A former Miss New York USA has gone viral after issuing a PSA to New Yorkers and tourists about a common scam she fell victim to.
And most commenters seem to be asking, “Are you new here?”
Beauty queen turned real estate agent Briana Siaca detailed in a video posted Saturday how she was sitting in Madison Square Park listening to a podcast and enjoying the day when two teen boys came over and swindled $2,000 from her using a very common “Zelle scam.”
“If you live in New York City or know of anyone who lives here, be careful. Yesterday, I was sitting in Madison Square Park, in nature, minding my business, listening to a podcast and these two boys came over and they were fundraising for their basketball team,” the Brentwood, Long Island, native says in the clip.
“They allegedly play in South Bronx and can’t afford their uniforms — and they were giving me the whole spiel,” she says.
“I agreed to give them some money but I didn’t have any cash on me so they accepted Venmo and Zelle.”
The boys allegedly went on to say that they preferred Zelle and when she pulled open the app one of the boys offered to put in their account information for her.
“He takes my phone, starts putting in his stuff. I’m talking to the other boy who’s telling me all about his team, how well they’ve been doing and how much I would be helping and so on,” Siaca, a real estate agent at the Corcoran Group, said.
Siaca said she then realized the boy with her phone was taking a while and grabbed it back, prompting the two to thank her and quickly run away.
“I looked at my Zelle account and they sent themselves $2,000,” she said.
Police have long warned New Yorkers against these scams, which involve people asking for donations — usually to purportedly to benefit youth sports teams, activities or nonprofits using Venmo, Cash App or Zelle.
While her bank was not able to do much, Siaca said the NYPD was “beyond helpful.”
“These kids have been scamming people all around the city, in New York City parks, Barclays Center and like, they are out and about scamming people, sending Venmo and Zelles to themselves,” she noted.
“I’m shocked. It feels kind of like a scary dream because these boys were so seemingly sweet and innocent and charming and I thought it was really brave they were going around raising money for their team.”
The Post has reached out to Siaca for comment.
Many were quick to share sharp comments in response to Siaca’s vulnerability online, with many quipping that she “must not be from New York.”
“Are you new here?” one commentator wrote.
“NEVER give anyone your phone. Hello?” another added.
A kinder commentated chimed in, “Honey that’s all on you!! Sorry this happened to you, take it as lesson learned, they will lose ten times that.”
