RyanInBos snapped one of the signs management at Faneuil Hall Marketplace have put up to warn tourists against people in saffron monk's robes who hand out trinkets and then expect payment in return.
"These are not real monks," the signs warn. "They have been harassing our visitors - please do not encourage them by giving them money."
The faux monks have also flooded Long Wharf and the area in front of the New England Aquarium this summer.
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They're around South Station and DTX,
By anon
Tue, 07/26/2016 - 8:51pm
too. I'm amazed any adult falls for them, but I see all kinds who do...smh.
They're also a big problem in NYC in tourist areas like Times Sq.
*The clip board alleged charity morons are a pain in the ass around South Station, too, as are shifty Lyndon LaRouche followers.
I see them every day
By Cappy
Wed, 07/27/2016 - 8:27am
It's amazing how people get sucked in. What gets me so angry is how much of people's time they waste.
They first put a cheap bracelet on their wrist. Then they take out some stupid notepad and ask them to write their name in it. Then they say some bullshit prayer in Chinese. Then finally they get to the give me five dollars part.
They also speak English by the way.
The monks are scammers but
By Chile Verde
Sat, 07/30/2016 - 3:31am
The monks are scammers but disagree with your assertion that all political activists asserting their first amendment right in public are shifty. Your ignorance indicates you've never stopped to engage them and discuss their policies. There should be more people out protesting the fact that we've seen a rigged election and an endless criminal war policy.
It's about time
By anon
Tue, 07/26/2016 - 9:03pm
It's about time they crack down on these scam artists. That same woman slipped a bracelet on my wrist once on Winter Street and said something in another language which was an unmistakable request for money. And how about the Romany Gypsies who have appeared like clockwork on the first hot day of Spring since the early 70s (at least) asking for money for "the children" or "the Indian children" while handing you a dead weed they got from the side of the road somewhere? And while we're at it they should put up photos of Sob Story Guy on the T announcing that he's not really trying to get to Springfield, Worcester or Pittsfield in the next 20 minutes to get a bed at a shelter.
I'm not sure real Buddhists...
By dmcboston
Tue, 07/26/2016 - 9:27pm
...hustle for coin like that. When they were in Worcester a few years ago, they had the Jade Buddha with them. It weighs four tons and the guy paid for the jade in Canada. It was shipped to Thailand and carved there. Beautiful statue.
The also lost the Golden Buddha for a few hundred years. They got into a fight with Cambodia and covered it with plaster to hide it. They then promptly forgot about it and rediscovered it in the twentieth century.
It weighs 11,000 pounds. Solid gold.
I hope these fakers get attacked by opossums.
Real Buddhist monks just stand with a begging bowl....
By Michael Kerpan
Tue, 07/26/2016 - 9:33pm
... waiting, in silence.
Not just any opossum...
By Gary C
Wed, 07/27/2016 - 8:33am
But adorable ones!
Fun fact: there is a gold Buddha in the US and it's in Arlington
By Nancy
Wed, 07/27/2016 - 11:56am
I forget how to embed YouTube videos but you can check it out here: http://jokhang.org/
I agree with dmcboston. A real monk would not trick you into giving money. A real monk would be humble and grateful for whatever offering you gave.
Any info....
By Michael Kerpan
Tue, 07/26/2016 - 9:30pm
... on what organization they are connected with (or do they just buy outfits and accessories and work as freelancers)?
When we visited NYC last summer we saw what looked like a similar operation....
Yep.
By Sally
Tue, 07/26/2016 - 9:59pm
They're all over the High Line.
High Line
By ChrisInEastie
Mon, 08/01/2016 - 1:03pm
Has similar signs at all of the entry points now too. I walked it last Sunday and didn't see any "Monks", so hopefully the signs help.
Didn't see any at Faneuil or Long Wharf either
By anon
Sun, 07/31/2016 - 3:27pm
When I was walking thru on 3 evenings last week.
Hopefully the signs are a sign of a larger police/security awareness working to stifle them.
Have to give credit where it's due. Very clever scam to impersonate monks.
They probably have to try to maximize income but could have been a steady moneymaker if they could keep up the charade.
I saw one
By ChrisInEastie
Mon, 08/01/2016 - 1:05pm
kind of between Long Wharf and Faneuil this this weekend, near Tia's and the trollies, but just the one.
They're hitting NYC hard too.
By ChrisInEastie
Tue, 07/26/2016 - 10:00pm
Spent the weekend there, and not only did I see a ton of them, but they have similar signs to this posted in popular parks. A guy working in the NHL Shop even pointed out that they were fake monks when one walked by the store, though for some reason he seemed genuinely surprised that we had them too.
San Francisco had a big problem with them last year (I've seen them there over the years, but I guess last summer was really bad), and there was a lot of media coverage about it.
A problem in New Zealand too
By Michael Kerpan
Tue, 07/26/2016 - 11:54pm
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id...
I kind of want to mess with
By anon
Tue, 07/26/2016 - 10:18pm
I kind of want to mess with them. How mafia are they?
Why not give them money?
By anon
Tue, 07/26/2016 - 10:22pm
Why not give them money? What is the difference from the other bums out there asking for money. They all have a scam.
A lot of "bums" feel the need to beg
By another anon
Tue, 07/26/2016 - 11:52pm
Not all (but many) panhandlers aren't really scamming. They're desperate for money and have no other legal way to make it.
These "monks" are a completely different animal. They're well-fed and well-clothed and organized. A complete racket that someone is truly profiting from. I'd like to see RICO charges on these dirtbags.
I'll give my money to the polite drunk or druggie any day over these criminals.
Thanks for posting and bringing this to attention Adam.
I let them engage me once at Long Wharf. Very humble and polite and Hare Krishna appearing, offering a little medallion.
I had a sec to hear their religious spiel. Nope. Immediate hard sell for cash. Buh bye.
Their only redeeming quality is that if you don't engage and wave them off they disengage as well, as far as I've seen.
They demand money, don't pay
By Kinopio
Wed, 07/27/2016 - 9:11am
They demand money, don't pay taxes, and tell you a story full of lies. Sounds like every religious group to me.
...Peachum, the "Beggar's Friend", controller of all the beggars
By theszak
Tue, 07/26/2016 - 11:21pm
Jonathan Jeremiah Peachum, the "Beggar's Friend", controller of all the beggars in London...
The story begins in the shop of Jonathan Jeremiah Peachum, the boss of London's beggars, who outfits and trains the beggars in return for a slice of their takings from begging. In the first scene, the extent of Peachum's iniquity is immediately exposed. Filch, a new beggar, is obliged to bribe his way into the profession and agree to pay over to Peachum 50 percent of whatever he made; the previous day he had been severely beaten up for begging within the area of jurisdiction of Peachum's protection racket.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Threepenny_Opera...
lmao
By Malcolm Tucker
Wed, 07/27/2016 - 10:59am
Thanks, buddy. I do love The Threepenny Opera, so this off-topic comment is very relevant to my interests. Personally, I relate most to Pirate Jenny:
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ec0clERjQ5A[/youtube]
I think I like the Cannon song at least as much...
By Michael Kerpan
Wed, 07/27/2016 - 11:07am
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoiisQuTI_Q
...Peachum, the "Beggar's Friend", controller of all the beggars
By theszak
Sat, 07/30/2016 - 5:08pm
Mr. Peachum - Anyone wishing to trade in begging in any one of these Districts must have a license from Jonathan Jeremiah Peachum
Mrs. Peachum - and Co.
Mr. Peachum - and Co. The Beggar's Big Brother specializing in the commodity of extracting human pity. You know it's a wonderful profession and everyone wishes to become a professional beggar but licenses are scarce and expensive.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4m_gzjFJLIE
Supposedly these fake monks....
By Michael Kerpan
Tue, 07/26/2016 - 11:53pm
... are connected with Chinese crime syndicates: http://www.lionsroar.com/fake-buddhist-monks/
That's baloney
By Wiffleball
Wed, 07/27/2016 - 6:45am
The fake monk scam is boot camp for being a chugger. Make enough and you get to wear your own clothes (plus a snazzy bib!) and hassle people in tourist traps like DTX and MGH.
It's definitely an annoying
By nathanw
Wed, 07/27/2016 - 5:27am
It's definitely an annoying and high-pressure scam. We ran into one in front of the Aquarium a couple of weeks ago.
Boston
By Bugs Bunny
Wed, 07/27/2016 - 7:07am
These people aren't any different than the bums who play music at T stops or the homeless. Let them be. It's part of Boston's character to be all inclusive.
Buskers are not "bums."
By CT
Wed, 07/27/2016 - 7:56am
Live music underground has sometimes Transported me. A few musicians are not very good or too loud, but for the most part they enhance the quality of life at the T stops and elsewhere.
With respect, playing music that's somewhere between bad
By roadman
Wed, 07/27/2016 - 2:14pm
and mediocre (which is an accurate description of about 90 percent of the T performers I've encountered) to a captive audience waiting for trains isn't what I exactly call enhancing the quality of life for T riders.
Completely different
By Bob Leponge
Wed, 07/27/2016 - 8:08am
The people who play music at T stops are earning a living by providing a service (music) that the public enjoys, in return for which the public pays them.
And the homeless aren't lying and scamming and pretending to be something they aren't.
Boston
By Bugs Bunny
Wed, 07/27/2016 - 9:56am
Boston - A city of inclusion (except for people we find scary)
Really?
By RoseMai
Wed, 07/27/2016 - 10:54am
I refuse to believe anyone enjoys the music that one guy in downtown crossing plays. The long, one stringed instrument that he plays with a bow? That sounds like a cat being strangled?
We should revoke his busker licence for not providing a service the public can enjoy!
The instrument can sound quite lovely...
By Michael Kerpan
Wed, 07/27/2016 - 11:03am
... but the music is different from standard Western music. In the hands of someone awful, it can be painful to hear (there used to be someone totally incompetent who played this in public -- but the busker I have heard most recently was pretty good).
An introduction to the erhu:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhic2cE57iM
Yes
By RoseMai
Wed, 07/27/2016 - 12:14pm
I know that it CAN sound good. But I've never heard it played well by the busker on the T. Maybe there's a second one out there with better skills.
So-called musicians on the T
By anon
Wed, 07/27/2016 - 12:10pm
"The people who play music at T stops are earning a living by providing a service (music) that the public enjoys,"
The problem is, a majority of them are providing no such service. Most of the "musicians" I encounter in T stops are essentially panhandlers masquerading as musicians. They are either mumbling acapella songs, singing off key to pre-recorded music or strumming one chord on an out of tune guitar with missing strings. I wish the T had a more stringent screening process, but it's probably the least of their worries right now.
Maybe the worst ever...
By Michael Kerpan
Wed, 07/27/2016 - 1:34pm
... a guy with a guitar singing very simple songs, and not even remembering more than a bit of Old McDonald (and similar songs).
Have you encountered them?
By Felicity
Wed, 07/27/2016 - 8:15am
As noted in the 2nd comment, the woman will "offer" you a bracelet, slip it on your wrist, then request money. When you decline to pay, she takes the bracelet back. It's intrusive and deceitful.
You have got to be kidding me.
By anon
Wed, 07/27/2016 - 6:59am
Fake monk Mafia? Please the same people who want the police to crack down on the monks will be the first to condemn the police if they arrest them.
If a blogger coined the term Black Lives Matter Mafia or Trump Mafia the implication would be their supporters were members of organized crime. To infer that these beggars are members of organized crime is racist and insulting.
They aren't beggars
By Bob Leponge
Wed, 07/27/2016 - 8:09am
They aren't beggars; they're scammers.
Did you bother to read any linked articles....
By Michael Kerpan
Wed, 07/27/2016 - 2:08pm
... which show that this is something happening (in almost exactly the same fashion) in many different places (not just in the uS) anhd that there is evidence that it IS linked to mainland Chinese syndicates?
I've been harassed too
By cybah
Wed, 07/27/2016 - 7:24am
I'm on Long Wharf alot these days (coming from or going to the fast ferry). I've been harassed by these folks big time. But then again, between these folks, Children International, beggars, and everyone else who asks for money on the streets of downtown Boston, I tend to just ignore people.
Anyone remember when there
By anon
Wed, 07/27/2016 - 8:05am
Anyone remember when there use to be old women in DTX giving out flowers? If you took them, they would harass and follow you until you gave them money. What ever happened to them? I don't see them anymore.
Guess I'm a sucker
By anon
Wed, 07/27/2016 - 8:17am
I fell for this 'scam' in NY not long ago. I don't feel to bad about it though because I liked the bracelet and they usually go for about $5 anyway.
Women with roses at DTX
By anon
Wed, 07/27/2016 - 8:27am
Anyone remember those women at DTX giving out flowers? They remind me of them. If you accepted the flower they would harass and follow you until you gave them money. What ever happened to them? I don't see them around anymore. Good thing...
i think they they have been
By mikex617x
Wed, 07/27/2016 - 1:59pm
i think they they have been somewhat displaced from winter street as it has been cleaned up.
Winter Street has been cleaned up????
By Cappy
Thu, 07/28/2016 - 9:40am
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
wait wait
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
yeah, right.
Heavy police presence in DTX
By anon
Sun, 07/31/2016 - 3:21pm
I think Winter an Summer and the area around the Corner have been cleaned up immensely sice the 80s..
I walk it frequently. How often do you?
The addicts around the Common and Tremont (and further down Washington toward City Hall) are another story.
There are also several Asian
By tcf098
Wed, 07/27/2016 - 8:56am
There are also several Asian women who frequent the Winter StreetWashington Street//DTX area who try to "sell" flowers. They've resorted to literally SHOVING the flowers into your chest as you walk by, in an attempt to make you grab it and pay for it. It almost borders on assault.
This monk situation just goes to show, it's probably best to not give money to people on the streets. If you want to help the homeless or less fortunate, donate to actual organizations that are set up to help the people who really need it.
So take the gift
By anon
Wed, 07/27/2016 - 10:07am
Take the flowers (or bracelet, or whatever) and just keep walking. Let them chase you. Admittedly, this is easier for me (a fit young man) than for some others.
Gypsies
By cybah
Wed, 07/27/2016 - 10:25am
They have been around for as long as I've lived in Boston (Almost 20 years now). This is one of the oldest, and longest running scams I've seen on the streets of Boston.
I noticed one day they rode the orange line to Malden, so I followed them. They live in a HUGE house in Malden on highland where there's three Mercedes' parked in the drive way. Their flower bit is a total scam thru and thru.
What they do is force you to take the flower, and the minute you open your wallet, they go in for the kill. The flower price goes up by the amount of how much cash you have in your wallet. I've watched these ladies "dip" into people's wallets (literally reach in and take money), charging them upwards of 20 bucks for a 1 dollar carnation flower because people feel compelled by giving something (and they won't break a 20).
I personally have walked up to people who these ladies were accosting, and said "Don't give them money, they are scam artists. they live in Malden with three Mercedes in the driveway". That's usually enough to watch them scamper away. They know me by face now and will high tail it out of any area they see me in, because I will walk up to their victims and tell not to donate because it's a scam.
Sad that people have to resort to extorting money out of tourists. But then again, people open their wallets so quickly to these people, so they continue to do it.
Gypsy Scam
By anon
Wed, 07/27/2016 - 11:55am
I swear some of the female gypsies pulling the scam at DTX are the exact same ones I saw back in the early 70s! They're indestructible.
As for informing people of the scam, I do that when I see people giving money to Sob Story Guy on the T. They are usually tourists and don't know he's pulling a scam.
You can afford a big house and 3 fancy cars
By CT
Wed, 07/27/2016 - 8:24pm
selling old flowers to tourists? Sweeet!
You'd think this kind of thing would be on its way out
By Michael
Wed, 07/27/2016 - 8:57am
People don't carry cash around the way they used to, and a beggar with an iPad and a Square would be sort of giving the game away.
How might James Veitch reply as approached by so called "monks"?
By theszak
Sun, 07/31/2016 - 9:31pm
How might bright bulb James Veitch reply as approached by Boston so called "monks"?
see also
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N682eopajzA
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