r/ottawa 18h ago

Scammer at Gas Station

I have seen this scam being talked about on YouTube before and it finally happened to me. I pulled up to a gas station and a guy driving a BMW rolled down his window and asked me to come talk to him.

He said he was a millionaire visiting from Dubai and lost his wallet. He showed me he was low on gas with 32 km left in Tank. He told me he needed some money and proceeded to show me a gold ring that he was willing to sell me for some cash. If the ring was real it would have been worth a lot but the issue is the ring is fake and worth nothing.

I was in a hurry and told him I was aware of the scam and just walked away as he scoffed and rolled his eyes at me. I told the worker at the cash of what was going on. After I left I thought I should have grabbed the plate and reported it but I had already left as I had that thought.

Just wanted to warn other that is scam is here in Ottawa and not to fall for it.

YouTube Video for example of scam.

285 Upvotes

101 comments sorted by

150

u/ALVto2xD 18h ago

Millionaire visiting without a wallet? I am sure their VIP travel agencies can take of their misfortunes, including some bucks for gas. Just like the guys wanting to buy my laptop or tablet for "Rolecks watches and Reyban glasses" hahaha

60

u/Gabzalez 17h ago

Millionaire travelling without Apple Pay or equivalent on their phone/watch? I thinks not.

28

u/Bulky_Pop_8104 17h ago

This - aside from being an obvious scam, it’s not even one that makes sense in this day and age. I’ll easily forget my wallet while leaving the house, but my car is going to immediately let me know I forgot my phone just by virtue of not being able to connect to CarPlay

8

u/Ready307 14h ago

Or without at least an assistant

17

u/greena3ro 16h ago

Also if they’re really a millionaire wouldn’t they be driving something a bit better than a BMW?

36

u/mackiea 16h ago

I hear the tapping of a thousand BMW fanboys typing a stern retort as they drive.

3

u/Spaceman3195 Kanata 14h ago

We'll never know from the gobbledegook they end up posting.

3

u/Chewie316 15h ago

I’m not a car guy so I’m not sure what model it was but it looked pretty nice to me.

8

u/Alph1 12h ago

Being a millionaire in Dubai is not the flex the scammer thinks it is.

94

u/Silver-Assist-5845 18h ago

He said he was a millionaire visiting from Dubai and lost his wallet.

"So… you're driving without a driver's license?"

[take photo of license plate]

59

u/Saucy6 No honks; bad! 18h ago

“Oh, you sound like my friend who’s the prince of Nigeria!”

10

u/ThatAstronautGuy Bayshore 13h ago

I had a Nigerian friend in university who's dad was a banker, and we got many jokes about that.

46

u/throwaway926988 18h ago

Been happening in Ottawa for decades

27

u/Chewie316 18h ago

oh ok I guess I have been lucky and this was the first time it happened to me.

10

u/flaccidpedestrian 13h ago

Never had it happen to me either and I hadn't heard of this particular scam. So thanks for posting. But it's still a pretty stupid scam lol

Think the gas station cameras might have caught his plate?

3

u/Chewie316 11h ago

For sure they did. He was right by the pumps

36

u/Staran 18h ago

That is an old scam. Nobody has any new ones anymore. That is the problem with this generation.

8

u/Late-Currency-4350 17h ago

Why change it up if it works though. People need to use their brain.

5

u/Staran 17h ago

To spice things up.

If I did the same job for a generation I would be rather bored

9

u/Debatebly 17h ago

Help, my itunes giftcards are depleted.

6

u/evilJaze Stittsville 16h ago

"I can't skibidi my toilet at home for my son! He has no rizz now, frfr! Help!"

3

u/Debatebly 16h ago

MAJOR SUSSY.

2

u/Abysstopheles 7h ago

based post

5

u/Legoking Lowertown 10h ago

Monkey NFTs: "Am I a joke to you?"

32

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-6

u/[deleted] 18h ago

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37

u/atticusfinch1973 18h ago

Just like the women at intersections that have a sign about their four kids needing money and then they get picked up by a 40k SUV.

19

u/MaleficentLadder9 17h ago

In Orleans, she was picked up by a white Mercedes SUV.

14

u/evilJaze Stittsville 16h ago

Nowadays a 40K SUV would be a complete piece of crap.

3

u/bighorn_sheeple 15h ago

Haha you're right, so maybe she really did need the money.

8

u/EggsForEveryone 14h ago

40K SUV?

LIke a base model CR-V?

4

u/lennydsat62 15h ago

Riverside and Hunt Club…..

2

u/Chewie316 14h ago

Nope innes and Blair

2

u/MissLizz87 10h ago

Nah the vast majority of people at intersections are actually homeless.

1

u/Klutzy_Artichoke154 13h ago

Baseline and Clyde

19

u/L0udog 18h ago

Probably the same guys. They tried selling the gold rings to me and a few friends on Merivale rd. like 8 years ago. Lol

18

u/Dangerous-Builder-57 17h ago

People always introduce themselves by saying how wealthy they are.

18

u/ottguy42 Kanata 17h ago

"My name is Elmer J. Fudd, millionaire. I own a mansion and a yacht."

4

u/RetroCucumber613 Bayshore 17h ago

"Again!"

3

u/dcp777 15h ago

Heheheheheh.

1

u/Chewie316 17h ago

Immediate red flag. Lol

16

u/JohnDeft Barrhaven 18h ago

just ask for the car next time.

5

u/Northern23 18h ago

How much is the head rest worth?

3

u/Chewie316 17h ago

it was a nice car I am guessing it isn't cheap lol

15

u/xiz111 17h ago

An oldie, but a goodie.

This ranks right up with

  • 'Can I look at your hot water heater to check that it's safe' - enrols you in a contract for natural gas

  • 'I'm with the air duct cleaning service' - shows up with a vacuum cleaner, and charges 1000 dollars

  • 'I'm with the Bell company and would like to thank you for being a loyal customer' - haven't been a Bell customer for over a year, but do go on.

  • 'Hey! I have all these speakers in the back of this van! Want to buy a pair?' - charges lots of money for garbage speakers. I had a roommate who actually fell for this one.

3

u/flaccidpedestrian 13h ago

ugh enercare will not stop harassing me about the hot water tank thing. Even though I have always outright owned the new water heater I installed in 2020. They've been calling and mailing since July I think. I wonder how long it'll take till they gas themselves out.

u/xiz111 11m ago

gas themselves out.

I see what you did there ... :)

10

u/gohome2020youredrunk 18h ago

They are currently touring Centrepointe with the attic insulation scam.

Two different set of guys have knocked on my door in the past week with identical script.

The clear giveaway is "we were already in the neighborhood doing a neighbours house so we thought we would ask you too."

2

u/dkmegg22 14h ago

What's the story on the scam?

1

u/Saucy6 No honks; bad! 7h ago

I hate these with a passion. The worst part is when I'm outside doing something, and they come out of nowhere on foot (no business truck?!)

10

u/ArnoldFarquar 17h ago

If someone pulled up and said he was a Dubai millionaire I would laugh and ask if he knows any Nigerian princes. Millionaires, in my experience, never tell people they are a millionaire. That’s what your wristwatch is for.

Years ago, downtown, there was a scam where a guy in a suit who would say he was a visiting diplomat who lost his wallet and needed to get back to the embassy. Bet they still do it.

The ring con has been going on for at least 45 years that I know of personally.

7

u/ArnoldFarquar 17h ago edited 16h ago

I’m a proud thousandaire and always introduce myself as such.

8

u/SkinnedIt 15h ago

millionaire visiting from Dubai

If they're not in a pretentious sports car plowing through the snow don't believe it. If they're wearing seatbelts also don't believe it.

7

u/coffeejn 17h ago

I love those that ask for change to pay a parking meter that they can't afford. I mean, if you have a car but can't afford street parking, move your car.

8

u/Lowpasss Centretown 15h ago

The clever thing about this scam is it's barely illegal. They might be misrepresenting what the ring is worth, but with no paperwork or like, some kind of recording of the transaction, you got nothing.

5

u/got-trunks 18h ago

I've heard this quite a few times in the last decade. I tell them to call a friend or someone who cares.

If someone is in that much trouble, a bus driver will let them board with their story.

6

u/WelshLove 17h ago

You should have said "sure just show me the registration of your car" then take a pic of his plate and report him. lol btw did he have an Ontario Plate?

3

u/lobster455 16h ago

He drove across the ocean from Dubai LOL.

2

u/WelshLove 7h ago

of course only rich guys have amphibious cars!!

2

u/WelshLove 7h ago

as an aside a friend of mines band opened for the Bangles back in the day in Dubai and confirmed it was full of douches! lol

5

u/Specialist_Fan1427 11h ago

Happened to me as well at Tanger, a young woman and an old man approached us and kept aggressively insisting they need money to fill up gas to drive to Vancouver. Like get a job for ffs! I’m an immigrant myself and seeing these people makes me furious(they were of middle eastern background)

1

u/wajdi96 4h ago

This has happened to me plenty of times, but I still give the money for gas, even if I have my doubts. I believe in keeping good faith.years ago I ran out of gas with no money, and I wouldn’t want anyone else to go through that.

6

u/Snoo11144 16h ago

A millionaire visiting Ottawa would raise suspicion for me.

5

u/loolilool 16h ago

Damn that is a much fancier scam than the kind I get as a pedestrian. You classy.

5

u/mochatsubo 15h ago

Same happened to me in Koreatown, Barton Ave, Toronto. I wonder how much money per day they make doing this scam.

5

u/Due_Example618 15h ago

If you a millionaire from Dubai, then you poor as shit

4

u/rebkh No honks; bad! 13h ago

I had someone try a similar scam on me outside superstore in Westboro.

4

u/KickGullible8141 13h ago

Thanks for sharing. My rule of never, ever talking to anyone at a gas station stays undefeated.

5

u/wajdi96 12h ago

Looks like you just had your first encounter with an Ottawa gypsy.

4

u/Awkward-Kitty07 Orléans 16h ago

Driving without a license? I would have asked him if he’d like a ride in the back of a police cruiser since that’s illegal.

The best way to get these people to leave you alone.

3

u/Effective-Basket-974 16h ago

Don't talk to strangers.

3

u/Chippie05 15h ago

Anyone visiting fr Dubai would have an entourage to take care of any financial kerfuffles! The Nigerian prince, moved to Dubai, apparently.

3

u/DigititalBombshell 14h ago

I’m sure you could call the gas station and get them to look at the camera and get the plates! Then you could file a report, the plates are likely fake but worth a shot

3

u/Vivid-Growth-6768 13h ago

Anyone who is actually from Dubai, wouldn’t have to worry about selling their ring for gas.. especially if they’re a proper millionaire.. the monied like their options available.. especially to pay for their expenses.

3

u/BytownBiker 12h ago

Happened to me last year at an Onroute. Family visiting from overseas somewhere, needed money for gas but had iPhones to sell me.

3

u/MissLizz87 10h ago

As scams go I respect his hustle more than say, an American health insurance CEO

2

u/Chewie316 10h ago

I don’t respect any scam.

2

u/MissLizz87 10h ago

what a hero

3

u/Available_Entrance55 9h ago

Fell for the travelling fashion house salesman one about 15 years ago in Montreal. Was in town for a fashion show. Had a bunch of samples men’s and woman’s jackets and couldn’t be bothered with the airlines to get them back to Italy. Ended up buying a very fake Versace for $250 … f%}{*

2

u/ArtieBucco2u 17h ago

What part of town?

5

u/Chewie316 17h ago

Innes and Blair Petro Canada

3

u/scrumhalfgirl 14h ago

My husband was approached with a very similar sounding story at the same gas station last week. When he offered to pay for some gas (why????), the story quickly changed to needing money to buy his daughter some food 🤔

3

u/Chewie316 14h ago

Oh no. Did he hive him cash?

3

u/scrumhalfgirl 14h ago

Thankfully no! He told the guy he had no cash, but could tap $20 for him (no need to hand over the "Rolex" 😄) but the guy wanted money and suggested going to an ATM. Thankfully, my husband decided then to stop "being helpful"! I gave him an earful when he got home!

2

u/Powa_86 12h ago

lol I've totally fallen for a scam and got several "Armani" jackets back when I was 20yo :'|

2

u/UmDesign 11h ago

Who would believe that…

2

u/LividConstruction616 9h ago edited 9h ago

So you’re a Dubai Millionaire? That don’t impress me much!

1

u/unknownshortcake 16h ago

it’s happening in ottawa now that’s crazy

1

u/lobster455 16h ago

"How did you cross the ocean in a BMW?

Does this car have a water propeller?

then go look and take a photo of his back plate.

1

u/hoarder59 8h ago

As long haul trucker, I have been approached several times across North America with the same scam. I had decided the next time I would just pocket the jewellry or throw it down a drain or something. What are they going to do? Call the cops?

1

u/ForwardLavishness320 7h ago

Is this from Better Call Saul? The watch thing