Con men and sales scams

[BC]

Yesterday some guy was driving a truck with a freezer in back through my neighborhood trying to sell frozen meat. He tried to sell some to my wife, saying he had extras from a previous delivery and was just going to sell it "cheap." The thing was, his prices weren't so cheap. He actually had my wife going for a while. What a total scammer! My guess is he was either selling spoiled, recalled or substandard meat. I put a call in to the local police station to alert them, but my guess is he won't come around again anytime soon.

I've had similar experiences being approached by guys driving around in cargo vans selling stereo speakers in the past. Same old story.

Anyone elso care to share their experiences with these kind confidence men/women?

[jest]

Yesterday some guy was driving a truck with a freezer in back through my neighborhood trying to sell frozen meat. He tried to sell some to my wife, saying he had extras from a previous delivery and was just going to sell it "cheap." The thing was, his prices weren't so cheap. He actually had my wife going for a while. What a total scammer! My guess is he was either selling spoiled, recalled or substandard meat. I put a call in to the local police station to alert them, but my guess is he won't come around again anytime soon.

I've had similar experiences being approached by guys driving around in cargo vans selling stereo speakers in the past. Same old story.

Anyone elso care to share their experiences with these kind confidence men/women?

I'm a telemarketer.

[Peter Nicholson]

Had it happen in London a few years ago - hi-fi equipment, that one was.

Regards

[MikeWilliams]

Yep, hifi speakers, laptops, mobile phones, you name it. It really sfuks me off. Most recently it was a kid on a mountain bike.

Him: Alright fella, wanna buy a bike
Me: where did you nick it from
Him: it's not nicked
Me: so why are you trying to sell it to complete strangers in the middle of the street?
Him: I just need the money. It's not nicked! (both said over his shoulder as he pedals off at speed)

One of these days, someone is going to offer me something that actually belongs to me. Then there'll be bloodshed.

[william northcote]

Before moving to where I lived now, the area I lived in had a little black market thing going on. New cinema releases on video courtesy of the local cinema and their lacklustre security. Joe Bloggs clothing and Mr. Spliffy clothing was rampant. I was even given a free New Zeland Rugby shirt (not original, copied and back of lorry job), but it was good to wear in winter. Most of it came from the A1/M62 roundabout services at the bottom of the estate I lived in. So even CB radio equipment, like £50 antennas were on sale for £5, if you did not ask.

[DYUSAN]

Two years ago it was large expensive speakers sold out of van. They would show you one then you would pay get your speaker in a box only to find out when you opened the box there were cheap speakers or just a box fille with other thing to give the box some weight. The police around here had trouble catching them because they were mobile. Some of our students that are police said that they had sold the boxes to a local gang and they were hunting them. Lucky for them the police caught them.

[Bill Gallant]

We get people showing up to work wanting to know if we need some asphalt, as they have extra from another job down the street. More then likely not criminal, but just creative marketing.

[Duff]

We get a guy who sells meat out of a freezer truck everyonce in a while. One of our neighbors forgets that they order stuff and then go out of town. He knows if he offeres it at a decent price we will buy it. It's very good meat too.

Almost every time I go to the mall I get stopped by people selling really expensive stuff for really cheap out of the back of a truck or van. I've never really stuck around to see if security follows up on my complaints.

I must say that one of the people seemed to be legit. He was a delivery truck driver and due to construction he couldn't get to the expressway from the driving directions. He asked me for directions so I helped him and he said that his company kept a small stock of extras in case something breaks during the delivery. They were also told they could sell some of the stuff for their price to people who helped them. I left with a bunch of nice cologne for really cheap. Just for grins I went into the store that he said he was delivering to and his story checked out.

[Onmitsu]

Here's one. I've had it happen to me 4 times from 4 different people, no lie.

I used to live in an apartment building that had a couple of vacant apartments on the bottom floor. You could tell that they were empty because all of the window blinds were kept open. Here's the scam:

Some guy comes to the door and says that he's going to be my new neighbor.
Then he asks me for 20 bucks for gas so that he can rescue his stranded girlfriend/wife who has broken down/run out gas enroute to their new place.
The guy always promises to pay me back that evening, etc, etc.

I always politely send the strangers away empty handed but then, lo and behold, no new neighbors.

As I said before I've had this happen on four different occasions over the course of 2-3 years by different men. All have been dressed fairly well. What makes this scam especially heinous is that there is always a vacant apartment making the story almost believable. I always asks lots of questions in these situations and can usually read a persons honesty. So far I've been lucky.

[Friday]

I know a few people who have been approached by a guy selling a great laptop (fantastic/near new spec for quick sale at €300-400) in the carpark of a shopping center near to where I work. Different people have been approached on different occasions so it's obviously something this guy does on a fairly regular basis.
One guy in work managed to haggle him down to €200. The guy puts the laptop in a carry case while my workmate takes the €200 out of his wallet. They make the exchange and after the guy has driven off my workmate opens the carry case to gaze proudly upon his newly acquired four liters of milk.

[Shitoryu Dude]

Around here it is gypsies selling "home repairs" that prey upon the elderly. Scum of the Earth, all of them.

[rupert]

I know a few people who have been approached by a guy selling a great laptop (fantastic/near new spec for quick sale at €300-400) in the carpark of a shopping center near to where I work. Different people have been approached on different occasions so it's obviously something this guy does on a fairly regular basis.
One guy in work managed to haggle him down to €200. The guy puts the laptop in a carry case while my workmate takes the €200 out of his wallet. They make the exchange and after the guy has driven off my workmate opens the carry case to gaze proudly upon his newly acquired four liters of milk.

That is pure art - he'd make a good martial artist.

But my question is this: What did he do with the milk? If he put it in a case and 'sold' it to the next guy, it might explain why more than a few people you know have been approached by a guy selling a great laptop ...

[Friday]

But my question is this: What did he do with the milk? If he put it in a case and 'sold' it to the next guy, it might explain why more than a few people you know have been approached by a guy selling a great laptop ...

As it happens he dumped the milk (It was actually a very good Laptop carry case so he kept it) as he assumed it would be sour.

On a side note, I think it would be kinda cool if my workmate did the same thing to someone else who did the same thing to some one else who did the same thing...... and on and on with the same carry case and four liters of milk. All the while being unable to leave the carpark while being the designated bearer of the milk. Very Samuel Beckett ;0)