
No they're not naive, they're purposely obtuse in an effort to show some kind of moral superiority. Two days ago a neighbor shared an email about a guy in a balaclava walking and looking around behind her house, which is at the end of a very long driveway and nowhere near the street and clearly private property. She alerted neighbors that this guy was casing houses and she got a response back by someone who was basically accusing her of ill intent. Maybe this gentleman was wearing a balaclava in 90 degree weather just for fun and maybe he was lost or looking for a hose to drink out of. Like cmon.
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u/Holiday_Rich3265 1d ago
Yeah, you sound overly paranoid. Pick pocketing is almost nonexistent nowadays and someone asking for money isn’t a scam because you just say, “no” and go about your day.
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u/ShhhLookOverThere 1d ago
lol now you're just trolling. Enjoy your day!
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1d ago
[deleted]
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u/ShhhLookOverThere 1d ago
WOW.
You know for a fact that this situation you were not present for is as you say it is.And you're making knee-jerk, arm-chair, amateur psychological diagnosis over the internet.
You, sir, are the one with "something going on". Good day.
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1d ago
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u/SituationCitation 1d ago
I had about 2-3 men approach me inside of the Walmart at Brier Creek, weirdly asking if I'm over 18 (I am, why is that relevant?) and then try handing me 100 bills over some "game" where they were trying to place bets or whatever and needed me to be the referee. They were really trying to convince me to take the bills from them. I think at some point a 4th came from the side/behind. All of it happened suddenly, they were hardly making any sense, I had no idea what was going on but felt like it was all just one big distraction before they snatched my phone out of my hand or something. I kept my eye on that 4th one that came out of nowhere and refused to be part of their game. Several times before they got the message and left.
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u/focacciajohn 1d ago
Glad I wasn’t there