- The former Miss New York was scammed among thousands in a New York park
- Now she has gone viral warning other New Yorkers about the thieves who kidnapped her.
A former beauty queen racked up hundreds of thousands of views on a video she shared describing a Zelle scam she fell victim to in the middle of New York City.
Briana Siaca, former Miss New York USA and current real estate agent with the Corcoran Group, posted a video on TikTok describing a recent encounter she had with two young scammers.
In his public service warning to susceptible New Yorkers, he said he had been listening to a podcast in Madison Square Park when two teenagers approached him and told him they were “raising funds for their basketball team.”
“They supposedly play in the South Bronx and can’t afford their uniforms, and they were giving me the whole spiel,” the Long Island native said.
“I agreed to give them some money, but I didn’t have any cash, so they took Venmo and Zelle,” he continued, adding that the teens told him they preferred Zelle to Venmo.
Briana Siaca, former Miss New York USA, was scammed out of $2,000 by two teenagers in the middle of Madison Square Park
He said he then took out his phone and asked them where he could send the money.
One of the boys told her he would be happy to plug the information into her device, to which she agreed and handed him her phone while chatting with the other teen.
At some point, Siaca realized that the teen with his phone had been taking an unusually long time to enter his account information and took the phone away from him.
The teenagers then thanked her and hurried away before she had a chance to see what they had done.
“I looked at my Zelle account and $2,000 was sent,” she told her followers.
‘I am in shock. “It feels like a scary dream because these guys were seemingly so sweet and innocent and charming and I thought it was really brave that they were raising money for their team,” she said.
Siaca said two teenagers approached her in the middle of the park while she was alone listening to a podcast.
Siaca said he’s contacted his bank, but it doesn’t seem like they can do much: Once Zelle transactions are sent, it’s very difficult to get the digital cash back without the recipient sending it back directly.
He said he reported the theft to the local NYPD precinct and that the officers there were “beyond helpful.”
They told him that “kids have been scamming people all over the city, in New York City parks, at Barclays Center, and they’re out scamming people, sending Venmo and Zelles to themselves,” he said. .
New York City law enforcement officials have warned New Yorkers and tourists to be very alert to these scams, which often involve relatively unassuming-looking teenagers soliciting donations for youth sports leagues or other activities. extracurriculars through popular cash apps.
The now Corcoran Group member said she handed her phone to one of the boys so he could enter his information into Zelle, but eventually realized it was taking a suspiciously long time to do so.
By the time she grabbed her phone and the boys ran off, $2,000 had been sent from her bank account that she may or may not get back.
While some on social media mocked Siaca’s naivety, her father defended her to the end. New York Postsaying he had been recovering from a recent wisdom teeth extraction when he was targeted by the scam.
“They gave her some pretty strong medication and she was sitting there very groggy trying to take a moment after the surgery and they were watching her,” said David Siaca, 70.
“They told her a story, they said, ‘We need help,’ some charity, and she was all stunned and just handed him her phone.
“These people, I mean, they’re like predators,” he added.
