Yesterday, at the intersection of Shengli North Street and Zhongshan Road in Shenyang, two young men dressed in hiking gear claimed they were “stranded here and needed money for food,” drawing a crowd of onlookers.
Over the course of three days, reporters encountered the same two men twice at different locations, both times claiming they were “long-distance cyclists who had run into trouble here and hoped kind-hearted people would help them with a few dozen yuan for a meal.”
They were wearing hiking clothes, riding off-road bikes, and carrying smartphones worth nearly 4,000 yuan. Strangely, when you offered them money to help, they “didn’t want money for food” but instead tried to sell you gear.
Since similar scams have been exposed in China before, the two men didn’t manage to “beg” a single cent all afternoon yesterday...
At around 3 p.m. yesterday, at the intersection of Shengli North Street and Zhongshan Road in Shenyang, two young men dressed in hiking gear quickly drew a crowd. The two were not tall, very thin, wore helmets, and spoke with a southern accent. They leaned on trekking poles and carried a backpack covered with a waterproof cover, with a piece of cardboard laid on the ground and weighed down by a small shovel. The cardboard read: “Long-distance cyclists stranded here, hoping kind-hearted people will help with a few dozen yuan for a meal, to be used as travel funds (equipment for transfer).” Behind them were two entry-level off-road bikes of a domestic brand.
Coincidentally, reporters from Beiguowang and Liao Shen Evening News saw the two men at around 1 p.m. on November 29 at the entrance of Wuyi Market Clothing City, with all the same gear and the same message on the cardboard. Only that time they said they had cycled from Jiangxi, this time from Hangzhou...
After chatting with the reporters, the two said they had come from Hangzhou. “We just arrived in Shenyang today, it’s our first time here.” This set of gear “is for sale for 3,000 yuan,” one shovel is 100 yuan, and each bike is 1,000 yuan.
After observing for a while, the reporters noticed there were many onlookers and many people asking questions, but no one actually spent money to buy the gear. One of the two men told the reporters, “So far, we haven’t sold anything.”
A sanitation worker surnamed Kang said, “They were here yesterday afternoon, and today is their second day here. Everyone knows what’s going on, and it seems no one has given them any money.” Onlooker Mr. Li said, “That shovel can be bought at a fishing gear store for just over 20 yuan, and the market price for those bikes is only about seven or eight hundred yuan each.”
Later, the reporters revealed their identities and offered to help the two find food and lodging, and even help them get home. The two responded, “No need, we’ll have enough money after selling this gear.”
At this point, it seemed the song playing on one of the man’s phones had an issue, so he took out his phone from his pocket and took a look. The reporters noticed the phone was worth nearly 3,700 yuan on the market. Ten minutes after revealing their identities, the two rode away, saying they were “going for a stroll.”