The would-be thespians are back running the Gold Ring Scam, with several recent reports suggesting a local resurgence of this clever ruse.
Here’s how it works: A helpful passerby alerts you that you’ve lost something, and as you turn he picks up a thick gold ring that you must have ‘dropped’. “Not mine!” you say, …but since no one else is claiming it he generously offers it to you anyway. As he’s handing it over he realizes it’s marked 14k and must be worth quite a bit since it’s so heavy… After some discussion he graciously insists that you go ahead and keep it anyway, but shyly suggests that since it is clearly worth so much, and after all he is hungry and homeless, the only decent thing for you to do is to maybe give him a little something for his trouble… maybe a paltry 10 or 20 euros, since you can take it to a jeweler and get at least 50€ for it… …Sucker!
And speaking of gold… the Gold Necklace Grab is also unfortunately on the rise, happening in Nice at least once a day since the start of the summer. No finesse or subtlety here: just cowardly losers violently yanking the gold necklaces off fragile old ladies’ necks, and running away. Until gold prices drop, the best idea is to just leave your necklace at home.
See related page: Crime and Scams in Nice
I’m glad you are putting this alert out. As I was walking down Rue des Ponchettes in Nice last September, I actually saw a guy pick up a ring as we were passing and he asked me if it was mine.
Before he could go anything further I knew what he was up too and just shrugged a couple of times, looked nonchalant and kept walking.
Keep the damn ring, see if I care. lol
I had this happen to me. I totally flumoxed the girl who was trying to scam me by insisting that someone must be gutted to have lost their wedding ring and we must take it to the police station right away. She ran away!
I like the multi-layered psychological game of this ruse though when it happened to me I was so upset at the idea that someone had lost their wedding ring I suggested we go straight to the police – needless to say, the finder disappeared very quickly!
I had this happen to me twice in Cannes last year. The success of the scam depends on the acting and timing skills of the scammer. The first guy who tried it on me (parking lot of Le Cannet Leclerc) had excellent timing and very nearly fooled me.
Happened to me outside friend’s apartment on Benoit Bunico in Vieux Nice – September 2009! The scam has been around awhile.
I posted elsewhere about it being tried on me – I have seen it done in Paris, too.
Yesterday, I was approached in Place Mozart by a fairly well-dressed middle aged lady and I thought she was asking for directions, so I listened to her. She was telling me she had lost all her money – showed a purse with nothing in – and could I help? No, I could not.
I was stung a couple of years ago late at night by an elderly lady who claimed to be Swedish, who spun a sob story about needing money because she had been mugged and the police would not help blah blah. The same woman stung our neighbours on another occasion, with the same story!