There was recently a case from New Jersey where a man posing as a waiter collected $186 from people who came to dine at two locals restaurants. According to victims, the bogus waiter looked to be about 20 year old with spiky hair. He was wearing a dark blue shirt with yellow tie and khaki pants. This is how it went down:

Bogus waiter sat in the restaurant and observed diners. He paid attention especially once diners were done and asked for a bill. Real waitress would bring the bill and he would keep a keen eye on which diners start putting actual cash together with which to pay for the bill. Once they appeared to have the cash handy, he’d approached them acting as though he was a chief waiter and asked them if they wished for anything else before paying. Diners said they were OK and handed him the cash. There are two reported cases in New Jersey alone. The first one happened in Hobson’s Choice in Hoboken, N.J where diners got scammed out of $90, the second one took place in Margherita’s Pizza and Cafe – three women there got scammed out of $96. There are likely more, undocumented cases or cases the police did not have reports finished on yet. Either way – someone realized that people who dine in restaurants generally trust waiters with their money and credit cards while frequently failing to make sure they are handing it to the right person.

Now check out the video above. That one is from England and bogus waiter there takes advantage of people who opt to sit outside on patios in nice weather. Bogus waiter would approach them as soon as they are seated, often times making themselves look like an actual waiter by either wiping off their table and handing over the menu which he picked up from another table. He used a hard to resist line that people who sit outside must leave their credit cards with the establishment as there have been many cases of people ordering drinks and leaving without paying. A line like that simply implies that you are suspected of being a potential thief which is what no honest person wants. This makes them really want to hand over their credit cards to make sure they look like honest buyers with sincere intentions to pay for their order.

Little do they know that they just handed their credit card to a bogus waiter. It’s cool how calm Brits are. Even after they find out they were just robbed off their credit cards, they keep it cool and get concerned with minimalistic reasons. If that was filmed in North America, we’d be watching screaming women freaking out, raising hell, suing the establishment and stabbing nearby kittens in the eye with their newly pedicured nails. Luckily for all credit card holders, their cards come with some form of protection so if their cards get stolen like that and abused right away, their credit card company would swallow the cost of unauthorized purchases. That’s what you pay for when you pay your annual credit card fees – they call it credit card/fraud protection or something like that.

Morale of the story – always make sure you know whom you’re handing your money/credit cards to. Wait until you are served drinks or food and pay to the same person who served you. Or stand up, walk to the cash register, tell them which table you were at and ask them to tell you the total which you want to pay for. We will probably see more bogus waiters popping out as the economic crisis deepens. Sadly, there will always be individuals too lazy or too worthless to earn their living by contributing to the society with their work. They will prefer stealing from others, especially since some settings make people more trusting. Don’t allow them to exploit you. Be a smart player, look after yourself. It’s always worth it!