Gypsies in New York

The Utica Police Department posted on their Facebook page today an alert for Gypsies who have been running scams on residents of New York State.

On 02/21/2011, a complainant in Elmont reported that she observed two females she believed to be Hispanic attempt to enter her residence through a side door.

When confronted, the women acted confused and stated that they were hired to clean a house, giving an address that does not exist. The subjects then fled to a waiting vehicle driven by a male subject. In recent years, the Nassau County Police Department (NCPD) has experienced an increase in Gypsy-related crime in the spring and summer months. Commonly, Gypsies will commit larcenies, burglaries and fraud (“confidence games”) targeting mostly elderly victims. Gypsies are sometimes mistaken for individuals of Hispanic origin, and will utilize numerous aliases and pedigree information.
The vehicles involved in Gypsy-related crime usually have out-of-state plates. There are numerous scams and Modus Operendi (MO’s) that “Gypsies” commonly use.

Gypsy or Traveller communities are scattered throughout North America and Europe.  I think it's absolutely fascinating.  Have you ever had an encounter with a true Gypsy?