Kelowna Daily Courier:
The cheap-TV scam is playing again in the Central Okanagan. This time it was a Lake Country businessman who was cheated out of $300 on Wednesday after he agreed to buy a 52-inch plasma TV at that super price. “He seemed like a nice guy and was a good talker,” said Mike McGowan of Lake Country Wine and Stein. “He knew my name, but I didn‘t remember him. “He said his buddy just got a container load of televisions and there were 55 extra televisions in the container. He said sometimes they will throw some extras in to fill up the container, blah, blah, blah.” The con man said he had five or six of the TVs left and wondered if McGowan wanted one for $300. “I thought, ’Sure, OK, that sounds good,‘” said McGowan. “I made some calls to friends who also wanted one. So I reached into my till – stupid, stupid mistake – and gave him $300.”
McGowan was then pitched the idea of building a display in his store with the six extra TVs and selling them there. “Who wouldn‘t want one?” said McGowan. The con man left, but never came back with the TVs. McGowan said he didn‘t think the non-existent TVs were stolen. “No, he made the story up so well,” said McGowan. “He was a good talker. I‘m a good talker too, so that built a confidence level in me. “When you‘re an innocent person, such as myself, you don‘t think others are non-innocent and you get taken. That‘s what they do with seniors. I just wanted people to know this is going on.” The same scam was used at least twice in Kelowna about 15 months ago. At that time, the price for a non-existent 42-inch plasma television was also $300. In each case, the victim was left waiting in a vehicle while the con man disappeared.
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