Exact same thing happened to me two weeks ago in Palm Beach Gardens, ver batim. Alexandro Paualese, Marketing Director on the card. Told him to take a hike...
I just read many similar reports on this website going back to 2008. It's now almost 10 years later and this scam is still working.
Here's how it worked: I drove up to Walgreens and got out of my car when a man in a white hatchback drove up and asked for directions to the Miami International Airport. He had a very thick Italian accent, dark hair, thin build, olive skin color, somewhat "bony" facial features. He showed me his phone and said he was from Italy and needed to know how to get to the airport but his phone didn't work here. I got out my iPhone and ran a Waze route for him. He repeated the directions, getting it wrong, and I corrected him. He then started to drive away (i.e. he set the hook).
Then he stopped his car and called me over. "You know, I'd like to GIVE you something for helping me. Let me show you." He pulled his car into a parking spot and opened the trunk. I saw his suitcase (a roller, probably too big for the overhead bin) and two maroon bags with "A Collezioni" printed on them. He explained he was a sales rep for the Collezioni factory. He is in the United States selling to Bloomingdales. He showed me his business card, which I didn't even look at until later. "Riccardo Pugliesi, Marketing Director, [email protected]. 1-702-567-8244 cell, 390 240 6474 office, via San gallo 45 Milano 20133 Italy." On the other side it has "Bloomingdales." He said he was flying back to Italy and had samples of leather jackets, but it will cost him $750 in duties per jacket to bring them back. He said the jackets sell in Bloomingdales for $750 each, and he'll GIVE them all to me. He asked where I shopped up north, mentioned some malls he sells to in MA that I am familiar with, and complemented me on my Burberry shirt. (It was all very improv and very smooth.) He thought his jackets would fit me because I have a slim build, perfect for the Italian cut, and for my son who is bigger, the second bag had bigger sizes. I figured what the heck, for free I don't even have to try them on. He showed me how nicely made they were, and I agreed they look well made. They were each in a plastic bag printed with "A Collezioni Import Export Italy Design." Each jacket smelled like nice leather and had a luggage tag like a credit card with an embossed number but no mag stripe, and another tag labeled "New Collection" with sizes.
I thanked him, shook hands, and put the two bags in my car and started to walk away, when he called me back. He showed me an Alamo car rental receipt which I glanced at and saw "Alamo" but I didn't read the date or verify it. (Missed red flag: you don't get the 2-inch wide and very long receipt until you return the car. When you rent a car, you get a rental agreement on normal size paper.) He also showed me his passport, but I barely glanced at it and didn't look to see if his picture was in it. He said "I have a wife and family in Milano and the car will cost me $1,000. Can I help pay for the rental?" I thought it was odd, but offered him $50. He said, "$50, that's only $35 Euros. Can't you do better? Those jackets are worth hundreds of dollars." So I took back the $50 and gave him $100. Still he wasn't happy, so I said I don't want all the jackets, take back half, and he did. He asked what sizes I wanted, and I pulled out a larger one. He then walked away looking very very unhappy (that should have been another red flag, but I didn't think about it at the time).
He was very slick and very convincing. I wasn't sure I was actually scammed until I looked up A Collezioni and found this website. Sadly, two of the jackets are the same size and too small, and one is too big!
What this guy doesn't know is that the entire transaction was recorded on Walgreen's surveillance camera. I'm not sure the local police will care about a $100 scam when I ended up with 3 leather jackets, but I'll see. And, yes, I'm feeling quite stupid, and my wife won't let me live this down, but misery loves company and I'm so gratified to see that I'm not the only gullible person out there. Too bad others probably won't read this until after they are scammed too, but I am going to be less trusting in the future!
A Collezioni Reviews
(702) 567-8244
Exact same thing happened to me two weeks ago in Palm Beach Gardens, ver batim. Alexandro Paualese, Marketing Director on the card. Told him to take a hike...
I just read many similar reports on this website going back to 2008. It's now almost 10 years later and this scam is still working.
Here's how it worked: I drove up to Walgreens and got out of my car when a man in a white hatchback drove up and asked for directions to the Miami International Airport. He had a very thick Italian accent, dark hair, thin build, olive skin color, somewhat "bony" facial features. He showed me his phone and said he was from Italy and needed to know how to get to the airport but his phone didn't work here. I got out my iPhone and ran a Waze route for him. He repeated the directions, getting it wrong, and I corrected him. He then started to drive away (i.e. he set the hook).
Then he stopped his car and called me over. "You know, I'd like to GIVE you something for helping me. Let me show you." He pulled his car into a parking spot and opened the trunk. I saw his suitcase (a roller, probably too big for the overhead bin) and two maroon bags with "A Collezioni" printed on them. He explained he was a sales rep for the Collezioni factory. He is in the United States selling to Bloomingdales. He showed me his business card, which I didn't even look at until later. "Riccardo Pugliesi, Marketing Director, [email protected]. 1-702-567-8244 cell, 390 240 6474 office, via San gallo 45 Milano 20133 Italy." On the other side it has "Bloomingdales." He said he was flying back to Italy and had samples of leather jackets, but it will cost him $750 in duties per jacket to bring them back. He said the jackets sell in Bloomingdales for $750 each, and he'll GIVE them all to me. He asked where I shopped up north, mentioned some malls he sells to in MA that I am familiar with, and complemented me on my Burberry shirt. (It was all very improv and very smooth.) He thought his jackets would fit me because I have a slim build, perfect for the Italian cut, and for my son who is bigger, the second bag had bigger sizes. I figured what the heck, for free I don't even have to try them on. He showed me how nicely made they were, and I agreed they look well made. They were each in a plastic bag printed with "A Collezioni Import Export Italy Design." Each jacket smelled like nice leather and had a luggage tag like a credit card with an embossed number but no mag stripe, and another tag labeled "New Collection" with sizes.
I thanked him, shook hands, and put the two bags in my car and started to walk away, when he called me back. He showed me an Alamo car rental receipt which I glanced at and saw "Alamo" but I didn't read the date or verify it. (Missed red flag: you don't get the 2-inch wide and very long receipt until you return the car. When you rent a car, you get a rental agreement on normal size paper.) He also showed me his passport, but I barely glanced at it and didn't look to see if his picture was in it. He said "I have a wife and family in Milano and the car will cost me $1,000. Can I help pay for the rental?" I thought it was odd, but offered him $50. He said, "$50, that's only $35 Euros. Can't you do better? Those jackets are worth hundreds of dollars." So I took back the $50 and gave him $100. Still he wasn't happy, so I said I don't want all the jackets, take back half, and he did. He asked what sizes I wanted, and I pulled out a larger one. He then walked away looking very very unhappy (that should have been another red flag, but I didn't think about it at the time).
He was very slick and very convincing. I wasn't sure I was actually scammed until I looked up A Collezioni and found this website. Sadly, two of the jackets are the same size and too small, and one is too big!
What this guy doesn't know is that the entire transaction was recorded on Walgreen's surveillance camera. I'm not sure the local police will care about a $100 scam when I ended up with 3 leather jackets, but I'll see. And, yes, I'm feeling quite stupid, and my wife won't let me live this down, but misery loves company and I'm so gratified to see that I'm not the only gullible person out there. Too bad others probably won't read this until after they are scammed too, but I am going to be less trusting in the future!