According to this article they've been spotted in places like Los Angeles, San Francisco, Sydney or Hong Kong. I've not seen them here but in case you do know this : Buddhist monks, no matter which flavour of Buddhism they practice would never ask for money from people on the street.
You may come across theravada monks, they wear saffron robes, with a bowl around lunchtime in places. If you do, and they are real monks, what they need is food, they are explicitly forbidden to handle money and they will tell you so if you try to offer them some.
Other flavours of Buddhism may offer paid for meditation classes but those are usually managed by a support group looking after the monk(s). Again no monk would ever ask for money from people on the street.
These people just want to make a profit by taking advantage of people's generosity and lack of knowledge of Buddhist monastic rules and end up harming those who have dedicated their lives to pursuing the path of peace and who rely on the community for sustenance.
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Fake Buddhist Monks hit San Francisco
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