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Con Man

Hi - I read a few weeks back about a guy knocking doors asking for something. Can't recall exactly that story, but I did meet someone today who took me in. A guy knocked on my door this afternoon saying his son had filled up his van with gas instead of diesel and needed to flush the lines...his wife was at work, he didn't have his debit/cards with him etc. Then he told me he lived a few doors down. He's woken me up from a nap so I was reeled in by his story and gave him $20. I then realized the house he said he lived in was a house I know the owners of! Of course in my 'woken up' state it didn't hit me til later. Beware of a guy knocking on your door with this story! Hit the Greenwood/Queen area today.

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Permalink Reply by Egg Flik on October 16, 2009 at 9:19am

Ask to take a picture of him if you give him anything. He will refuse.

Actually, I have a sign on my door saying "no junk mail, no soliciting, etc.". I don't like answering my door, and everybody I know knows it, so they call first.

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Permalink Reply by GreenwoodGerrard on October 20, 2009 at 3:06pm

This guy first came to my attention on Ivy Avenue in 2003! He said the same thing but embellished further by explaining that his wife was an ER nurse and he couldn't reach her at work, in surgery. He said that there were cases of chardonnay in his van and he would gladly hand one over for some $$ help. He has since been to the homes of many of our friends and neighbours.

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Permalink Reply by Egg Flik on October 20, 2009 at 3:14pm

Sounds like the cops should be called on this guy, hopefully with a photo.

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Permalink Reply by MamaLim on October 20, 2009 at 7:12pm

This guy came knocking at our door (on Caroline Ave) a few wks ago, maybe even a month ago. It was early on a weekend morning (before 8am?) and it freaked me out, caught me off guard. I had my little baby behind me. Called my husband and he talked to this guy on the porch. He smelled of booze. We said "Sorry, no." His story was: "Not sure if you guys remember me? You gave me a boost last Christmas. I have the white van up the street. I need a few bucks to get some gas in my other van over at Leslie and Eastern. My van is full of booze - chardonnay, whiskey, etc. - I can give you a case if you want..." etc. etc.

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Permalink Reply by Trish Krause on October 22, 2009 at 1:44pm

oh gee... same scenario for us - only it was about 9 years ago -Pape and Dundas area. Sounds like the same guy, same schtick, same kind of timing - we were headed out of the house to do errands early and he caught us at the bottom of our walk. Sadly, I was foolish.....soft hearted.....caught off guard.....whatever - and gave him a $10. But as we went to get in the car.... got that queasy feeling and returned to the house so it wasn't left empty. Haven't thought of it since until this thread started - what a wierd deal. Glad we have a neighborhood forum now to raise the issue.

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Permalink Reply by Egg Flik on October 22, 2009 at 1:45pm

Like I said, all we need is a picture of this guy, and a complaint to police.

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Permalink Reply by Robert J. Hoshowsky on October 27, 2009 at 5:43pm

This is a very popular con. Someone tried pulling this one on me at Yonge and Gerrard a few years ago. He had the hood of his junky old car up, and asked if I could spare $35 so he could get it towed to a garage (if you can FIND a $35 tow in Toronto, good luck!). As usual with this scam, he promised to send me back the money by mail, if I gave him my address. I said I didn't have the money on me, but that I was more than willing to take him to nearby Toronto Police Headquarters at 20 College, where, surely, an officer would be able to assist.

Much to my (lack of) surprise, he slammed the hood of his car, turned the key, and voila! The car started, and he took off.

Friends of mine have falled for this scam, which is repulsive to me, since it takes advantage of our human nature to help others. These scams include the old favourite, someone downtown stopping you, and asking for $45 (or some other odd amount) so "They can get a bus back to Oshawa/Burlington/Hamilton/Thunder Bay, etc." The best thing to do is just walk away.

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Permalink Reply by Egg Flik on October 27, 2009 at 5:46pm

Ah so THAT is how you get your car to work! Mention a free lift to the police! I could have saved much money had I knew that. I think I am going to Tweet this thread. What a great thread.

Cheers!

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Permalink Reply by Kathleen C on November 1, 2009 at 7:17pm

Classic scam- and I am sorry someone took advantage of your feelings of neighbourliness. We've had knocks at the door with similar stories.

And beware of a guy offering to clean your eavestroughs for payment up front.

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Permalink Reply by Anita Barnes on December 9, 2009 at 1:24pm

Wow. This guy got me a few years ago for $20. He tried again and I told him to hit the road. It sounds like he has never been caught.

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Permalink Reply by Egg Flik on December 9, 2009 at 1:45pm

"so what did you do with the LAST $20 I gave ya?"

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Permalink Reply by Whit RB on April 14, 2010 at 10:32am

Thanks to this thread, when this man approached me on Queen near Broadview and appealed to me with the same doozie of a story, I said "ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!" and turned on my heels and left him standing there. Usually I'm a really sucker for that kind of thing, so a big thanks to everyone. I'm quite proud of myself and totally angry with this man who appeals to a people's compassion and generosity. Not nice, Mr. Con Man, not nice.