If someone tried to sell you something from the back of their trunk in the middle of a parking lot, would you buy it ?
No. Never. Absolutely not. Are you kidding ? What do you think I am ? An idiot !
YES. I’m an idiot.
This past Thursday afternoon, around 1PM, I was driving toward my afternoon appointment. I was actually enjoying the day. I had about 1 hour to kill and figured I would stop for a quick lunch at Lick’s at the corner of York Mills and Leslie. As I pulled into the parking spot there was a large black Lincoln Town Car that pulled up next to my car to park. At this point I was on the phone, but I noticed that the man in the car was trying to wave me down – he was trying to ask me a question.
I excused the person I was on the phone with. Told them I would call them back shortly. I rolled down my window, and the man explained in a very deep Italian accent that he was from Italy and needed directions to Woodbridge. I actually thought it somewhat strange that someone was asking me how to get to Woodbridge. Woodbridge is a big place, but, I provided directions nonetheless.
After I finished explaining how to get to Woodbridge he proceeded to get out of his car, walked over to my car, and handed me a business card. He explained that he was in Toronto – flew in on Monday and was flying back tomorrow. He needed to take some business people out to dinner that night and asked if I knew of any good restaurants.
Good restaurants. Of course I knew of some good restaurants. You’ve come to the right place mister.
After I finished writing down a few good restaurants he then explained that today was my lucky day. Lucky day ? I was intrigued. Why would today be my lucky day ?
He explained that he was a sales rep for an Italian fashion design company in Toronto for a few days for a trade show. His company had shipped a lot of clothes directly from Italy to Toronto, and now that the show was over he was stuck with a trunk full of high end designer male fashion clothes. He was flying back to Italy the next day and couldn’t take all of those clothes with him.
Are you kidding I thought to myself ? Of course this sounds like my lucky day. How often does this happen ? Like never !
So I go to the back of his car. He asks my suit and shirt size. I tell him. He just so happens to have a whole lot of clothes in just my size. Now as I’m trying on the suit jacket I’m thinking to myself – come on Jeff, what on earth are you doing here. You know there’s something wrong with this scene. But, I proceed anyway.
The suit jacket fits perfectly. It actually feels great. Nice high end jacket. And he happens to have 2 suits in just my size. And 2 leather bomber jackets. And a wool overcoat. 4 dress shirts. 2 belts. 4 ties. Ladies ¾ leather jacket.
Wow. That’s a lot of clothes. And I’m thinking – he’s giving this to me ? Today really is my lucky day. Yipee.
Not so fast. He’s not giving this to me. He’s explaining that the clothes he’s just showed me have a value of many many thousands of dollars. And because it’s my lucky day, he’ll let me have all of these clothes for $1,400.
I look at him dumbfounded. I’m not paying him $1,400 for these clothes. They might be high end, but, I certainly don’t need everything he’s just showed me for $1,400.
He asks what I feel it might be worth.
Well, not wanting to insult this fine gentleman I suggest that it might very well be worth $1,400, but I’m not interested in his clothes for $1,400.
“What’s it worth to you ?” he asks.
“$500 I suggest.”
We settle on $700. Hmm … I’ve just negotiated to pay $700 for clothes I don’t really, maybe, kind of (?) want or need, but, I got a great deal. Right ?
He follows me to the nearest TD Bank and waits in his car as I go to get some money. I come take the clothes, pay him his $700, and drive off to my next appointment thinking that today really was my lucky day.
I call my wife. She’s cautiously optimistic.
I arrive home a few hours later and proudly show my family what it means to be at the right place at the right time. I then stand up straight, and proudly exclaim – “see, your Dad is a great negotiator”. And yes, I am proud of myself. And the best part was, today was my lucky day.
Yes, it doesn’t get any luckier then this. Right ?
Wrong. I’m intrigued though. And curious. I want to know more about the clothes I just got.
So, I Google the names: SARTORIA ITALIANA GF, NARDINI, A Collezioni.
Figuring I would find the web site for the suit company Sartoria Italiana GF I was SHOCKED when I found this web site – RIPOFF REPORT. First hit. Same story. They’re all fake. And then a whole page of them.
Oh shit.
I’m an idiot. Now I know it. But, I’m of course too proud to tell my family. My kids. They look up to their Dad. I even overheard my daughter telling my son – ‘we should go celebrate tonight”. My wife. Oh no. What’s she going to say ? And my kids want to celebrate !
Yeah. Celebrate because their Dad is an idiot.
I’m the same victim I always shake my head at when I watch these kinds of stories on 60 minutes or 20 / 20. Poor sucker I think to myself. Well, I’m the poor sucker.
Victims come in all shapes and sizes. And so do criminals.
And why am I writing about this ? In a Telecom blog ?
Well, this obviously has noting to do about Telecom. I could try and make some connection between this story and Telecom. But I’m not going to bother.
There are a lot of nefarious individuals ready to steal, cheat, and scam either by phone, in person, by mail … the innocent. I’m no different from all of the other suckers.
I haven’t told my wife or kids. YET. I’m going to send a link of this post to my wife. My kids. There’s a message in there as well, of course. Anyone can get suckered. Even your Dad.
But, today IS my lucky day. I still have my health, a beautiful family, personal happiness, peace of mind, and a big smile on my face because today is a brand new day. I will continue doing what I am doing, and will continue to have faith in mankind.
Back to regular programming tomorrow.
Written by: Jeff Wiener. www.digitcom.ca. Follow TheTelecomBlog.com by: RSS, Twitter, Identi.ca, or Friendfeed
{ 53 comments… read them below or add one }
I checked the website on the card, it is just smoke and mirrors for these guys to scam people – total disgrace
There are so many people and corporations out there today looking to exploit and scam people out of their hard earned money. I was hoping you’d spring an ‘April fools’ type of comment sooner or later in your post. I’m sorry to hear your tale.
Your experience is just additional evidence to the phrase, if it looks to good to be true it usually isn’t true. With Cyber Monday upon us here in the United States the scams are everywhere. I was reviewing a blog post by Robin Harris about Swoopo.
Cheers!
I remember when I was somewhat younger, there was a van or maybe several vans that combed the parking lots of many malls, and stopped people and offered them to buy speakers from them. They would open the doors, and demo the products, and pitch them on you. Happened to me several times. Never took the bait though.
Recently, this has started to happen again, and it almost seems like deja vu when what seems like the same old van coming up beside me, an some young punk who is very polite asks if I’m interested in procuring some “excellent” speakers? I politely said no on the 2 times this happened to me recently.
But I still have a chuckle when this happens, or I hear about it happening. Sorry to hear about your experience Jeff. Hope you new outfits look good on you, and they last for a while.
Jeff,
I am writing this because I just did the SAME thing you did! Sure enough my Wife came home and I proudly showed her what I had bought. So I know how you feel.
She is the one who googled the company name and your blog showed up. I went down for $600 this afternoon…I am never going to hear the end of this….oy!
Take Care,
Mark
Thornhill
PS: I have to say…the suit feels really good!!!! lol
I feel for you guys Mark and Jeff…
exactly the same thing happened to me this very night.. 1 hour ago…
when im walking to my apartment from my car this italian sharp guy ask’s me for directions and then starts to talk about his work, and dolce gabbana this and dolce that… he had a fair/showroom thing on a hotel and is leaving the country tomorrow.. ladidada
if it makes you feel any better, i bought 2 sets!! now i have like frigging 4 suits with pants, 2 shirts and a although kinda nice overcoat and 3 leather jackets which i payed 100 euros for…
i don’t care about the money.. theres more money to come in my life.. but the disgrace i feel now is beyond anything i ever felt before.. i feel humiliated and almost raped in a way.. how the **** could i get myself into this? and the timing couldnt be more perfect, i recently got a new job and i am out looking for suits each and every day almost..
i guess those slimebags have a 6th sence for us poor honest people..
but hey ho, i actually had the guy up in my apartment when i tryed them on, so i’m just grateful that i didnt got robbed or stabbed…
Watch out people!! and buy from the stores! tip of the day!!
Ashamed swede..
Here’s one more log for the fire! Happened to me February 19th, 2010 in Ancaster, Ontario. Apparently Walmart and HomeDepot malls are a favourite, but I guess any old place will do. Pulled up behind me, very, very charming guy. It’s a beautiful day, I’m being a good Canadian helping this Italian visitor out, directions back to Toronto, etc., etc.. What I noticed (and this is meant to help anyone reading this) is that the guy’s credibility lay in the image I was developing of him (through delivery of his carefully scripted routine – this guy’s a PRO), not in what he was selling me. Sure, he offered me the goods, I had a quick look, he said all the right things (I, too, was in the market for a suit and figured the rest of the stuff was a bonus) and I was hooked. Drove to my bank, he waited in his, apparently, rental car – by the way, it’s a new silver Chevy Equinox with a bar code sticker on the driver’s window, he said no need to count it (but I counted it out for him!!). I felt the same shame, embarassment, anger, resignation that anyone who has been scammed feels. I called the police, I’ve been to the parking lot where I figure I must have been scouted. It’s almost like a dream now – it happened so fast – from directions to sale in no time. What was I thinking?? I told my wife. She flipped. I asked her to keep it between us. But that is apparently what fraud artists count on. Call the police, tell your friends and colleages, use the Internet just as we are now, call Crimestoppers (I did). Get the word out anyway you can. And be sure to get licence plate numbers if approached. Use your Blackberry or whatever to snap a picture of this guy/ these guys and let’s get this stuff posted. It’s the only way to help prevent it, perhaps get them tossed in jail. Even the best get caught eventually and they do pay!!
The silver lining is that I’ve learned a life-lesson that I’ll never forget and I’ll educate my kids about. It cost me some dough but that won’t kill me. It was the abuse of my goodwill, aid and trust that bugged me. But that’s what these guys do. They couldn’t care less.
The old adage holds true – and people would be quick to point out that if seems to good to be true then it probably is – but don’t be too quick to pass judgement. You won’t understand the power of their persuasion, how adept they are at what they do until they have you in their clutches. It’s incredible. You ignore that little tingling that says something seems off here. Look at who’s been scammed by Wall Street, financial planners, investment types. They are usually educated, well-to-do people who TRUST others. That’s the Achilles heel there – trust. Do your homework, think things over, never buy in haste. It’ll get ya’.
Next!
Great story. Thanks for the feed back. I hope this posting on this BLOG will help maybe a few people. I certainly learned my lesson !
Jeff
Jeff,
Unfortunately I just joined the club. He hit me up at a parking lot in Brantford, said he needed directions to Niagara Falls. Everything is pretty much the same, rental car, lunch meeting, leaving for Italy, heavy Italian accent, sharply dressed etc.
He followed me all the way to St. Catherine’s to my office. During that 50 minute drive, I was really pondering if this was all legit, had the site checked by my wife but of course we don’t read Italian. So anyway I ended up with 2 suits, 2 men’s jackets, 2 ladies jackets, 4 shirts, 2 ties and a belt. He wanted $1400 with a cashmere jacket but we settled for $700 without the cashmere jacket. I’ve been in direct sales for 25 years and never fell for out-of-the-trunk stuff, I would love to find this guy so I can hire him. And I thought I was good!
I wonder if our scammer reads these blogs for laughs, and I also wonder what these clothes are really worth and if they are just microfiber and polyester. I’m too embarrassed to take them somewhere to find out or to get fitted.
Well, hindsights a b*tch, ain’t it? At least I hope we all look good in our suits and coats.
Rick
PS I think we should all meet for lunch in our new suits and start a support group.
Jeff,
He’s still out there! Same sceneario happened with me just this Saturday July 15th in Oakville,at a BBQ store on Speers road. I share all the same feelings of betrayal and shame. I simply can’t believe what happened while I was being the “good Canadian”, helping out a stranger who was lost and who then offered me a deal for helping him. No fool like an old fool!
John
Gentlemen! Happened to me, too… On 5th of June, at Hurontario & Bristol in Mississauga, when I came back from CIBC… same speech/business card/scenario… after speaking with my wife – although she was very skeptical, she let the decision on me – and somehow I decided to not go for the “deal”… and reading now these comments I can only say… Always trust woman’s intuition!!
P.S. Liked Rick’s suggestion for the support group.
I just found out that I was scammed. How stupid I am.
This is from Dallas. Actually I never fall for such things. But this guy just started asking for an Italian restaurant. He was in a rented car and told me he got this jackets he wants to get rid of because he was flying back to Italy. I asked his ID and he showed me an European Union ID card. now I have 4 Jackets. I could wear 2 of them.
Dumb head of me. Never buy a thing from someone you don’t know……………
Hi Guys,
The suit guy is alive and well in a Beer store parking lot near Jane and Dundas.
Fortunately my husband walked away but spent a lot of time trying to get him to understand directions to Woodbridge before the trunk sales show.
He goes by the name of Gino Giancinto and the company is now called “Fashion Moda” and the address is Via Roma, 162 Sorrento Italia
Google Earth shows a pretty run down residential area with no high end, designer fashion stores – big surprise!!!
Just happened tonight Dec.6, 2010) around 5 pm
twitter???
Hi Jeff,
This article saved me $1,400.00 today. He (Gino) found me in Markham,
around lunch time, I was quite impressed with the clothes and my good fortune for having met him, I told him I will meet him an hour later, at at he Hilton in Woodbridge (in the parking lot, of course) In the meantime, I called my wife to tell her the good news. She was skeptical and wanted to do more research. She found your story on the internet.
When I didn’t show up, Gino called me twice. Of course I did not take his calls.
Did you contact the police about this? Do you think it may be a good idea?
Here is his number 416-451-3253, maybe this can help you.
Regards,
Steve Cali
cell 416-723-5210
Hey Steve:
I think I just might call the police now that we have the guys cell phone number. I called it yesterday evening and he actually answered. What an idiot!
Jeff
Jeff, you’ve got to take this guy down. Fire up The Telecom Blogmobile, the people need you!
Hi Jeff,
By the way the guys name is Gino Giancito, not Giancinto.
Steve
LOL!! He found me in a parking lot at an airport hotel on Dixon this week. Same guy, same card!. This time the story was that he was on his way to the airport from a trunk show at Harry Rosen, and wanted to lighten his luggage. The initial icebreaker was that was driving the same model car as I, and as it was a rental, and he was from Italy and only used to standard…how does the shift lever work? This struck me as odd because …what …you drove all the way downtown…and back to the airport, but still haven’t figured out how the car operates? Never the less this led to me peering into his trunk at cashmere overcoats, suits and shirts. He is very smooth. When I pointed at a Prada ski jacket and several ties, he said that he was keeping those for himself…further enforcing the “customer’s” illusion that he was legit. I didn’t buy anything. I thought I’d check out the card, as I am an avid net-worker and Linked In whore….and wow…here I am! Thanks!
Good for you. At least you got away!
Jeff
This same scam artist approcahed me 2 days ago in Toronto, Canada. I was in my parked car on my blackberry when an Italian man parked beside me asking for directions. He stated that he was leaving for Vancouver the next day and would need to unload his products. Offered 2 suits, mens overcoat, 4 shirts & 2 ties for $1000 CDN. I told him that I wasn’t interested and he moved on to show me his rental papers and gave me his business card to try an validate who he was. He even showed be what looked like invoices with the value of each suit/jacket.
I still felt like I was being scammed and I walked away….at 1st I thought back and had doubts on missing a good opportunity, however now reading this, I feel great that I stuck to my gut feeling and walked away.
Be warned of this scam. His Business card is for Fashion Moda with the names of Versace, Boss, Armani & Gucci on it. Italian address and tel # http://www.fashionmoda.it
Tried going to the website and only a home page to throw off people in case they search it up on their phones….all links are dead links
Be very careful
This guy is now active in Mississauga ( Ontario , Canada ) ..driving a blue luxury SUV
This guy is active in Mississauga for sure. Driving in a brand new White SUV – clean as a whilstle. He offered suits/coats/shirts, ties etc… from the back of his SUV. He was stopped in Clarkson Road opposite the Bank of Montreal. Seems that their targets are people coming out of banks and people who are well dressed.
Just got taken as well! Glad I’m not alone and feel like hunting this guy down. Perhaps a 2 second search of his name on my BB, would have saved me a lot of cash.
Tragic.
Scammed in Oakville. White SUV. Sigh! At least the people I gave the stuff to liked it… a lot. Didn’t I hear somewhere that when something seems too good to be true..?
This guy tried to sell me something this afternoon. I wouldn’t bite because he seemed very skeptical. I got his license plate. black lincoln SUV.
BKKM 766
Gino was trying his luck up at Bayview Mall today (North York). Didn’t buy anything, but I would have if I had a few extra cannoli’s lying around.
I’m the latest SUCKER. Today outside Golftown at Eglinton and Laird He parked beside me, window down and map in hand …Again in his deep Italian accent wanted directions to Bayview Villiage ,flying home tomorrow and Oh Yes the well dressed Gino wanting to reward my kind hospitality asked my size and then on to the sample bullsh*t The rest is history….2suits 4 jackets 4 shirts 4 belts 4 ties !!, WHITE SUV and same business card What a fool I was!!! I have never felt so humiliated !! He even followed me to the nearest TD bank What I can’t believe is how gullible I was yet he couldn’t have been luckier as the rain started to fall as we finalized our transactions and we hurried along so we didn’t get caught in the downpour. I did not check a few of the sizes until it was too late and he was gone!!! After a short ride home I started to feel like I had made a big mistake and that I had been scammed only to be confirmed by my wife who googled the company name and then found this blog So please be careful of a guy named Gino Giancito of Fashion Moda he is still lurking out there and he is very smooth!!
Hopefully he will get what he deserves and that he will be wearing different pinstripes……. behind bars !!!
Well guys this douche is still out there! I was enjoying a sausage with a buddy in the home hardware parking lot in Markham when a whit SUV pulls up and asks for directions to Woodbridge. Well you know the rest of the story, 6 suits, 2 shirts, 2 belts, cashmere jacket, blah, blah, blah, all for an incredible low price of 1399. We tried on all of the suits and they looked and felt great. The good news is we followed gut (lesson learned from trying to sell my SUV online and had a guy want to purchase it for more than my asking price!). I feel for everyone who bought this guys story – on my way home I was shaking my head thinking how could I let this deal go by! I’d like to shake his head!!
What a douche!!
Gino Giancinto tried to strike again yesterday in the Meadowlands of Ancaster. I was about to get in my car when he pulled up beside me in the parking lot, honked his horn, and started his hard luck story about being lost, having too much clothing merchandise to take home, paying Italian import taxes and yadda yadda yadda. Anyway, his story of being lost seemed to be reasonable as I’ve given out many directions to wayward travelers in my time. I thought his clothing story was over the top but I wanted to have a look myself. I was disappointed that the shirts, suits and jacket were nothing special and could have easily been purchased at International Clothiers. When he showed me the receipt from his car I noticed that his vehicle had a GPS and was skeptical about his story and wondered if the merchandise was stolen. At that point, he mentioned his ‘awesome’ deal for me of $700 for the entire collection. I balked at the offer and he asked what I would be willing to pay. I mentioned that I did not want to insult him with my offer and proceeded to get in my car and drove away. I wonder if he was able to sucker someone else into buying his imitation goods.
Just ran into Gino is a Sobey’s parking lot in Burlington on June 8th. Gave him directions and said no thanks. Driving a silver Dodge Journey. Listen to your gut people!
Got me too folks, right outside Merchant of Tennis in Oakville, Speers & Trafalgar. Approx a month and a half ago… White Dodge SUV, white haired guy….hit me for $800
I don’t want to bitch, I need someone to quietly tell me who is actually is, and where I can find him…needless to say…justice will be served.
I will of course resolve this matter directly in my snappy new suit(s)….
Lollll same thing happened to me about an hour ago.. Except this dude was driving a rental said he was a distributor for Armani and that his boss sent him some sample to show clients (harry rosen).. He went to the casino (fallsview) and asked me to buy 3 jackets(leather bomber and womans) to pay for ticket back to italy.. Lolllll he actually had pokerchips with him as well. Oh and he wanted directions to pearson international airport from hillcrest mall, richmond hill and his name was salvatore.. Had a gut, no white hair tho, brown short hair.. Older guy. Black ford escape hybrid I believe
Scarborough Golf Town parking lot in early June is were he got me. The funny thing was that the 2 suites, 2 jackets, shirts and ties were all my size, And the ladies leather jacket was my girlfriends size. The quality seems ok, after all leather is leather. I went down for $800. Same story, same business card, he even invited me to visit him in Italy.
Shell gas station @ woodbine and seven
In Markham. This was yesterday mid afternoon
31st Aug. I ended up with 2 suits, 2 shirts, 2 belts
and 2 ties. $400. They all fit perfectly and we declined
the other jackets etc. Same guy for sure, he is good.
Harry
Oakville at Cornwall and Maplegrove. Gino strikes again. Good thing is that he could be on a long vacation based on how much I gave him! Identical card and story as original article. Very charming – driving a black Explorer SUV from Hertz this time.
He is alive and well. He found me at the TD bank in Oakville at Trafalgar and Iroquois Shore. Black SUV from Hertz as well. Luckily I didn’t fall for his story.
Hi there! A friend went through the same experience. He showed me the clothes he bought and they seem to be of good quality… So my question now is: why would you say you were idiots? I don’t believe you paid more than what these clothes are worth… or am I wrong?
First of all, the quality of the clothes isn’t that good, in fact, they are inferior. The bigger problem is that they were sold under false pretenses. The people commenting on this blog feel lied and cheated, duped into buying something they would otherwise not have bought, and the person selling them is preying off the good nature of others.
I believe that this situation is fraud indeed as this person has misrepresented himself and the merchandise that was sold. He tried his pitch on me but it didn’t work. I went home and filed a report with crime stoppers.
Hi Guys.
I look at this and think, “what crime has this guy committed?” In the first post the man bought 2 suits, 2 leather bomber jackets, a wool overcoat, 4 dress shirts, 2 belts, 4 ties and a ladies ¾ leather jacket for $700. That sounds like a deal to me (and I’m a very good shopper). You were talking to a salesman – his pitch may have been b.s. but his prices are good.
Unless his merchandise is stolen he hasn’t committed a crime and there is no reason to feel that you were “taken”. Did you spend money you didn’t intend to? Of course you did, that what all salesmen are trained to do (would you like fries with that?). Did you get a pile of merchandise in return? Why, yes.
I’d circulate this information on the web so that his potential clients know about him and can negotiate the best deal.
Shop-a-holic
@ Shop-a-holic – I think you’re missing the point. First of all the product is inferior. The suits, shirts, jackets are all cheaply made inferior product sold under the pretense of being high end imported Italian clothes. And because of that, people feel taken. The product is sold under false pretense. The person isn’t a stranded Italian in Canada on a short business trip selling high end Harry Rosen clothing. Quite the contrary, he’s lying and deceiving others into purchasing his product. If you’re accustomed to dealing with lying, deceiving sales people then he sounds like your kind of sales person, and good luck.
Jeff
Shop A holic – you are an idiot. The guy is a fraud artist ripping off people. I just hope someone catches up to him and gives him what he deserves.
is now scamming people in dallas again…got ripped off just today…
Shop-a-holic,
clearly you just love the possibility of a deal and that blinds you to just about anything else (or perhaps you’re a cover for Gino as your post sounds awfully suspicious)! Counterfeit goods much like the ones that your friend Gino is trying to sell are of lower quality than their originals (no matter how good of a deal you negotiated…$500 for crap is still crap no matter how many pieces of crap you bargained for!) and buying them means that you are probably supporting organized crime. In any event here is a link to some resources if you have been scammed by Gino or anyone else: http://bit.ly/yPVF2J
Well I met Mr. Gino Giancinto last night in Burlington. I was on my way into a Tim Hortons drive thru and he asked me if I spoke italian. I said yes. Same story as the others. Going back to italy and need to lessen his load. He showed me two suits and a cashmere coat. I actually thought they were not bad quality. He asked me what a good deal wold be for these items. I said maybe $1000. but I wasn’t going to pay him that cause I wasn’t really interested. But maybe just the Cashmere coat. He said he needed to sell everything. So then he said he wanted to purchase a i-phone for his son which was worth $700. An he asked me if I would pay that. I said no. But if he really wanted to lose his stuff I’d settle for $400.00 I figured the Cashmere coat was worth that. So he said ok. He then gave me a female leather jacket cause he said I was a nice guy. So overall Yeah I think he was a scam artist. but for $400 i think i didn’t do too bad considering what others paid.
Ahahahahahahh what the coincident .I had that yesterday18,02 2012 offering me the clotting.He was after me from my bank TD on Qeensway and ParkLawn until the Sherwin Williams paint store where I stooped ,and then I figure out that he wont something from me.Nice gentlemen to see,in his 50 es .He was Driving the new white ford explorer .He asked me where is to go for highway 427 and I explained to him but then he presented him as a Italian Sales Manager for some stores in the GTA as Harry Rosain .And the value of the clouting was about the same amount as you guys are saying 1200 $ so he offered me two Jackets for 350 $ cash so he can go and by the phone for his son.Then I sad that I don’t deal with cash because of my bad experience with fake money and I offered him to by the phone for his son with my visa in the compensation for the jackets …And as I was explaining my situation and experiences with paying the thing in cash that how he started to change the conversation .He give me his business card ,and I give him mine in the return .So looks like he is the road sales person,or scamer .
I have the same business card from this guy ,and that is the reason that I wont to make the research about whether he is real about what he was saying.I guess not
Good luck to all of you out there if you see him again.I spoke in Italian with him,because I am fluent He is .Not bad as a gentleman ,I guess just making a living different way
)
Wow – well, I never thought I would get scammed either…
It was raining out, he was looking for directions, so I gave them to him – said he was here from Italy and wanted to get rid of his samples before he goes back tomorrow…
Three suits, two shirts, two ties, cashmere jacket, two belts, bag, womens short leather jacket, womens cashmere coat – all for $600.00
I thought I was getting a deal, but apparently NOT. Although the stuff does look good, it feels good, and seems well made – I guess now (after reading all these posts) is crap! He seemed very nice, he came into my office – I gave him an esspresso and we made chit chat…
Everything fit, and he had other stuff that he was going to give me for the same price too, but I said no, as it just wasn’t going to fit.
Well, he is good, I will give him that!
Burlington, Ontario
Just got me yesterday dont know why i bought the cloths, his around lynwood CA know ive been looking for him to bring him down. i thought about calling the cops but do not know if i can get him in trouble. The transaction was made in a bank so im guessing his face and car is on the banks camera.
Same guy was working the Bayview-York Mills area in Toronto last night.Same scenario exactly except I stumped him on questions he should have been able to answer.I was in Sorrento last year where this guy is supposedly from.He couldn’t answer a simple question about a restaurant in the Sorrento area.I asked a few more questions which he should have been able to answer and he tried to dance around with general answers.He is extremely good though and it is not suprising that he is able to sell his clothing the way he does.He drove off very frustrated.He actually returned a few minutes later and pulled up beside my car and tried to pitch me again.
Same deal. May 31st, AMC in Oakville.
if the clothes check out, maybe it’s a way to get people to buy things they don’t need: you got goods, he got money, the story is a framework to get rid of clearance inventory quickly. You feel like a sucker but in the end, it’s not as though you got nothing for your money. Clever, smooth guy. Gets your confidence with the asking for help, has the (bogus) customs invoice. These are happening too close together and all in Canada for it to be true, so it’s embarrassing. Elaborate scam, for sure, gets you to buy things you wouldn’t have otherwise bought, even someone who doesn’t impulse buy like me. Just because you don’t need something though doesn’t mean you were ripped off: just sold under false pretenses.
Met Gino today at LCBO Bathurst and Center. He was looking for directions to Bayview and Sheppard and was driving a very nice, clean black SUV. Same modus after I gave him directions he followed with very charming and innocent sounding conversation and questions which led to the clothing he had. He was flying back to Italy tomorrow and wanted to lighten up his luggage. He opened his wallet to give me his business card and was careful to display his Italian passport. As it turned out I wasnt in the market for clothing and refused his offer. This fellow is a smooth operator, personable and believeable. He could probably do very well in a legitimate high end clothing store and I completely understand those who were taken in by him.