The Fake Violin Scam
Admittedly, I fell for this scam back during the Christmas holidays.
The scam is called the fake violin player. An old man looking very rough around the edges was standing out in front of Von’s (a local grocery store) playing the classical violin. I turned to Marieta and said, “damn, that guy is terrific!” Itzhak Perlman would have been impressed. Didn’t miss a note.
Strangely, the sign indicated he was homeless but he still had battery-powered amps, an electric violin, a music stand, (and apparently, a CD player secretly hooked up). I stood there and practically wept (the violin always tears me up).
Well, that scamming dude cleaned up. When I tossed a dollar bill into the case, he had $1s and $5 stacked up. Not bad for what amounts to violin lip-synching.
Turns out, the scam worked so well that it’s gone “national.” Unfortunately for the scammers, the success of the act ultimately ends up being its downfall as more people catch on. Reports are coming from suburban Washington, DC, Tampa, FL, and many cities in the west, including Las Vegas.
Eventually, the scam will play itself out. So, pretty soon, it’s back to the guy at the intersection with the squeegee holding a bottle of Windex.
Postscript: Now that I think about it, the violin scam isn’t all that different from Britney Spears charging $250 a ticket at Planet Hollywood to watch her lip sync.
