Shut down this scam

Each of 300,000 or more people moving through Times Square daily — many of them tourists — are tempting targets to various scammers and hustlers. Costumed characters and naked ladies want tips, but they have to stay in the designated areas. Bus ticket hawkers are seeking sales, but they have to comply with laws and regulations. Panhandlers ask for cash, as is their right.

Then there are the folks who appear every day at 48th St. and Broadway, outside the busy M&M’s World store. They wear shirts and hats labeled “Homeless Issue,” and, standing at podiums, they insult, intimidate and threaten passersby under the false premise of collecting for an actual charity.

There’s no such charity. By all available evidence, the money goes from the collection box into the pockets of the people doing the collecting. Panhandling is one thing, fraud is another. Years ago, a similar con was perpetrated by the United Homeless Organization, a sham charity that put donations in large water bottles. It was shut down by then-state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo in 2010.

The current AG, Eric Schneiderman, has been looking at the Homeless Issue people at the urging of state Sen. Brad Hoylman.

There’s no need to wait. The NYPD shouldn’t just receive complaints; it should decide for itself whether harassment is taking place. The city Department of Transportation should determine if the pests’ podiums impede the flow of pedestrians.

The Department of Consumer Affairs should double-check to see if they are in line with all the rules. The Manhattan district attorney should weigh fraud charges.

Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer is calling for a coordinated plan from all.

Good. Times Square is free to all. It cannot be a free-for-all.