Beware of Scams (2)
I was trying to decide what to do, since I didn’t have that much cash on me, when a man came up and said I shouldn’t give the bike guy anything. He said the guy was a scam artist and had just pulled the same stunt with him. The bike guy called him a liar; but then another man jumped in and said the so-called victim had tried to play the same trick on him, too. A group of people began to gather around us. The bike guy sized up the situation, got back on his bicycle-which seemed to work just fine, oddly enough-and took off like a rabbit.
Wow, that’s quite a story. I’m glad you weren’t hurt.
Something similar happened to me recently. This young guy bumped into me while I was walking down the street and dropped a paper bag he was carrying. A wine bottle fell out and broke on the sidewalk. He said it was an expensive French wine that cost something like $300. He yelled at me and demanded I pa for it. I felt like arguing, but there was real menace in his voice. So, I offered him a $100 bill, which I always carry in my shirt pocket in case I’m mugged. The guy grumbled and said that would do, and took off without any more histrionics.
That was probably the right course of actin under the circumstances. You know, New York has always had its share of scam artists, but the pandemic seems to have inspired some new cons.
