trekrider520 Posted March 1, 2014 #176 Share Posted March 1, 2014 I live in OSJ and he approaches me all the time. Gets old quickly. Here he is: 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FireStation46 Posted March 1, 2014 #177 Share Posted March 1, 2014 I live in OSJ and he approaches me all the time. Gets old quickly. Here he is: Cool! I will print a copy and if I see him, I will ask for his autograph! :eek::eek::eek: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lsimon Posted March 1, 2014 #178 Share Posted March 1, 2014 (edited) If you see him, tell him to watch out for muggers. Cool! I will print a copy and if I see him, I will ask for his autograph! :eek::eek::eek: Yes! Because confronting a criminal who is trying to scam and steal from you is always such a safe and wonderful way of having fun. :eek: You people are crazy! Are you sure this person is never ever violent? He is a crook and as such will have two goals: #1 - get your money from you; and #2-Keep from getting caught and going to jail. Do you really how far he'll go to achieve these? Personally I would never attempt to mock or antagonize such a person. I've seen him, well before these warnings, and as soon as I realized his pitch for what it was I just walked away quickly. Edited March 1, 2014 by Lsimon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FireStation46 Posted March 1, 2014 #179 Share Posted March 1, 2014 It will be fine. Before the FD I was walking PD beat at in the South Bronx and then EMT 9th Div Harlem, when it was really interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lard Greystoke Posted March 2, 2014 #180 Share Posted March 2, 2014 Yes! Because confronting a criminal who is trying to scam and steal from you is always such a safe and wonderful way of having fun. :eek: I'm sure the warning is well meant. You people are crazy! Human nature is an interesting subject. Are you sure this person is never ever violent? 100% certainty is setting the bar high. It so happens that I have extensive experience with downtown scammers in my own interesting neighborhood. In my opinion, for what it's worth, the law of averages is going to weed out extreme behavior on the part of these people who function essentially in the open. Panhandlers are conspicuous, not only to you and me but to the police. If they become violent they are very easy to find and remove from society. He is a crook and as such will have two goals: #1 - get your money from you; and #2-Keep from getting caught and going to jail. Do you really how far he'll go to achieve these? I think the term "crook" is too broad - street hustlers and serial killers are two different animals. Criminals, like the rest of us, are creatures of habit and have a comfort zone. This guy has to have had a million encounters of all types. If he were going to flip out, odds are he would have done so long ago. Personally I would never attempt to mock or antagonize such a person. I've seen him, well before these warnings, and as soon as I realized his pitch for what it was I just walked away quickly. I think this is the best approach. But, if this guy chooses to exercise his First Amendment rights on total strangers, they have the same right in return. I would definitely advise against getting hostile or violent with him, or even taking his racket terribly personally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FireStation46 Posted March 2, 2014 #181 Share Posted March 2, 2014 Yes! Because confronting a criminal who is trying to scam and steal from you is always such a safe and wonderful way of having fun. :eek: I'm sure the warning is well meant. You people are crazy! Human nature is an interesting subject. Are you sure this person is never ever violent? 100% certainty is setting the bar high. It so happens that I have extensive experience with downtown scammers in my own interesting neighborhood. In my opinion, for what it's worth, the law of averages is going to weed out extreme behavior on the part of these people who function essentially in the open. Panhandlers are conspicuous, not only to you and me but to the police. If they become violent they are very easy to find and remove from society. He is a crook and as such will have two goals: #1 - get your money from you; and #2-Keep from getting caught and going to jail. Do you really how far he'll go to achieve these? I think the term "crook" is too broad - street hustlers and serial killers are two different animals. Criminals, like the rest of us, are creatures of habit and have a comfort zone. This guy has to have had a million encounters of all types. If he were going to flip out, odds are he would have done so long ago. Personally I would never attempt to mock or antagonize such a person. I've seen him, well before these warnings, and as soon as I realized his pitch for what it was I just walked away quickly. I think this is the best approach. But, if this guy chooses to exercise his First Amendment rights on total strangers, they have the same right in return. I would definitely advise against getting hostile or violent with him, or even taking his racket terribly personally. Don't fear the bad ones, they count on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pghsteelerfan Posted March 2, 2014 #182 Share Posted March 2, 2014 We've been in San Juan twice since 2010 and haven't seen him and I have to admit, I was kind of hoping to and letting him know he's "famous". From the posts that I have seen, he doesn't appear to be violent but is definitely a scammer. He doesn't seem to be "stealing" money...people who haven't seen warnings and believe his stories "give" him the money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lsimon Posted March 2, 2014 #183 Share Posted March 2, 2014 (edited) We've been in San Juan twice since 2010 and haven't seen him and I have to admit, I was kind of hoping to and letting him know he's "famous". From the posts that I have seen, he doesn't appear to be violent but is definitely a scammer. He doesn't seem to be "stealing" money...people who haven't seen warnings and believe his stories "give" him the money. You and I have a very different idea of what constitutes stealing. I agree that he doesn't "appear" to be violent, but just the same I think it is just crazy to contemplate a confrontation. Even a minor one. But some posters here seem to think otherwise. Guess I'm just a bit more cautious than them. Edited March 2, 2014 by Lsimon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pghsteelerfan Posted March 2, 2014 #184 Share Posted March 2, 2014 You and I have a very different idea of what constitutes stealing. I agree that he doesn't "appear" to be violent, but just the same I think it is just crazy to contemplate a confrontation. Even a minor one. But some posters here seem to think otherwise. Guess I'm just a bit more cautious than them. What I meant by he doesn't seem to be "stealing" (the reason I had stealing in quotes) is that he doesn't seem to be forcibly taking money (that anyone has mentioned) from people. But yes, technically it IS stealing because he's using a lie/scam to get the money from those he tricks into believing his story. For every person who is aware of him, I'm sure there are many others who don't, and he's probably making a very good living. Numerous posters have mentioned being approached by him then telling him he's "famous" and he runs off, probably looking for an unsuspecting target. We've probably never seen him because we have used caution to stay in areas that are well populated by others and never go off by ourselves, which is a good practice anywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pomperaugrr Posted March 7, 2014 #185 Share Posted March 7, 2014 Don't fear the bad ones, they count on it. Hey Ted, I am definitely looking forward to meeting you on the cruise in June! I've got in 24 years managing a criminal courthouse. Your advice is spot on. :cool: Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steph123 Posted March 9, 2014 #186 Share Posted March 9, 2014 We ran into this man tonight. We were in an area that was busy and not off in an unsafe area. I told the people I was with to just walk away. I remembered reading about this man and his story. I was surprised to be approached by him. Sent from my SCH-I535 using Forums mobile app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stinger-pr Posted March 9, 2014 #187 Share Posted March 9, 2014 This guy is just a street beggar like many other in OSJ. At least he took the time to conjure up a story compared to asking straight up for some change. There's another guy, also American, who got left behind suffering a deep deppresion because his girlfriend broke up with him in OSJ, got on the cruise and left. But this guy also takes food if you offer. They call him Warrior around OSJ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IslandDreamers Posted March 11, 2014 #188 Share Posted March 11, 2014 We saw him in Oct 2013 on Avenida Ashford in Condado - he wasn't convincing to us although some people in our group (walking alone) were 'got' by him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Playa Cofi Posted March 16, 2014 #189 Share Posted March 16, 2014 Sad to say that happens on a daily basis in OSJ. Not just one guy, they have teams. Just say no and walk away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sail7seas Posted March 17, 2014 #190 Share Posted March 17, 2014 The one we encountered really wasn't threatening. My DH and friend with whom we were traveling were amazed I knew of him. None of us were frightened by him but wanted him gone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Playa Cofi Posted March 17, 2014 #191 Share Posted March 17, 2014 They normally are not rude, they play the sympathetic card. They got robbed, someone died and they have to fly home. You would be amazed but most are american’s taking advantage of other american’s. All in all they are harmless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dchurn Posted March 23, 2014 #192 Share Posted March 23, 2014 Just saw this guy in San Juan near where the ships dock. Last time I saw him, several years ago, he was working the area near Starbucks. This time we were on the Nieuw Amsterdam and were walking back to the ship when he approached us and asked if we spoke American. We said yes and he proceeded with his tale of woe. About 60 seconds into it, I said "That is the same story you told us when your were working the Starbucks area" He stopped talking and started walking away. I said "Can we take your picture? You are famous on Cruise Critic" That made him really take off trying to get away from us. He has been working this same scam for at least 4 years that I know of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmpjdd Posted March 25, 2014 #193 Share Posted March 25, 2014 My husband and I were walking though OSJ and then down by the water by the Carnival dock on 3/16/2014. A man stopped us and asked us if we spoke English and then started his story about how he and his dad got mugged by the forts and the police didn't help but someone at the Sheraton did and his dad went to the hospital and he needed $6 to get to his dad. I felt terrible for the guy, he had several bandaids on his face and a large bandage on his hand like he had been hurt. I was about ready to give him some money but luckily I had read this thread and suddenly remembered it and we just took off and left him. Thanks for the warning and I hope that it helps other people too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ockelly Posted May 2, 2014 #194 Share Posted May 2, 2014 We were approached by this guy 4/18 at about 11:00 PM. I told my husband "that's the guy I read about on cruise critic" and he turned around and walked away. No big deal, kind of funny actually. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ibcnusoon Posted May 2, 2014 #195 Share Posted May 2, 2014 Here's pictures of him from behind, from a distance: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=23450997&postcount=44 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuvBNatC Posted May 2, 2014 #196 Share Posted May 2, 2014 My husband and I were walking though OSJ and then down by the water by the Carnival dock on 3/16/2014. A man stopped us and asked us if we spoke English and then started his story about how he and his dad got mugged by the forts and the police didn't help but someone at the Sheraton did and his dad went to the hospital and he needed $6 to get to his dad. I felt terrible for the guy, he had several bandaids on his face and a large bandage on his hand like he had been hurt. I was about ready to give him some money but luckily I had read this thread and suddenly remembered it and we just took off and left him. Thanks for the warning and I hope that it helps other people too! This is the same story he gave me and my friend in April 2013, but he had only one small bandage on his face. He approached us on Fortaleza, a busy main drag, near our hotel and a row of bustling restaurants, at dusk. I never felt threatened, even after he called me a "smartass" when I told him he's famous on CruiseCritic. I don't think he's a violent type. He's just made it his career to talk people out of money. He could probably exist in any big city unnoticed. But he happens to be in a location where his favorite type of mark (cruise travelers) has a forum to compare notes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeggyMc Posted September 28, 2014 #197 Share Posted September 28, 2014 Just this morning we were approached... Hubby started to respond-when the guy asked us if we spoke English cause he and his dad were robbed.... I said -I read about this -it's a scam! Thanks cruise critic! Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuvBNatC Posted September 28, 2014 #198 Share Posted September 28, 2014 Just this morning we were approached... Hubby started to respond-when the guy asked us if we spoke English cause he and his dad were robbed.... I said -I read about this -it's a scam! Thanks cruise critic! Sent from my iPhone using Forums Aww! I'm glad to hear our favorite scammer I is alive and well and it's business as usual. He must be making a decent living at it to have lasted this long. And he gets to live in beautiful, sunny San Juan, working his own hours and answering to no one (not even the police, apparently). :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishingbunny Posted January 19, 2015 #199 Share Posted January 19, 2015 I'm going to be in San Juan 1/30/15. Has anybody seen this guy lately? Just curious of the current scams going on. :rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khm1 Posted January 19, 2015 #200 Share Posted January 19, 2015 I'm going to be in San Juan 1/30/15. Has anybody seen this guy lately? Just curious of the current scams going on. :rolleyes: He is still at it. He approached my son tonight when we were in Old San Juan. Sent from my iPad using Cruise Critic Forums mobile app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now