WARNING: Italian Leather Jacket Scam active recently around Waterloo - Lost $1000
Hi everyone, posting this as a major warning so nobody else falls for this obvious scam like my dumbah did. I unfortunately just got taken for $1000 CAD by a professional scammer operating right by the university and across Ontario (it's a popular scam I never heard of till yesterday).
HOW IT WORKS:
A well-dressed Italian man with a thick accent pulls up in a brand-new rental car/SUV. He starts by asking for directions to Pearson Airport due to no mobile data. Once you help him, he acts incredibly grateful and claims he is a luxury fashion designer (Tom Ford) who just finished a local trade show.
THE HOOK:
He says he can't fly back to Italy with his sample jackets because of high baggage fees/customs taxes, so he insists on "gifting" them to you for free. He puts them in your arms and shows they're fire-proof using a lighter. Then, the tone immediately shifts as he claims his credit cards are blocked internationally, and he needs quick cash for a rental car return fee before his flight in a few hours. He manipulates you into walking to the nearest ATM to hand over cash in exchange for a bundle of "valuable" jackets, promising to return the money once he gets back to Italy and the company refunds him.
THE TRUTH:
The jackets are branded as "TF Collections" or "TF Designer." They look decent at a glance but are cheap, worthless synthetic faux-leather knock-offs worth maybe $30-50.
Where it happened: 131 University Ave W
Target: innocent-looking students and young adults, and from other reddit posts apparently a lot of senior people
If anyone pulls up to you asking for directions and immediately transitions into talking about fashion or clothing, or just anybody asking for help with money, WALK AWAY immediately, take a photo of car plate number and report to police. Please upvote this so other students see it.
Don't be gullible and "kind" like me, and trust your guts when interacting with ALL strangers. No amount of familiarity (I felt the need to help him as an International student myself) makes you responsible for helping somebody in need.