A gullible retiree handed over $550 to a smooth-talking conman who approached him in his front yard and convinced him to buy fake Versace leather jackets.
Ian Sutton was gardening in the front yard of his Gold Coast home last month when a man driving a white vehicle caught his attention.
The Good Samaritan crossed the road to the car after being called over by the man, who claimed he was lost and needed directions to the airport.
The fraudster then told Mr Sutton he worked for the illustrious fashion giant Versace.
He tempted Mr Sutton with his leftover wares, telling the retiree he had just visited David Jones and Grace Brothers, who had already put their orders in.
Retiree Ian Sutton (pictured) unwittingly handed over $400 to a smooth-talking scam artist who offered him a luxury leather jacket at a discounted price
'He said, I'll give you a jacket for being a nice person', he told A Current Affair.
The scam artist told Mr Sutton that in exchange for his directions, he would give him a leather jacket worth thousands of dollars.
Before he knew it, Mr Sutton handed over $550 to the smooth-talking Italian and returned home with what he believed to be four designer jackets.
However the deal had seemed too good to be true and after doing some research online, the sheepish retiree realised he had been duped.
'I was gullible, I fell for it and I thought I was pretty smart but, I wasn't as smart as I thought I was,' he admitted.
Three scam victims from across the country have revealed how they were conned into paying hundreds of dollars for jackets (pictured) they were told were from the luxury brand Versace
Nearly 2000 kilometres south in Melbourne's CBD, Ange Marinakis told a very similar story of his encounter with scammers last year.
Mr Marinakis was driving when two 'nice, smooth and good looking young guys' pulled up next to his vehicle and again, asked how to get to the airport.
After he had pointed them in the right direction, the men told Mr Marinakis they had just left a fashion show and offered him a Versace jacket from the leftover stock.
After accepting the jacket, one of the men said they wanted to buy their son a gift at the airport but didn't have any cash, so Mr Marinakis handed over $400.
Unsatisfied with this amount the men suggested he withdraw more cash from the ATM, with Mr Marinakis giving the fake pair a total of $900.
Returning home the Melbourne resident soon realised he had been tricked by the good looking Italian men, and his new leather jacket was not Versace.
Melbourne man Ange Marinakis (pictured) described the scammers as two 'nice, smooth and good looking young guys' and said he gave the men $900 for the jackets
Sydney resident Michael Manning fell victim to a similar scam by a man named Ciro Gallo last year.
Mr Manning said he was offered a luxury leather jacket, which he accepted, but was then asked for payment by Gallo.
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New South Wales Police were able to arrest Mr Gallo for selling the fake jackets to Mr Manning.
'He was selling the jackets which were reported to be quite expensive', NSW Police Superintendent Adam Whyte said.
The fake fashionista's said they worked for the illustrious Italian brand Versace (pictured)
The fraudster pled guilty to three offences and was fined $5000, on top of the $10,000 he was ordered to pay in compensation to his victims.
Mr Sutton admits he was a 'fool' to buy the jackets but says he isn't the only one.
'If you look on Google, there's hundreds of people who are fools,' he warns.
Mr Marinakis said he doesn't want anyone else to fall victim to the well-rehearsed routine.
'What about the people they are doing it to who can't afford it?' he said.
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