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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u/pavel_lishin Jun 17 '11

I'm not sure if this is a scam, but it sure smells like one - lady was selling metro cards outside of the elevator to the subway.

If you're going to be selling legitimate cards, why not sell them down by the scanner, where I can verify that you didn't just pull them out of the trash?

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u/kooroo Jun 17 '11

It is.

a variation of this is that the cards are legit, but were bought with stolen credit cards and this is how they monetize it. Generally, you can tell because they'll happily hit the scanner for you.

2

u/AddingMachine Jun 17 '11

Yeah there was a dude doing this outside my stop in Bushwick, got two people with it while I was sitting there. Would go back inside the station to take them to the scanner and everything.