I slipped the money from the ATM into my wallet as I hurried to my car. “Hey, excuse’!” I stopped. A young man yelled out his car window in the parking lot. “Can you a tell me to aeroporto?”

I answered using what broken Italian I knew. He was very grateful, and I told him my family was Calabresi. “Hey, me a too! My name is a Gianni!” He said. Gianni pulled his car over and told me he wanted to give me a present. He gave me his business card which read Giorgio Armani in big letters. Then he opened up his back door and showed my three “Giorgio Reportage Armani” leather jackets.

“I a give a to you. They are a worth $500 each. I don’t want to pay the taxes on them when I leave the country to fly back to Italy right now. ” He yelled. (I thought, why would HE pay any excise taxes for Giorgio Armani?)

He put a handled paper bag in my hand and folded the three coats in them. I started to laugh. Then my phone rang. It was my oldest son. “Sorry Brandon, I can’t talk right now, I am busy being swindled, ” I laughed.

I waited for the punch line, still smiling broadly.

“Hey, you a my friend. Take them as my gift.” Then he paused. “Oh, tomorrow is my son’s birthday and I would like to give him a present. Can you give me whatever cash you can?”

I doubled over laughing, still holding the bag. That was the worst con I heard in a long time. I opened the car door and stuck the bag in the back seat.

“Ciao,” I said getting into my car, still laughing.

So, what precautions should you take when approached by someone like this:

If it is too good to be true, it probably is: As a CPA, I have conducted fraud investigations, or exposed deficiencies in internal control. So, I am skeptical in any bargain. You should always start from a skeptical frame of mind and make the other party earn your confidence. Start with “the smell test.” If your intuition is tells you “no,” go with it and don’t look back. Don’t venture outside of your expertise : The one thing that Gianni didn’t factor was that I don’t buy clothes. My wardrobe consists of birthday and Christmas presents. My wife buys things for me from time to time. But, I hate shopping, especially clothes. When my wife takes me to a mall, I bring a book and carry her packages. So, if you don’t know anything about an item, don’t buy it. Don’t let anyone pressure you: Gianna spoke very fast and tried to increase the tempo of the transaction in order to cloud my thinking. Most people will say, “I have another offer.” Or, ” This deal will not last.” Take a breath and step back. If the person continues to talk, shut him down. Look at all available data : If I had time, I could have looked closer at his card. Here is what I discovered after I left: He did not have an Armani email address. His email address is Armanirep@yahoo.it. It bounced when I tried it later. His address read Milano, but the phone number is in an American format 335-565-3504. The number was no good. An Italian number would have looked like +39 02 7602 1743. I found a number of scams on the Internet selling the same fraudulent brand. https://reviews.ebay.com/How-to-Spot-a-Fake-Armani-Men-apos-s-Leather-Jacket?ugid=10000000002354776 Here is a similar incident to one who caved in. https://www.ripoffreport.com/organized-crime/rga-giorgio-armani-r/rga-giorgio-armani-reportage-l-2d487.htm Don’t be afraid to say no to a “great” deal : “Once in a lifetime chances” usually come by all of the time. As I said to my son who could not close a deal with his first car, “Good deals come by all of the time. If you miss one, look for the next. But, bad deals will hurt you a long time, financially and emotionally.”

As a CPA. I have seen many shady dealings in the last 30 years. I guess part of my CPA training help me become a financial skeptic. Don’t be afraid to look at something from many different angles. You can also call on your CPA or financial professional to help you.