Con man working in Dublin

brennan1979

Fuinseog wrote: »

oh yeah, I met him a year back on Amiens Street. the opening gambit was "I know you are Irish and I need your help" and it continued as you described. he had grey hair and age was the same. Do not remember a moustache though.

Quite embarassed to say this but I was caught by this same guy too about two or three years ago. It was just off Infirmary Road and he ran up to me very agitated asking was I Irish because everyone he stopped couldn't speak English. He said his partner had been in a very bad accident and he had to get a taxi to Beaumont and he had no money on him. I thought about it and he seemed genuine. All my common sense was telling me to walk away but I thought he was telling the truth and I couldn't just turn my back on someone in this situation.

Well I wish I had and I learned a lesson. A nasty piece of work.

John_Rambo

brennan1979 wrote: »

All my common sense was telling me to walk away but I thought he was telling the truth

He could have been (as in, you weren't to know he was a scammer). You're a good person, don't berate yourself for that, it's just a shame people are not only robbing money, but the trust of kind hearted individuals that are willing to help out distressed fellow humans.

the_syco

fryup wrote: »

Its a pretty sad and pathetic way to go through life don't you think

I'd say most of them develop the trick in their late teens, and find that they can get enough for a few tins and some food; and they never see the point in changing it.

Fighting Irish wrote: »

you can't warn people about every con going

Those who get conned often don't know they've gotten conned, and feel good for the rest of the day thinking they helped their fellow man. These people don't learn.

=-=

People have tried the laptop scam, the italian jacket scam, and a few others. Listen, nod, and say "no thanks". If you want to prevent them from scamming someone, waste their time :P

fryup

the_syco wrote: »

I'd say most of them develop the trick in their late teens, and find that they can get enough for a few tins and some food; and they never see the point in changing it.

can they not get the dole? be less demeaning than doing this

Fuinseog

there are a lot of different cons out there, the good looking bird is a good one. I remember in Budapest my friend and I were approached by two good looking women who suggested we go into a certain pub for a drink. it had to be this pub. as a guy you are more likely to be sucked in beauty. we went along but before ordering we took a quick look at the prices and it would have worked out at 30 euro for four cokes. she was working for the pub.

Jay D

What people in this thread require is a bottle of the good stuff

Jay D

Fuinseog wrote: »

there are a lot of different cons out there, the good looking bird is a good one. I remember in Budapest my friend and I were approached by two good looking women who suggested we go into a certain pub for a drink. it had to be this pub. as a guy you are more likely to be sucked in beauty. we went along but before ordering we took a quick look at the prices and it would have worked out at 30 euro for four cokes. she was working for the pub.

Remember in Krakow there were warnings about the likes of these, what was their nickname again, little angels or something. At least you sussed it.

psychward

Jay D wrote: »

Remember in Krakow there were warnings about the likes of these, what was their nickname again, little angels or something. At least you sussed it.

I found Riga, Latvia was a 100 times worse. 99 out of a 100 women in the bars there would be working for the bar and nobody not the barman or the lady would ever admit to be working.

breadandjam

The other day an Italian(He said) guy in a car stopped to ask me for directions to the M50 and then said he worked for Armani, was on his way to Rosslare but had a few suits in my size that he could sell me. As I haven't a cent it didn't go any further but I seem to remember reading about something similar here on boards- it was some sort of scam but I can't remember the details.

Jay D

breadandjam wrote: »

The other day an Italian(He said) guy in a car stopped to ask me for directions to the M50 and then said he worked for Armani, was on his way to Rosslare but had a few suits in my size that he could sell me. As I haven't a cent it didn't go any further but I seem to remember reading about something similar here on boards- it was some sort of scam but I can't remember the details.

Well put simply the suits are not Armani, fakes, not even good fakes btw. Was 2008 I recall he was going to the airport and couldn't carry them, too much baggage.

Larianne

Fuinseog wrote: »

the opening gambit was "I know you are Irish and I need your help"

About a year ago, a young enough lad, in his twenties stopped me on Pearse Street and asked me this and then went on about how he locked his keys in his car and needed money for a bus home. Seemed very odd. Said I didn't have any change on me.

Just thought it was odd at the time but I think these con artists use the "Are you Irish?" question to break down your barriers so you think you're helping a fellow Irish person or something? I dunno..

psychward

breadandjam wrote: »

The other day an Italian(He said) guy in a car stopped to ask me for directions to the M50 and then said he worked for Armani, was on his way to Rosslare but had a few suits in my size that he could sell me. As I haven't a cent it didn't go any further but I seem to remember reading about something similar here on boards- it was some sort of scam but I can't remember the details.

That sounds almost exactly like what happened to me . I was asked for directions to the M50 which is always weird since the m50 in itself isn't a destination. Next time smile and nod and look stupid while you note the car reg number and give it to the guards
In my case he had a passenger with him in the car.

vampire of kilmainham

the way it is out there is you cant trust anyone i certinley dont a lot of these guys are con men operating all kinds of scams when someone trys to engage me in any way i just keep going if anyone thinks thats unchristian i dont care i wont be taken for a ride by any of those low life fcuks

vampire of kilmainham

Fuinseog wrote: »

wasnt sure. begging is not illegal, though the guards may move them on.

i have news for you begging is illigal

charlemont

There's a Dublin bloke in Cork who always uses the excuse that his friends brought him here from Dublin for a stag party and left him with no ticket home, Cork people are used to him at this stage but if you didn't know him he can be very convincing. He operates around MaCurtain St, Bus Station and Kent Station.

Jay D

vampire of kilmainham wrote: »

the way it is out there is you cant trust anyone i certinley dont a lot of these guys are con men operating all kinds of scams when someone trys to engage me in any way i just keep going if anyone thinks thats unchristian i dont care i wont be taken for a ride by any of those low life fcuks

ha

haha

vampire of kilmainham

just keep going when these people approach dont give them any time at all even if their heads are hanging off keep moving it's the only way

breadandjam

It seems like a lot of trouble to go to to drive around looking for likely marks to sell suits to:) I wonder what kind of a success rate he has?

vampire of kilmainham wrote: »

the way it is out there is you cant trust anyone i certinley dont a lot of these guys are con men operating all kinds of scams when someone trys to engage me in any way i just keep going if anyone thinks thats unchristian i dont care i wont be taken for a ride by any of those low life fcuks

I feel sorry for you. Although I never give money to anyone I frequently give people directions, the time etc. I have even stopped to ask puzzled looking tourists if they are lost and................. I'm not even a christian

the_syco

fryup wrote: »

can they not get the dole? be less demeaning than doing this

They probably do, and stay in a house as their "income" isn't taxed, and thus can't be monitored. But I'd say they still do it. Some people may get a "good will high" from helping the con-man out. The con-man would probably get a high every time he scams someone, as well as the cash.

Mr Simpson

vampire of kilmainham wrote: »

i have news for you begging is illigal

Begging in itself isn't illegal, begging beside an atm, and near a business where you may put off customers is. Aggresive begging is also illegal.

tikdoff

You think a couple of quid for a taxi is bad... I had a single bed on the freebies and I took a call off a man called Kevin to say his friend was setting up a Home for the needy to help them get back on their feet. I said well if thats the case I might have more stuff to help them out. I ended up giving th a CD player, bed linen, a hoover, books, playstation 2, chest of drawers, picture and bag of clothes originally for SVP and memeory foam pillow donated by somebody else.
So I had the big pile of bits and pieces waiting for them in the sitting room and they were running well past their agreed time so I rang and "Kevin" was apologetic. While I was on the phone I said they didnt have to take the lot and I didnt want to them to think I was using them to think I was using there new house for the needy as a way to get rid of junk..they said one mans junk is anothers treasure.
Anyway they arrived late, one was small (5'5" approx, dark grey hair), stocky with a tattoo visible on one hand with a northern accent (Kevin) and said he was from the donegal/ N.I boarder and the other from dunleer. They were driving a small white Peugeot/ Berlingo van or something similar. The other man was about 5'9 with white grey hair and said it was himself and the wife setting up the house for the down and out as they felt it was needed. Kevin said he had a breakers yard up in donegal.
When the van was loaded my girlfriend arrived in from work and as I had told her the situation on the phone before she arrived, we had them in for a cup of tea because they seemed to be really genuine.
The Dunleer man was drinkin his own tea "redbush", while Kevin had regular tea with "plenty of cow and two sugars". So over tea we heard a ittle bit about the charity shop but Kevin said well one good turn deserves another and he had a contact in UK that dealt in repossessed cars and he could get me a good price on the latest model of my car for a rock bottom price. We thought we had his full name and address but because of the short time frame I didnt check them out. It was definitely too good to be true and call me gullable but he really had all the answers. I said if he could come up with what he said Id pay the deposit to get it the car on the ferry.
The next day he said there was a few there and take my pick of colour. So he told me I had to meet him at Kellys Timber yard in Ashbourne with €300 deposit so like a fool I did. They met me in a silver focus hatch back, trailer attached and more beds in it.
What I dont understand is why if he had the money he would string me along that evening and say the car was on the ferry and that he'd take the spare cooker off me that I had for their "good cause" and then the next day I had been talking to him he was on the way to collect the car and I was to be worrying about anything. He gave me what he called a query reg for the car and I changed my insurance over. I doubt there is even such thing, he explained it was for repo cars.
I waited eagerly but then it turned in dissapointment when I tried ring and I got cut off and the phone was off since. Maybe I am too trusting but its not the money that bugs me its the fact I believed the good cause story and got loads of stuff together for them and how they say in my house drinking tea. Just wanted to warn others about the freebies section of websites and who you could be having in your house.

GoldenTickets

tikdoff wrote: »

You think a couple of quid for a taxi is bad... I had a single bed on the freebies and I took a call off a man called Kevin to say his friend was setting up a Home for the needy to help them get back on their feet. I said well if thats the case I might have more stuff to help them out. I ended up giving th a CD player, bed linen, a hoover, books, playstation 2, chest of drawers, picture and bag of clothes originally for SVP and memeory foam pillow donated by somebody else.
So I had the big pile of bits and pieces waiting for them in the sitting room and they were running well past their agreed time so I rang and "Kevin" was apologetic. While I was on the phone I said they didnt have to take the lot and I didnt want to them to think I was using them to think I was using there new house for the needy as a way to get rid of junk..they said one mans junk is anothers treasure.
Anyway they arrived late, one was small (5'5" approx, dark grey hair), stocky with a tattoo visible on one hand with a northern accent (Kevin) and said he was from the donegal/ N.I boarder and the other from dunleer. They were driving a small white Peugeot/ Berlingo van or something similar. The other man was about 5'9 with white grey hair and said it was himself and the wife setting up the house for the down and out as they felt it was needed. Kevin said he had a breakers yard up in donegal.
When the van was loaded my girlfriend arrived in from work and as I had told her the situation on the phone before she arrived, we had them in for a cup of tea because they seemed to be really genuine.
The Dunleer man was drinkin his own tea "redbush", while Kevin had regular tea with "plenty of cow and two sugars". So over tea we heard a ittle bit about the charity shop but Kevin said well one good turn deserves another and he had a contact in UK that dealt in repossessed cars and he could get me a good price on the latest model of my car for a rock bottom price. We thought we had his full name and address but because of the short time frame I didnt check them out. It was definitely too good to be true and call me gullable but he really had all the answers. I said if he could come up with what he said Id pay the deposit to get it the car on the ferry.
The next day he said there was a few there and take my pick of colour. So he told me I had to meet him at Kellys Timber yard in Ashbourne with €300 deposit so like a fool I did. They met me in a silver focus hatch back, trailer attached and more beds in it.
What I dont understand is why if he had the money he would string me along that evening and say the car was on the ferry and that he'd take the spare cooker off me that I had for their "good cause" and then the next day I had been talking to him he was on the way to collect the car and I was to be worrying about anything. He gave me what he called a query reg for the car and I changed my insurance over. I doubt there is even such thing, he explained it was for repo cars.
I waited eagerly but then it turned in dissapointment when I tried ring and I got cut off and the phone was off since. Maybe I am too trusting but its not the money that bugs me its the fact I believed the good cause story and got loads of stuff together for them and how they say in my house drinking tea. Just wanted to warn others about the freebies section of websites and who you could be having in your house.

Woah! I'm sorry to hear you got scammed there, but to be honest you sound like a scammers dream. I can't believe anyone would go along with all of that in this day and age. Being trusting is one thing, but common sense has to come into play at some stage. I'd say those guys couldn't believe their luck at meeting you. Still though, fair play for trying to warn others and stop them from being suckered like this. And I'm guessing you've learned a valuable lesson from all this too which is no bad thing.

Rasmus

Fuinseog wrote: »

maybe off topic, but I would like an opinion on this.Ten years ago I was in Germany near the Polish border. I had just come away from an ATM. A Polish student approached me. he looked respectable enough. he was in Germany on a day trip and his rucksack had been stolen. He had to be back back home by morning as he had an important uni exam. he desperately needed the train fare, about 30 euro. I could even have photocopy of his passport. I commiserated with him but did not give him money. was this the right thing to do?

Trains in Poland are inexpensive, and even more so 10 years ago. Near the Polish border in Germany, most of the time it's the best value to take it a couple of stops over the border and change to a local train (cheaper). No train is going to cost 30 euro within 'day trip' distance. I'd wonder why 1. he had a copy of his passport but no a return ticket on him 2. why he's on a day trip if the exam is so important tomorrow etc.
In saying that, these things happen. Something similar happened to me when I was a teenager. I got stuck in Poland after getting ripped off in an exchange place and had no money to get a train ticket back home. I asked some passerbys but they thought I was a scammer. This was stupidity on my part however not crime!

JohnnyBoy1970

tikdoff wrote: »

You think a couple of quid for a taxi is bad... I had a single bed on the freebies and I took a call off a man called Kevin to say his friend was setting up a Home for the needy to help them get back on their feet. I said well if thats the case I might have more stuff to help them out. I ended up giving th a CD player, bed linen, a hoover, books, playstation 2, chest of drawers, picture and bag of clothes originally for SVP and memeory foam pillow donated by somebody else.
So I had the big pile of bits and pieces waiting for them in the sitting room and they were running well past their agreed time so I rang and "Kevin" was apologetic. While I was on the phone I said they didnt have to take the lot and I didnt want to them to think I was using them to think I was using there new house for the needy as a way to get rid of junk..they said one mans junk is anothers treasure.
Anyway they arrived late, one was small (5'5" approx, dark grey hair), stocky with a tattoo visible on one hand with a northern accent (Kevin) and said he was from the donegal/ N.I boarder and the other from dunleer. They were driving a small white Peugeot/ Berlingo van or something similar. The other man was about 5'9 with white grey hair and said it was himself and the wife setting up the house for the down and out as they felt it was needed. Kevin said he had a breakers yard up in donegal.
When the van was loaded my girlfriend arrived in from work and as I had told her the situation on the phone before she arrived, we had them in for a cup of tea because they seemed to be really genuine.
The Dunleer man was drinkin his own tea "redbush", while Kevin had regular tea with "plenty of cow and two sugars". So over tea we heard a ittle bit about the charity shop but Kevin said well one good turn deserves another and he had a contact in UK that dealt in repossessed cars and he could get me a good price on the latest model of my car for a rock bottom price. We thought we had his full name and address but because of the short time frame I didnt check them out. It was definitely too good to be true and call me gullable but he really had all the answers. I said if he could come up with what he said Id pay the deposit to get it the car on the ferry.
The next day he said there was a few there and take my pick of colour. So he told me I had to meet him at Kellys Timber yard in Ashbourne with €300 deposit so like a fool I did. They met me in a silver focus hatch back, trailer attached and more beds in it.
What I dont understand is why if he had the money he would string me along that evening and say the car was on the ferry and that he'd take the spare cooker off me that I had for their "good cause" and then the next day I had been talking to him he was on the way to collect the car and I was to be worrying about anything. He gave me what he called a query reg for the car and I changed my insurance over. I doubt there is even such thing, he explained it was for repo cars.
I waited eagerly but then it turned in dissapointment when I tried ring and I got cut off and the phone was off since. Maybe I am too trusting but its not the money that bugs me its the fact I believed the good cause story and got loads of stuff together for them and how they say in my house drinking tea. Just wanted to warn others about the freebies section of websites and who you could be having in your house.

Hi, Just reading your post I have to say I feel for you. It sound like a scam I fell for but not only did I loose my "deposit" but there was credit cards got in my name and a lot of money was run up in my name causing me a lot of hassle and court appearances. So at least your not as stupid as me giving out my PPS number and address I learned my lesson the hard way.

tikdoff

crap...i did give out pps number and address, thats what you have to do to import the cars and i fell right into the trap, can i stop this from worsening

FreudianSlippers

tikdoff wrote: »

crap...i did give out pps number and address, thats what you have to do to import the cars and i fell right into the trap, can i stop this from worsening

Please tell me you're taking this piss. Your whole story was a bit tl;dr but what on earth reason would you need to give your PPS number to buy a car?

tikdoff

because it was meant to be a uk import and i imported one myself before and you need it for customs..this guy had all the answers. my girlfriend even thought they were genuine too, I wish i was taking the piss

aphex™

You can see if people are applying for loans in your name if you query www.icb.ie

It shows what financial institutions have applied to have a 'look' at your rating, implying that loan may have been applied for in your name with that institution.

tikdoff

thanks, about to now....really apprecaite this...can i stop it from escalating

tikdoff

what section do i go to pls, heads in a muddle