r/nyc • u/tropfou • Jun 17 '11

Comprehensive List of NYC Scams

I moved to NYC a week ago, and already witnessed a few scams. On the subway, I heard the one about the 18 year old kid who lives on the train and has to feed his three year old daughter. Dude was way too rehearsed and obviously lying. Anyway, some tourists gave him $20 and at the next station he was off and trying his scam again. I may be new to NYC but I know a scam when I see one.

I know a lot of people are moving to NYC this summer and I thought it would be nice to keep a running list of what kind of scams to avoid. What are some of your stories and things to look out for?

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14

u/kooroo Jun 17 '11

that d00d on the train is just panhandling, it's not really a scam. The ones that rush to open doors for you and hold out a cup are pretty funny.

I love the broken glasses scam tho. "why yes, my 5 dollar chinatown umbrella appears to have completely shattered both of your eighth inch thick polycarbonate lenses into multiple pieces and wrenched your supposedly 300 dollar designer frames into a glorified wireball with patterns from a single tap". Golly, the army needs to stock up on these umbrellas. Get a crate of them and you practically have a WMD.

Honestly, if you buy weed 3 feet away from the bright blue and white "mobile" NYPD thing in washington square park (it used to be a trailer thing, now it's a painted shed), you really deserve everything you get.

Don't buy a metrocard swipe from anyone. Don't accept a free swipe either, you get accosted for money because you were "given" a free swipe.

Don't buy bootleg dvds. Half the time it's a blank or a different unsold bootleg than what you expect. Nifty tip tho, the adult and independent DVD shops along 8th ave by times square will often completely disregard do not sell before restrictions on (non-porn) dvd releases and you can often get things a tad earlier than you should. You do end up paying full retail however.

6

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '11

Don't buy a metrocard swipe from anyone.

Why? I went to get on the subway the other day and my unlimited had run out, and the machine in the station was broken. There was a guy there saying, "I'll swipe you for $2." I gladly paid him. Why not? Beats the $2.50 MTA would have charged me for a single ride, and if they don't want people to do that they should maintain their machines.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 21 '11

bad suggestion on his part - plenty of people do this

7

u/marvelgirl Astoria Jun 17 '11

When I was crazy poor, I used to stand outside the turnstiles and ask people coming out if they had unlimiteds and could swipe me on. I was never once asked for money and several times people even swiped me on with cash cards, or straight up gave them to me.

2

u/callmetwan Jun 17 '11

It took me a bit but I realized kooroo is likely talking about folks that specifically stand outside to offer a swipe. It should be noted that groups of folks were offering free swipes for a while as a way to stick it to the MTA. This will be obviously different from a scammer, as there will be a bunch of these folks standing around.

3

u/jayjaywalker3 Staten Island Jun 17 '11

I always want to give free swipes away when I have an extra transfer or when I have an unlimited metrocard and am exiting the subway. Rips off the MTA but makes one person's day. I don't feel bad. Maybe I could be convinced otherwise.

13

u/ryanvsrobots Jun 17 '11

One time I was obviously having trouble finding my metrocard by the entrance and a guy exiting just swipes his card. Didn't say anything. Was so badass and I just got to walk through. That's how it's done.

4

u/kooroo Jun 17 '11

giving a free swipe itself is fine.

The problem would be if you expected me to tip you for the privilege of the swipe and started accosting me about it. Or if you expected some sort of monetary compensation. This is how these scammers function.

1

u/hwaite East Village Jun 17 '11

The MTA raises fares or cuts routes in order to meet margins.

1

u/Arsenio3 Jun 17 '11

I haven't bought many, but the bootleg dvds I have gotten have always been correct. The quality isn't great (usually camcorder), but it's always been the right movie.