Folks, I had the misfortune of being scammed yesterday. This may help others avoid the trap. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yesterday was a gorgeous day in Manhattan ... after all, it was Friday and I was going to meet some of my former colleagues at a water hole at Hell's Kitchen on the west side of Manhattan. I had just gotten off the subway and was making my way over to the bar which was just a few blocks from the subway exit. A guy pulls his car over to the side of the street and yells, "Sir ... Sir ... could you please help me?" I ignored, while several people on the street looked back at the gentleman in the car inquiringly. "Sir ... you ... the one with the pony tail," he croaked. So I stopped in my tracks and asked what he wanted. He went on to explain in heavy Italian accent that we works for 'Armani' in Italy and that he was visiting New York City to attend a fashion trade show. Using a mix of English and Italian words, he said he was returning back to Italy on an evening flight out of JFK airport and that he was kinda lost. I said, "Of course, you are heading in the wrong direction - you are going towards the Westside Highway. You need to go East in the opposite direction onto the Queensboro bridge and onto the highways heading to the airport." So I began to mark the exact route for him on his crumpled New York City map. "You look fashionable ... I see that you have a good taste for clothes," he said, as he pointed to my designer glares, jeans and sport coat. "I have something for you." 'Really? Nobody ever offered me anything in New York for being nice,' I thought to myself. "You have been very helpful to me," he continued. "I could give you a bunch of Armani leather jackets that I have left over from the trade show." He waited for the words to sink in and began to watch me salivating at the prospect of walking away with his Armani leather jackets for free. 'Free Armani jackets ... Jeez this is awesome,' I began to conjure up what I was going to tell my wife when I got back home. "You see ... each of these jackets cost more than $1200 at Saks and Bergdorf Goodman. I would love to give all these six jackets to you ... all for only $1200. It's a steal! I really do not want to take them back to Italy because I have to pay a large Customs duty." So that was when I realized that the jackets were not going to be given away for free. Even then, the thought of taking home Armani jackets for 200 bucks a piece was enticing. But I know the games con man play on unsuspecting gullible folks all the time. This guy couldn't con me, I assured myself. Seeing I was not convinced, he pulls his Italian passport, shows his plane ticket and then pulls the garment bags filled with jackets - some in leather - some in suede. I asked to show me one. So he pulls off one black leather jacket and shows me how soft and smooth the leather is. Then he lit his cigarette lighter and tried to light up the jacket. It didn't catch any fire nor did it show any marks of lighter burns. Now I felt ... maybe ... just maybe ... this is one of those times I must have gotten real lucky. The gods must be heaping their choicest blessings upon me! Armani jackets for 200 bucks? How cool is that? May be I should even buy a lotto today ... who knows ... I could even win the jackpot! In spite of my shrewd eyes and equally sharp ability to spot trouble, I couldn't find anything wrong about this guy. Though, he never came out of his car, which he told me was a rental, he looked very well dressed, very presentable and merely gotten lost on his way to the airport. After all, he had his Italian passport, spoke with heavy Italian accent and had his plane tickets! He looked like a genuine guy. But I was too smart for this type of games. I wasn't going to be conned into parting away with my cash - no way. So I told him, "Know what? I don't have the cash. I never carry more than 50 bucks on me. Nobody in America carries that kind cash ever ... and anyway ... I don't want to spend $1200 to buy six jackets that I don't need. Sorry." I saw the dejected look on him. Then he pulled out his "Armani Collezioni" catalogs and showed me how great all their clothing and jackets were. "Wait a minute," I said, "There is no such thing as Armani Collezioni ... Never heard about it. I have bought stuff from A/X Armani Exchange, Giorgio Armani, Emporio Armani ... but I have never heard of Armani Collezioni." On second thought, I said, "I have iPhone ... Let me Google this brand and see if it's authentic." He smiled back, "Please check. I know who I work for, what we sell and how expensive it is. If you don't want, I'll give it to someone at the airport." So I googled for 'Armani Collezioni' and it came right back as a genuine brand by the famed Italian designer. Now I was totally bought. Oh Lord ... Why have you been so kind to me? Seeing that I was hooked, he asked, "How much do you want to give me?" "May be I'll take three jackets and I am not going to pay you $600 for them," I said, playing like a tough negotiator and amazing at my own negotiating ability. After all, they don't teach you such hard ball negotiating techniques even at Harvard Business School! "How much are you willing to give for three?" He wanted to know. I said laughingly, "All I can spare is a quarter thousand," knowing very well that I could throw this guy off base by using the term 'thousand' with a 'quarter'. Obviously, he was confused. "What is that? I never hear of quarter thousand," he sighed in broken English. I said, "Don't be insulted, but I can't pay you more than two hundred and fifty dollars and I'll take two leather and a suede jacket." It was a deal. A deal of the century or so I thought. Without giving another thought, I quickly grabbed $200 from a nearby ATM and added another $50 that I already had in my wallet and handed him the cash. As he pulled away in his 'rental' car, I wished I bought all the six jackets. Hey, I could have sold those designer jackets on eBay and made some quick dough. How stupid of me! "Well, its too late now," I muttered to myself and darted through the remaining few streets to the bar to meet my former colleagues. As I made my way into the crowded bar filled with hot ladies, I realized they were giving me their nods in approval and making me feel like I must be truly loaded. After all, how often do you see guys walking around with Armani garment bags filled with multiple jackets? I met the guys at the bar and chatted about my 'lucky' encounter with this Italian guy. They all loved the jackets and even had an extra drink to toast my new found luck. I got home a little later than normal. The wife knew I was going to be 'hanging out' with the guys. When she saw me carrying the loaded bags, I explained to her how I met this Italian guy and how great deal I had gotten. She immediately smelled trouble. She thought I was nuts. "They are fakes," she said matter-of-factly. "Go check them out on Google." "I already did before I bought them," I said with a comfortable air of aura. "It came back genuine," I said defending myself. When she opened the jackets to see what I got, the first thing she looked for was the label. "What is this A Collezioni?" She demanded to know. "That must be Armani Collection in Italian," I said. "No way. Check it out," she said. That was when I had a sinking feeling that I had been had. Even though the label said 'Made in Italy', it didn't say 'Armani Collezioni'. All it had was 'A Collezioni'. But when he showed me the catalogs, he showed me the genuine stuff. I googled again for 'A Collezioni' and there it was! I couldn't imagine how wide spread the scam had been. It had been going on all over North America and Europe. Like the Gekko guy in the movie 'Wall Street 2', it's not about the money that I was so mad about. It's about the game he played. Jim F New York.
