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Paris Gold Ring Scammer Busted on Camera: TL;DR - In Paris and elsewhere there are people who try to scam tourists out of their money by pretending to find men's gold rings, don't fall for it!
To skip the explanation text jump to 01:27. To return to the explanation text jump to 00:12 (Click/tap on 'show more' to see the full text from the video.) Having been targeted for this scam over the years and having witnessed it being repeatedly perpetrated on others (sometimes successfully)-: I decided to try and record it happening. I managed to do so with this entertaining if somewhat educational warning video.
This is a warning to folks planning on visiting Paris. Don't fall for this street scam!
Here is the full text from the video:
And so ended a scammer's
ploy to fleece money out of me
as a 'dumb tourist'.
In the spirit of the BBC 'The Real Hustle' TV
series this video's purpose is to help folks
not fall for this scam. The full explanation
about it requires a brief minute or two
of patience but the funny lesson learned
from this captured example is worth it.
This wоmаn was attempting
to scam me out of money by
pretending to find a well polished man's
gold wedding band near me.
For many years now each summer
in Paris, France scammers from certain
Rоmа communities come to prey upon
unsuspecting tourists, particularly those
walking along the banks of the river Seine.
There are a number of minor scams
they use but one of the more
frequently perpetrated is the
"found men's gold wedding band" scam.
This is how it typically works:
Tourists will be walking along
the Seine or in another heavily
touristed spot and suddenly someone
nearby (typically of a Rоmа persuasion)
will bend down to feign finding a man's
shiny gold wedding band on the ground.
Typically a scammer will play as though
they're a bit slow but with a ready bogus
excuse about why they can't keep the
ring. Either their religion prohibits
it or some other fairly ridiculous excuse
(e.g.: "My husband would be jealous!").
They'll offer and then give the ring to a
'lucky' tourist and pretend as though
they're going to walk away but then turn
around and ask for something in return
hoping that either greed or compassion
on the tourist's part will take hold and
they'll give the scammer some money
in exchange for the valuable 'gold' ring
they've just received. In reality it is just a
worthless fake ring the scammer pulls out
of their pocket and places on the ground.
These scammers have pockets
full of such rings. They're made
out of cheap metal with shiny brass
plating. They'll spend their entire day
'finding' ring after ring.
I know this because over the years on days
I've been out to take photos several have
tried it on me, one after another, as I've sat
for hours on the river banks recording time
lapse images. From a distance I've also seen
scammers trying it on others over and over.
One day as a challenge I decided to see
if I could record the scam being perpetrated.
Having had several scammers come to
me I noted a certain consistency in
their appearance, #1 being each was
seemingly walking alone.
I then kept a look out for individuals
matching this appearance who'd be
walking towards my position. When I'd
spot someone I would quickly begin to
use a touristy point-and-shoot camera
in video mode and pretend to be a
tourist recording the beautiful Parisian
scenery. When I'd be approached I'd just
act natural and turn around to 'innocently'
interact with the scammer while continuing
to record so they'd not question my
making a recording of our interactions.
What follows is the best
exchange I've caught so far.