Hi, Heard there is a scam artist in the neighborhood. He was knocking on doors in the area of Germantown & Girard yesterday. He knocks on the door & when you answer, he tells you your neighbor was in a car accident & told him ( the scammer ) to come get money to have the car towed. Good thing the neighbor was sharp enough to look outside & see both of his neighbor's cars & then went to the neighbor's house & knocked on his door. The guy then left saying he must have had the wrong house. Yeah, right! I was told the guy looked like a crack addict, so be on the look out. I suggest never opening the front door to a stranger, just look out your 2nd floor window & talk to them from there, it is much safer.

He hit 4th and Fairmount on Friday. No one bit.

??? The scam doesn't even make any sense. Neighbor was supposedly in a car accident, so he supposedly sends a stranger to you to get money to tow the car? Whaaaaaaa?

Does he actually give a name or just say, "Your neighbor was in a car accident. You know, the one who lives over there?"

on 4th and George he not only knew the neighbors name, he also knew the name of the person's door he was knocking on. Remember to shred all your mail - he is obviously going through trash.

I would think that most people would take the money to the neighbor themselves and check on them to see if they needed a ride home or any other help.

This scam has been big in the Northeast with elderly people--except the scammer goes thru the phone book and calls the victim. He claims he's been in a car accident and broke teeth which is why he sounds different (claims to be injured son or grandson) Thus far there are 12 known victims.

That neighbor was in an accident. Thanks alot for not helping. Now that neighbor is in a coma. I hope you are happy with yourself.

How would a tow truck prevent a coma? I don't even think AAA would be the right call to make in that situation....

The guy tried to hit us last night--well this morning actually. He rang our door bell at 1 AM (woke up the baby which really ****** me off) Anyway he asked for one of our neighbors by name claiming that his girlfriend had been in an accident. He described the girlfriend as another resident who lives in the apartments next doot but could not name her. He did not have a tow truck or car. Further he claimed that they owed 19.00 on a tow that cost on 39.00.
My husband told him to wait while he went to the ATM--meanwhile we called the police. When the police arrived the man tried to claim he was waiting for the bus. I'm not sure if the cops had enough to take him in or if they had to let him go. It was late and we both were really tired. The baby however was wide awake.
The man who approached us was a black male, about 30 years old, 6 foot 3, medium build, dark complexion, no facial hair. He was wearing a black leather jacket over a hooded sweatshirt, a blue Penn State baseball cap, sneakers and maroon sweat pants. He was VERY WEll spoken with a distinctive deep voice.
Anybody approached by this person should call 911 and request for an officer to come to your home because someone pulling a tow truck scam is at your house. Be specific that way to ensure a fast response. And please be careful.

Now that the cops have been called on him, he may think twice about trying it again in the area. Should of told him his little trick has been on the message board and everyone in the area is aware of him.

I just want to remind everyone that scams like this are really common. If you suspect there is someone trying to scam you like this please please please call 911 to report it.
I'll find out today whether or not there was enough for an arrest--the cops did take the jerk for questioning.

Our neighborhood is great. I'm glad we look out for each other like this. By the way, a couple weeks ago, I saw the group of kids that threw rocks at some of the neighbors and had the police pick them up. It was very satisfying. They were probably released that night though. It always pays to involve the police as early as possible. Don't ignore criminal conduct (it only allows it to continue and escalate).

A couple days ago I saw some kids trying to throw rocks through the holes in that bizarre looking structure in the empty lot at Germantown and Wildey. They were black. They were with an older man, presumably their parent or guardian, who seemed to be encouraging their behavior. This just shows that these kids are thugs and the parents don't care. This must be stopped. Does anyone know where I can go for brunch today that I won't be pelted with rocks?

this guy just tried to pull it on me. 900 block of hancock at about 1230 pm. gave me the whole thing about the neighbor in an accident and he had to tow. towing fee was 50 dollars and he wanted 19 of it. it was fishy from the start.

ps. if anyone knows a place where towing is 50 dollars let me know. lol. 200 to boot.

Hey, I just got scammed (almost). A big black guy came to my door, wearing a leather rocawear coat, dressy pants and white sneakers and a baseball cap. He knew my name and my roommates name and said the two guys next door were in a car accident and needed me to pay the balance of their tow fee...$19.17. He wrote down some information, gave me the phone number of another guy, and said it was cash only. I asked him if he had a business card or a charge slip, or something. He said no, it's in his truck. He had no truck. I asked where it was, where the car was, etc. He said it's at 13th and Spring Garden. Anyway, I told him take my number, have the shop call and I will pay the balance on a credit card. He said, no, he'll let his boss deal with it and he just left. So, this guy is not a mystery. I'm between Front & Germantown where the new condos are being built...Just keep an eye out.

Lindsey if you call 911 and give a full description of what happened you might help the police catch this guy before he strikes again.

Man, and it looks like he's tacking on 17 cents an hour too.

I'm wondering if this line has spread. When I lived in Boston there were two scams. One ploy around Children's Hospital involved money for a can of fix-a-flat, the other was a strange bait and switch that got access to your credit card account. The latter was definitely an organized group, the other seemed to be a line spread amongst panhandlers who knew each other.

The scary thing is the amount of time this guy, or people is putting into this. Knowing your name or the names in your residence, plus names of your neighbors. All that "research" and footwork for what? $19.17? I doubt this guy gets a bite an hour, so it seems someone with that dedication could find a better wage through some other means.

Shred your mail or at the very least black out anything with your name on it (presuming he's not getting people's name and addresses through some other means).

Just bemused speculation, but this would be high irony if this guy was an ex-postal worker fired for the neighborhood justified complaints.

I did actually call the cops and they said they'd send a patrol officer out to circle the area. Surprisingly, the officer didn't seem to know what I was talking about when I said that I'd heard this has been happeining in the area.

Anyway, It's funny because after I read the posts I realized that I was thinking everything that has been posted here while the guy was talking to me...$60 for a tow? No truck? He said he parked it on Girard and Front then walked all the way down to Wildey? Really? Cash only? No business card? I mean, it would be easy to get taken by this guy if you don't put the pieces together and it does suck that he's doing this in our neighborhood. I called my roommate and he told me he'd read about the scam here and sent me this link, so it's helping...

I just called the 26th. Lindsey--the officers who responded may not have known what was going on because this guy has hit mostly in the 6th precicnt and you are in the 26th. However both precicnts are aware of this person and hope to catch him. You were hit by the same person who came to our door at 1am last Monday. He was wearing almost exactly the same outfit, told you the exact same amount of money, and gave the exact location where he so called truck could be found. In the event this person is caught my husband and I have offered to identify him.
I want to see the jack azz in jail for having the ballz to come to my door at 1 am and wake up the baby who then was awake for the rest of the night.

Errr...I knew this guy looked suspicious!
I saw him during the day two weeks ago walking down Orianna Street. I watched him go door to door. He almost looks like he is putting flyers in doors. I watched him b/c he took to much time at each door. I thought he was trying to break in! But then he eventually kept walking after a few minutes! And he was wearing the same outfit! I will call the police next time.

Honestly, I'm not even that bothered by the scam...but the fact that he knew my name and my roommates name (before mail came that day) means that this is fairly premeditated and it's completely creepy. He also knew that two guys lived next to me, although he didn't mention them by name. I've basically been telling whoever I can to be careful because it's definitely an invasion of privacy and I think that once this scam wears off, or he gets a bad reaction from someone this could escalate into something much more dangerous.By the way he came to my door around 12 in the afternoon. So, it looks like he's doing this all day.

KYW is announcing that they picked up a guy who was responsible for these scams. I don't know if it's the same person, but at least one is off the street as of today.
Mary

The person mentioned by KYW is not the same person who's been in the neighborhood. It is good though that that scum bag was caught--he scammed at least 12 senior citizens.