Edgewater police: man playing violin in parking lot is faking it, don't give him $$

Police in Edgewater are warning against giving money to what appears to be a talented musician playing a violin in a parking lot. That person is faking it.

If you live in or around the western part of the Denver metro area, you may have seen the person while you've been out shopping recently. They have been spotted playing the instrument next to a large speaker with a sign. But police say they aren't actually making the noises coming out of the speakers.

Some people saw the person in an area not far from Sloan's Lake near the Denver-Edgewater border.

Police say sometimes it's two adults who have children with them. The sign says the man has lost his job and needs help with rent.

Officers said they want people to be informed before donating any money to the scammers.

"We have also had reports of the music playing and then the want-to-be violinist stops playing and the music continues to play on the speaker," police wrote in a news release.