Londoners warned of fake gold rings begging scam

 
Wedding ring scam
PA
Josh Loeb27 February 2013

Con artists have been leaving fake gold wedding rings on pavements around London as part of a scam targeting good samaritans.

The scammers, dressed as beggars, demand money from passers-by who stop to examine what looks like a piece of valuable jewellery on the floor.

Journalist Elizabeth Hartley-Brewer, 64, said both she and her sister fell for the scam on separate occasions while out walking in Golders Green.

She said: “I thought it might be someone’s lost ring, and as it was Valentine’s Day I thought, oh no, someone has lost their wedding ring on Valentine’s Day. When I went to look at it this man started asking me for money.

“He couldn’t speak much English. I suppose the idea is to make you feel guilty, because he seemed to be saying he could have had it and he could have sold it, and that as a payoff you have to give him some money.”

Ms Hartley-Brewer said that when she showed the object to a jeweller at DM Cohen in Temple Fortune he told her it was the third fake ring to have been brought in in recent days.

“He said this scam was happening all over London,” she added.

The scam is a variation of a similar one that originated in Paris.

The “rings” are often nothing more than a cheap piece of metal, often a pipe joint ring used by plumbers and available for a couple of pounds from DIY shops.

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