NYC Scams You Need on Your Radar This Summer

Empire State Building scam

Here is a post by a Reddit user, hamsterd4m, who was actually duped by this con

Empire State Building “NY Skyride” scam (AskNYC)

I fell for a tourist scam today at the Empire State Building: when arriving outside the building a guy approached us showing us a badge and saying “he works for the building” and giving an “official” impression. He told us he was selling us the fastest tickets and said it would cost $54. Looking at the receipts a few hours later it turns out he charged us $69, and the tickets he sold were not “Express” tickets. Instead we paid all those extra dollars for the “Skyride”, some kind of simulator that we were not interested in and didn’t go on (and judging from the google maps ratings it is a very underwhelming experience).

Broken bottle/glasses scam

The con man will bump into you and drop what he/she is holding, like a bottle, a pair of glasses or phone, then revealing the item to be broken. Then the person will begin yelling accusations or appealing to the crowd of people forming around you, and the kicker, demanding (often intimidating) compensation for your clumsiness.

This scam works because you want to avoid a scene, the scammers yelling attracts a lot of attention. This is used a lot on tourists who are all too ready to give up a bit of cast so as not to get into trouble. It’s a tricky one to deal with, because you may not be immediately aware that it’s a con.

I kept saying it wasn’t my fault. Pretty intimidating guy, but finally he gave up. May be because it was a really crowded street. (At this point I didn’t know it was a scam, and felt bad about the whole thing). And today, I hear a shouting on the corner and see the same guy barking up another victim. I watched in silence as the poor guy handed him money. Came home googled it, and yes there it is. What would you do in this kind of situation?

As a New Yorker, be careful if you walk away, be sure you are not being followed. This simple scam can turn into a robbery in a second.

Fake taxi scam

Beware of This Fake NYC Taxi

CD scam

“hey man what’s up where you from? Oh yea cool man what’s your name? oh john? Cool john, hey this is my CD i made, i’ll sign it for you man, here “to john thanks man” here man, cool, $10. What?? Comeon mannnnn, I just signed it, i can’t sell it to anybody else now. nah man fuck that that’s bullshit you owe me $10 man”

I’ve watched it go down a few times, and that quickly. I’ve never been approached, they typically approach tourists near times square, but just in the 30 seconds as you are walking by they will walk with you and the whole thing goes down. The second you say your name, or anything other than “no thanks” they got you. And as soon as you say “what? $10?? i didn’t want to buy it” they get aggressive and basically try to scare you/threaten you into it

To avoid this scam is deceptively easy, avoid people holding CDs, ignore them, nobody needs that kind of drama.

The restaurant tip on tip scam

ALWAYS check your bill. 4 years ago nydailynews covered the story of Manhattan restaurants factoring in tips on the bill and adding another line for an extra gratuity.

The scam led to a lawsuit against several restaurants in Times Square.

Summer in the city and the relentless march of tourists sees this scam popping up in smaller restaurants and bars in NYC. Remember, always read the bill.

Featured image source [Wikimedia Commons]