Mark’s got the scoop on an old scam reappearing over on Aurora, with photos to boot:
I have seen this guy pulling this scam at the intersection of Aurora and Green Lake Way several times before, but when I happened to look out my window and see him parking his car in front of my house (about 3 blocks from his intersection) I had to take a closer look. His gas gauge was on a half tank and was in great shape. He did not like me taking his picture and hid for a little bit and then followed me back toward my house. He continued to flag down drivers for about 20 more minutes while telling them he just needed a couple of bucks to get some gas, car after car easily obliged. Why not, he’s wearing a tie right? He came back, picked up his car and drove away without walking up to the station to purchase any gas. Heads up and check out the pics.
That’s California plate 4VME204, for those following along at home.
I think I saw this guy at 145th and I-5 on the southbound off ramp.
I saw him at the 45th street on-ramp to I-5 Tuesday evening. He said he needed his car jumped and I offered to jump it. Then he asked if I had cables, which I didn’t. Then he said it was OK because roadside assistance was coming to help him get some gas. That’s when the scam alert went off in my head. Then he asked for a couple bucks to get a cab so he could fill his red gasoline container. He said he had enough for gas but not the cab. Again, being that Seattle cabbies take credits cards and so do gas stations, I just wished him luck and went my merry way.
I looked up his vehicle by license plate online, and he gets plenty of parking tickets, as well as a ticket for expired tabs. His name is ALAN J HERBERT according to a recent ticket he got.
Those who have seen him may want to call the po-po, or Get Jesse!
http://web1.seattle.gov/courts/cpi/
Nice work with the pics, Mark.
I first saw this guy at that offramp almost 2 years ago. I laughed out loud shaking my head at has brilliant scam.
The tie is what actually made me realize it WAS a scam. Who wears ties anymore? And further, why wouldn’t he just ask for a few bucks at the gas station a block up the hill? I’d be more prone to help a guy out up there than on the most panhandled corner in our neighborhood!
At any rate, I think he plays on both racial issues (black man in a tie — he must be a good person trying hard in this world) and exploits people’s generosity. It’s lame, but I have to admire its ingenuity.
Looks like an aspiring entrepenuer (deceptive as he may be)….if people decide to give him money for gas, that is there problem. The other alternative for our gas scamming buddy would most likely be for him to break out your basement window.
So Tootse, you’re suggesting we give money to the onramp bums so they won’t break into our homes?
iyqtoo,
Ya missed that point, I am not giving anyone my money. If this scammer is ever so slighty clever enough to actually bamboozle a few folks out of a few dollars, and in turn this action keeps this tool from participating in higher levels of criminal activity..I could care less. On the bright side, it also provides a lesson learned for those who give him their money. This is bush league scamming at it’s worst, if someone falls for it, shame on them (sorry Jeff, this not a personal attack on you :).
As far as scamming goes, I like to see a little creativity, style and piz-zazz! I have witnessed individuals who dress up in expensive suits and sport breifcases, to then only troll through the Grand Central Station Terminal ticket window lines. As you wait to buy your ticket, a well dressed individual will politely approach you, and explain how he just happened to lose his wallet between the office and the train station and justs needs a couple of dollars to buy a ticket for his ride home to his lovely family. Usually the well dressed man will start with the ladies, and add in a little playful flirt in order to try to receive a bump from a couple of dollars to a 5 or 10 spot….then he will likely move on to the guys in the crowd who are a bit of a tougher sell. If you are a regular commuter into the city, you are likely to see the individual a couple of times in a week, and it is just status quo. Pretty interesting to see how many people will pony up the cash when they have a bleeding heart for a certain circumstance….I mean….he is wearing a nice suit, he can’t be scamming me, he just showed me a photo of his lovely family!
Come on Wallyhoodians or Wallyhoodites or what ever we call ourselve’s ….loosen up…..let’s her your best scammer story! This scammer doesn’t even deserve a headline!
I’m with you only half way, Tootse. I, too, appreciate a good scam and respect it as an art. But this guy isn’t Paul Newman in the The Sting or Joe Montegna in House of Games. As Voltron notes, he’s playing to our sense of justice (he’s a minority wearing a tie, he must be a hard-working guy doing his best to get by in this white man’s world) and our desire to help others in need. No, there’s nothing clever about it.
The reason I could care less (in the correct, grammatical sense) is that his actions undermines our benevolent society. Next time there’s some guy who really is trying to scrape by, and really could use a hand, everybody’s guard is up, because they wonder if they’re being scammed.
The point is that this guy isn’t just hurting those he takes money from, he’s hurting everyone out there who genuinely needs help by masquerading as them.
He’s actively breaking down the bonds of trust that form the basis of the healthy, generous society that I want Wallingford to be.
He’s also causing bread to mold, ice cream to melt and roses to wilt. I don’t like him.
Wow, great work Mark and Bmacke, thank you for your posts. A lot of criminals (yes, I consider the gas man a criminal) use aliases and/or steal folks identities. So Mr. Herbert (if that is his real name) may have lots of other names he uses. When folks are booked into jail they are booked with the name they provide…like Mickey Mouse, George Bush, Michael Bolton, etc. Fingerprints are taken and their ID is verified. If they already have a criminal history, the most current name they used will be added as an alias. If they have never been arrested in the area, then the name they provided becomes their primary name (they establish criminal history with that name). There’s a lot more, don’t want to bore you….I just wanted to add, people need to protect themselves from ID theft too.
This is the oldest scam in the book, and I don’t get why anyone would give someone like this money. Personally, if I’m not in a hurry, I like to mess with these scumbags a bit and waste their time. I come off all sympathetic and wanting to be helpful, saying “I have one of those gallon gas cans in my car. let me go get it and we’ll go get some gas and help you get home.” So I let them follow me, and follow me and then they start saying don’t worry about it, just give a few bucks and they’ll get the gas themselves. Then I play dumb some more respond that I really want to make sure that their car starts, that it’s not just a empty gas tank, so really, it’s no trouble at all, lets go get you some gas. etc, etc…..
I figure I’m just doing my part to even the score a bit.
YOU’RE RIGHT ABOUT THIS NOT BEING NEW. AS WITH ALL BEGGARS I DO NOT GIVE THEM MONEY. OFFERED TO BUY GAS BUT FOR SOME REASON THEY DIDN’T SHOW UP AT THE STATION…ODD. THIS WAS 2 YEARS AGO.
I think this is the same guy who came to my front door, said he was a custodian at Hamilton Middle School and locked himself out of his car and needed money to pay a locksmith. He wasn’t able to get the money from his “employer” because they were in a staff meeting. Hmmmm…. I just told him I didn’t have any cash. He then walked towards the QFC in Wallyhood. I had no idea where his car even was. Wonder if any one else has had this experience?
I saw that guy the other day on 4th Ave between 40th and 42nd.
There’s also someone by this exact name on Facebook who lives in Seattle, no picture though. Any guesses how old this guy might be? The Facebook page lists his high school grad as 1970, which would make him around 58?
Also he could of course be driving someone elses car around…so that may not be his name after all.
http://www.facebook.com/alan.j.herbert
Without knowing this guy’s particular circumstances, I’m not sure that I see any difference between him and the gang hanging out at the 45th St off-ramp. Or, for that matter, many of the panhandlers in the city that hold signs by a freeway. He appears to be a scammer and a lier but so are many of the on-ramp/off-ramp scammers — he just has a different approach. Someone earlier mentioned calling the cops if you see this guy. For what? Panhandling? Lying? How many of the guys holding “disabled veteran” signs are really disabled veterans? In my opinion, you’re getting scammed there too if you give. I’m in no way condoning his actions — I wouldn’t give him a penny and I don’t give to panhandlers. I do give to Family Works and other charities that help the truly needy.
I agree Brian. If I had a military backround I’d ask those “vets” who salutes who? From what I hear if you’ve been in the military it’s something you never forget. Not going to give them money anyway or I’d look up the information. What about the girl with broken “leggs”? She’s on crutches. Wouldn’t she be in a wheelchair with two broken “leggs”?
Hi Bmacke,
Wow, you can look up vehicle registration information for out of state license plates? I had no idea.
If Alan James Herbert DOB is 07/04/1952, he could have graduatedb from HS in 1970. Also, there’s a guy using that name who has arrests and/or citations in SEA, TUK, KI, IS and FW. I have friends in common w/one of Alan’s friends on FB. I’m guessing the FB profile isn’t the gas man’s profile. I would love for him to be fingerprinted and have his prints searched through KC AFIS, WSP and the FBI. I’m curious who this guy really is.
Kris,
They will only appear online if they have offenses here in Seattle, which is pretty common since even a parking ticket will show up there.
It’s also a good free resource to check out if people have warrants, etc. I’ve used this to begin to screen tenants before.
There is a lot of public info here.
http://web1.seattle.gov/courts/cpi/