New York City Buddhist leaders are sounding the alarm to tourists to beware of the growing number of 'fake monks' on the city's streets.

Men in orange robes claiming to be Buddhist monks are approaching visitors to some of the city's most popular attractions, handing them shiny medallions and offering greetings of peace.

They then hit them up for donations to help them build a temple in Thailand, and are persistent if their demands are refused.

'The problem seems to be increasing,' said the Rev. TK Nakagaki, president of the Buddhist Council of New York, a group that represents nearly two dozen Buddhist temples. 'They are very aggressive and hostile if you don't give them money.'

'They’re not authentic. They’re not real. They’re playing on people’s heart strings,' said Michelle Dunson of the Buddhist Council of New York told CBS New York. 'It’s basically a scam like any other.'

A man wearing an orange robe talks with a woman in New York's Times Square. The city and others, including San Francisco, have a problem with fake panhandling monks

His group has taken to the streets and social media to warn people that the men appear to have no affiliation to any Buddhist temple. 'Please be aware,' read one Facebook post, 'this is a scam'.

Along the popular 1.5mile High Line elevated park, one of the robed men handed a couple a shiny, gold-colored medallion and a plastic beaded bracelet. He then showed them photos of a planned temple and barked, 'Ten dollars! Twenty dollars!'

When they wouldn't give up cash, he snatched the trinkets back.

Other brightly robed men have been spotted pulling the same routine, albeit more successfully, in Times Square, not far from where costumed characters such as Elmo, Minnie Mouse and the Naked Cowboy take pictures with tourists for tips.

Some of the monks were later seen handing wads of cash to another man waiting nearby.

A man who says he is a Buddhist monk hands a medallion to a woman as he solicits donations on New York City's Times Square

The Associated Press tried to ask more than half-dozen of the men about their background and the temple they said the donations were being used to support.

Each claimed to be a Buddhist monk collecting money for a temple in Thailand, but none could give its name or say where exactly it is located.

All the men refused to give their names and ran off when pressed for answers.

The men first started appearing at the High Line, a New York City public park that's maintained by a private nonprofit group, about three years ago, said Robert Hammond, executive director of Friends of the High Line.

But it 'became excessive' in the past year, he said, with up to a dozen of the men accosting tourists at once and sometimes grabbing them to demand cash.

On Wednesday, pedestrians pass a warning sign about fake monk panhandlers on The High Line, one of New York City's most visited attractions

Panhandling on city streets isn't illegal in New York, as long as the person isn't acting aggressively. But the city's parks department has a rule that says it is unlawful to solicit money without a permit from the parks commissioner.

When asked about the men, New York City Parks Commissioner Mitchell Silver initially said: 'I have no idea what you're talking about.' He later said that if the men aren't abiding by the law, 'the parks enforcement patrol will take care of it.'

But parks department spokeswoman Crystal Howard said parks enforcement officers hadn't issued any summonses and the men's actions were 'aggressive panhandling,' a violation of state law that would be enforced by police.

The fake Buddhist monks wear orange robes and carry shiny medallions, stopping people in New York City to offer greetings of peace - in 2014, a reporter followed one fake monk back to a flophouse where he used his cash to buy a jug of wine

HOW TO TELL A FAKE MONK In general, monks associated with real temples do not go around soliciting money on the streets. 'There's not too many monks in New York City,' Rev. TK Nakagaki told the DailyMail. Real monks do not act aggressively, and would gladly offer a blessing without asking for money, and would certainly not demand a higher amount of money than the one offered. 'We would not just say 'give me the money,' says Nakagak. 'We would explain what we need it for, what we're doing with it.' Authentic monks typically would not acknowledge a donation, and would avoid eye contact. They would not sell beads, medallions, amulets, or rosaries. Monks associated with real temples should be able to answer questions about which temple they belong to, and wouldn't walk away or refuse to answer questions. A genuine monk should be able to answer questions about Buddhism, such as the Five Precepts. Advertisement

New York City police say that in the rare cases when someone has called 911 against the men, they were usually gone by the time officers arrived.

However, these monks are not new - and there have been sporadic attempts to control them.

In 2014, at least nine fake monks were arrested on charges of aggressive begging or unlicensed vending, according to the New York Times.

But their numbers seemed to have only increased. According to the Times, no one seems to know where they have come from, and Buddhists who have questioned them have not been able to get answers.

A New York Times reporter, however, followed one fake monk back to Flushing, where he split his cash for the day with another man, bought a $12.99 jug of red wine, and went back to a flophouse where recent immigrants were living.

A few days after the AP inquired about the men on the High Line, several signs were posted there with photos of them, warning visitors not to give money to panhandlers.

Similarly robed men have been spotted in San Francisco, asking tourists to sign their 'peace petition' before demanding cash.

They have also been spotted in other countries, such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Hong Kong and China.

In China, authorities said the problem of 'fake' monks begging in the streets prompted them to create an online registry of all actual Buddhist and Taoist sites.

Real New York City monks say the fake ones are impinging upon their reputations and making it difficult for them to walk around the city without getting the side eye.

Puttar Chansomboon, a 32-year-old real monk from Thailand, said a man asked him if he was part of the same group of monks 'who are smoking and begging.'

In Times Square, the warnings came too late for tourist Rob Cardillo, of Pennsylvania. He gave a robed man $10 to help out with his temple, without ever asking anything about the temple or what the money would be used for.