A former Miss New York USA has gone viral after issuing a PSA to New Yorkers and tourists about a common scam to which she fell victim.
Beauty queen-turned-real estate agent Briana Siaca detailed in a video posted Saturday how she was sitting in Madison Square Park listening to a podcast and enjoying the day when two teen boys came over and swindled $2,000 from her using a very common “Zelle scam.”
“If you live in New York City or know of anyone who lives here, be careful. Yesterday, I was sitting in Madison Square Park, in nature, minding my business, listening to a podcast and these two boys came over and they were fundraising for their basketball team,” the Brentwood, Long Island, native says in the clip.
Briana Siaca shared a video on TikTok Saturday detailing how she fell victim to a common NYC scam. Stephen Yang“They allegedly play in South Bronx and can’t afford their uniforms — and they were giving me the whole spiel,” she says.
“I agreed to give them some money but I didn’t have any cash on me so they accepted Venmo and Zelle.”
When reached at her family’s Long Island home, David Siaca, 70, told The Post his daughter was having a “bad time” after getting her wisdom teeth removed when the two “predators” targeted her.
“They had her on some pretty strong medication and she was sitting there very groggy trying to just take a moment after the surgery and they were watching her,” her father said. “They gave her some story, they said, ‘We need some help,’ some charity work, and she was all groggy and just handed her phone over.”
“These people, I mean, they’re like predators,” the upset father added.
In her now-viral video, Siaca says the boys allegedly went on to say that they preferred Zelle and when she pulled open the app, one of the boys offered to put in their account information for her.
“He takes my phone, starts putting in his stuff. I’m talking to the other boy who’s telling me all about his team, how well they’ve been doing and how much I would be helping and so on,” said Siaca, a real estate agent at the Corcoran Group.
Siaca said she then realized the boy with her phone was taking a while and grabbed it back, prompting the two to thank her and quickly run away.
Siaca said she was sitting in the park minding her business when the interaction occurred. TikTok/@bri.nyc“I looked at my Zelle account and they sent themselves $2,000,” she said.
Police have long warned New Yorkers against these scams, which involve people asking for donations — usually purportedly to benefit youth sports teams, activities or nonprofits using Venmo, Cash App or Zelle.
While her bank was not able to do much, Siaca said the NYPD was “beyond helpful.”
“These kids have been scamming people all around the city, in New York City parks, Barclays Center and like, they are out and about scamming people, sending Venmo and Zelles to themselves,” she noted.
“I’m shocked. It feels kind of like a scary dream because these boys were so seemingly sweet and innocent and charming and I thought it was really brave they were going around raising money for their team.”
Siaca said the NYPD was “beyond helpful” after her money was stolen. Instagram/@brisiacaPeople were quick to share sharp comments in response to Siaca’s vulnerability online, with many quipping that she “must not be from New York.”
“Are you new here?” one commenter wrote.
“NEVER give anyone your phone. Hello?” another added.
A kinder commenter chimed in, “Honey that’s all on you!! Sorry this happened to you, take it as lesson learned, they will lose ten times that.”
