Man. Not pictured: his big hands.Like any big city, Seattle has its fair share of con artists. But one scammer has gained a level of infamy beyond the scope of neighborhood gossip. In part because of how often he tries to rip-off businesses and how closely he sticks to his script. But mostly because of one distinctive physical feature.”Big Hands Man,” as he’s known to frustrated shop owners, has been spotted just about everywhere: in Wallingford, Queen Anne, Roosevelt, Phinney, Fremont, Greenwood, the U-District, Georgetown, Bellevue and now Greenlake. His m.o. is simple: He walks into a store, takes something expensive off the shelf and then tries to return it for cash.He speaks with a New York accent, yet claims to be from Alaska. And usually tells the clerk that his pregnant wife is in a coffee shop just around the corner, with the receipt for the stolen item in her purse.Hey, that’s not a bad sketch!Big Hands Man is around 6’2”, 210 pounds, with dark, short, curly hair, a mustache and, as you may have gathered, really huge, swollen hands along with reddish fingers. Symptoms he sometimes ascribes to a vague “medical condition,” and other times explains away as the result of spider bites.With such a distinguishing physical deformity, you’d think Big Hands Man would have a tougher time selling his bluff. But thanks to some effective casing, he seems to have found a way around his growing notoriety.”i mention all this because he shows up 2-3x a year, and is well-known to some businesses, but newer businesses or new employees don’t know,” wrote Kara from Not A Number Cards and Gifts on Wallyhood’s web site. “he seems to pick shops (always retail, in order to steal) that have new, young employees.”I’ve got a call in to the North Precinct to see if they know something more about the man we call Big Hands. But really, I just wanted to post this because talking about a prolific con made me think about all my favorite local grifters — especially the Belltown kid who says he’s just got off the Greyhound from Texas, is about to board a salmon boat to Alaska and only needs a couple bucks for a place to crash; love the way he stays on message.If you’ve had a run in with Big Hands Man in the past, or just want to wax nostalgic about the swindler you love most, leave it in the comments below.