#Tourist #chased #furious #Times #Square #characters #exposing #039biggest #scam039 #York #City
A UK tourist looking to take selfies with some colorful characters ended up exposing one of the biggest scams in New York City.
Husnain Asif was walking in Times Square when he decided to take a TikTok video of himself with the Disney and Sesame Street characters that frequent the area.
Once Asif said ‘thank you’ and started walking away, all the characters who thought he had taken a photo ran after him, requesting that he pay them or delete the picture.
‘Mickey Mouse is after me – don’t fall for the scam people,’ Asiff shouted.
Asif’s video reached over two million views on TikTok since it was posted Wednesday, with users calling the characters in Times Square ‘vicious.’
![UK tourist Husnain Asif unveiled the biggest scam in a TikTok Video: Characters in Times Square that jump into photos](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/12/14/17/78960719-12864105-UK_tourist_Husnain_Asif_unveiled_the_biggest_scam_in_a_TikTok_Vi-a-6_1702573696854.jpg)
UK tourist Husnain Asif unveiled the biggest scam in a TikTok Video: Characters in Times Square that jump into photos
![Asif was surrounded by a wide variety of characters, but most of the fight happened between him and a woman dressed as a Minnie Mouse wearing a pink outfit](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/12/14/17/78960711-12864105-Asif_was_surrounded_by_a_wide_variety_of_characters_but_most_of_-a-7_1702573696856.jpg)
Asif was surrounded by a wide variety of characters, but most of the fight happened between him and a woman dressed as a Minnie Mouse wearing a pink outfit
Costumed characters like Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, and the Grinch have been in Times Square for years, running up to tourists taking pictures.
Their presence even led to city officials passing a law that prohibited costumed characters and other swindlers from loitering near designated zones to solicit tourists.
The characters who can make it into tourist photos request money immediately after they take the picture, charging people $10 to $50 per person.
They did not specify how much money they wanted from Asif, but the characters weren’t thrilled to see him walking away from them after he refused to pay.
![Other characters chased after him besides Minnie Mouse, including Elmo, Mickey Mouse, and eventually, the Grinch](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/12/14/17/78960723-12864105-Other_characters_chased_after_him_besides_Minnie_Mouse_including-a-8_1702573696857.jpg)
Other characters chased after him besides Minnie Mouse, including Elmo, Mickey Mouse, and eventually, the Grinch
A woman who was dressed as Minnie Mouse in a pink dress shouted ‘delete it’ two times before a Mickey Mouse character dressed in a holiday outfit walked faster to catch up to Asif.
Minnie Mouse eventually lifted her skirt once Asif called her a grandma and he said, ‘that’s not very Disney.’
A man dressed as the Grinch became annoyed with the tourist once he told other Times Square visitors that they could ‘walk off’ and not pay the characters.
Another woman dressed as Elsa from the movie Frozen began yelling that Asif should be at home if he doesn’t have money, which led the UK tourist to tell her that she should go home and ‘stop asking for money.’
Asif eventually got on good terms with them and even had Elmo, Elsa, and two Minnie Mouse characters included in a cheerful moment in his video.
![The characters were not happy that they walked away with no money after Asif repeatedly said he did not have any cash to give](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/12/14/17/78960689-12864105-The_characters_were_not_happy_that_they_walked_away_with_no_mone-a-9_1702573696858.jpg)
The characters were not happy that they walked away with no money after Asif repeatedly said he did not have any cash to give
![He began telling other tourists that they could 'walk off' and not pay the characters like he did.](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/12/14/17/78960721-12864105-He_began_telling_other_tourists_that_they_could_walk_off_and_not-a-10_1702573696859.jpg)
![Other Times Square characters eventually fought with him too, one of them not even being in his video](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/12/14/17/78960725-12864105-Other_Times_Square_characters_eventually_fought_with_him_too_one-a-11_1702573696859.jpg)
He began telling other tourists that they could ‘walk off’ and not pay the characters like he did. Other Times Square characters eventually fought with him too, one of them not even being in his video
TikTokers reacted with stories of their own about their run-ins with Times Square characters.
One user wrote: ‘I didn’t realise that you had to pay them and the status of Liberty chased me on stilts I had to hide in toys r us it still traumatises me to this day.’
![Asif was able to get Elsa, Elmo, Mickey Mouse, and two Minnie Mouse characters to join him at the end of his TikTok video](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/12/14/17/78960731-12864105-Asif_was_able_to_get_Elsa_Elmo_Mickey_Mouse_and_two_Minnie_Mouse-a-12_1702573696946.jpg)
Asif was able to get Elsa, Elmo, Mickey Mouse, and two Minnie Mouse characters to join him at the end of his TikTok video
‘I remember this happened to me but was the grinch then like 2 days later he zoomed past in some sick glowing car with like 5 other grinches lmao,’ another user wrote.
Another TikToker who encountered a different Times Square character commented: ‘This one dressed as Batman came up to press us about deleting the photos loll was lowkey kinda scary.’