Just trick them into thinking a statue is a street performer.

The ruse:

There's a statue of a woman on NYC's High Line park that looks almost like one of those street performers who paint themselves silver and stand perfectly still. Just set out a pot in front of the statue, and let tourists drop their change in. Jeff Greenspan tried it, and it totally worked (he gave all the money collected to a real street performer).

Source: youtube.com

(a real "living statue" street performer)

Source: tim_ellis