I was approached by a youngish (early-to-mid 20s) Italian man, with brown hair, driving a nice car. He seemed distraught, and told me that he was "Danilo Ripa, " the son of a designer for Ferrari cars and a fashion model for Armani, who was stranded in LA, and who needed cash to pay for his rental car. (His English was OK, but he had a strong accent). He offered me some leather jackets, which he claimed were Gucci, but which I learned later were knockoffs, in exchange for my help, and promised that his family would recompense me.
He was quite charming and seemed helpless; he persuaded me to give him a significant amount of money, and possibly got much of my personal info (SS #, address etc.) The police claimed to be totally unable to help me, as I had no information that could help in tracking him down.
Others have made similar reports on this website (one of them about a year old), so it's clear he's a total pro. I hope this will help others from falling victim to him and with luck he'll be brought to justice.
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