MONKY BUSINESS
Vancouver police urge people to be wary of pushy panhandlers posing as monks
Vancouver police are advising caution after reports of money-hungry monks running an internationally known scam in downtown Vancouver.
Buddhist societies outside of Asia generally forbid monks from begging for, or even handling, money. But in the past week there have been multiple reports and even incidents witnessed by Province reporters of golden-robed men engaged in pushy panhandling near busy Vancouver transit stations.
“He was brazen and insistent. I felt confused and put out.” — Kent Spencer
Province reporter Kent Spencer reported he was rushing to catch a bus near Waterfront Station last Friday when two short men in yellow robes approached.
“One guy shoves a small bead bracelet in my hand and some literature and then he opens this notebook and starts making ‘ugh, ugh’ noises that he wants me to do something,” Spencer said. “The notebook had a column marked for donations and a couple dozen people’s names who apparently had given funds. He gave no indication that he could speak English and just started gesturing with his arms and saying ‘money.’ ”
Spencer said he started filling out the form but walked away when the monk couldn’t answer some basic questions.
“He was brazen and insistent, ”Spencer said. “I felt confused and put out.”
The modus operandi sounds nearly identical to cases reported in Australia. Other cases have been reported in New York and Toronto.
“They walk up to individuals in the street, they are dressed in saffron robes and they are offering a token that looks like a gold coin,” Consumer Protection Scamnet director Dave Hillyard told ABC Perth in January. “They open up a list to show that people have donated $20, $30 or $50 ... they have very poor English skills.”
Several days ago another Province reporter witnessed a gold-robed man seeking money from people walking near the Waterfront Station exit on Howe Street.
And Vancouver woman Megan Joyce told The Province she saw a pushy presentation at the entrance to Granville Island, but didn’t see any money changing hands.
“I saw a monk pull someone aside,” she said. “He was handing something out, and was practically forcing it into people’s hands without them stopping.”
Vancouverites are also reporting stories online of monks handing out gold-coloured trinkets and asking for donations near Burrard and Granville transit hubs downtown.
“I was approached by someone pretending to be a monk yesterday at Burrard Station,” one man wrote. “He had the trinket in his left hand and got close enough to try to reach out and touch my shoulder with his other hand. I said, ‘Beat it, scammer’ and he did a 180.”
Unlike a rash of cases in Toronto in 2013, the capitalistic monks haven’t triggered official police reports in Vancouver yet.
“I am aware of the scam and that the ‘monks’ are here in Vancouver, but I am not aware of any specific complaints made to the Vancouver Police Department about them,” said Const. Brian Montague. “We always remind people to be cautious of giving money to someone on the street, (because) you don’t necessarily know who they are or have any guarantees they truly represent the charity they say they do.”
Katsuya Aoki, priest at the Vancouver Buddhist Temple, said in Japan monks chant and accept money on street corners, but the rules in North America tend to forbid monks seeking “secular” donations.
“In Vancouver I’ve never seen that,” Aoki said.