Lost wedding ring scam surfaces in ED

[Hare]

Beware all.....

You're walking along, minding your own business, when someone coming in the opposite direction suddenly finds a large gold wedding band on the pavement between you. They look at it and then hold it out towards you, indicating the stamps on the inside of the band that have the appearance of hallmarks, as if seeking your engagement (no pun intended...). Because you are a caring and responsible person, you are naturally perturbed at the thought that some poor person has lost their wedding ring. Maybe you suggest they take it to the police. They indicate that they will keep the ring but that if you want to hand it in, you must give them money in order to secure it.

What do you do?

My partner, concerned that if he didn't secure the ring it would find its way to a pawnshop, handed over ?10 to a man who had "found" such a ring. And then, discovered it was a bit of plumbing brass, shined up to look the part until he got a closer look. That was a few months ago, on Grove Vale.

This morning, to my surprise, a woman walking along Grove Vale towards me found an identical wedding ring on the pavement. What are the odds?! Anyway, she wasn't very happy when I pointed out that it was a bit of brass and suggested that she was working a number. She pocketed the ring, stamped off muttering, crossed the road to the bus shelter outside the Blackbird and phoned up her oppo, with whom she had a lengthy conversation before breaking off and shouting and gesticulating at me because I had the temerity to observe her movements. She then walked off towards the Lane before suddenly dashing across the road and legging it up Oglander/Copleston Road.

The police tell me that this is a very well known scam, mostly practiced in the West End by Romanian/Albanians working in pairs. Well, it's in East Dulwich now and I'm the second mark in one household. I bet there will be a few more people targeted out there before the end of the day. Just make sure it's not you or anyone you know.

[polla2256]

A fool and their money are easily parted !

[Sue]

"They indicate that they will keep the ring but that if you want to hand it in, you must give them money in order to secure it.

What do you do?"

xxxxxxx

Tell them you are not stupid and that if they don't f- off you will call the police?

And then report them to the police anyway?

ETA: Well, that's what I'd do :))

[Cora]

Thanks for letting us know...

[oliviaandmilo]

I'm so surprised, how silly some people can be. Why would you want to pay and secure something being held by someone who it obviously doesn't belong to them. I think britain and the dulwich area need so stop being so nieve as to what is going on in the world with scams.

[EDOliver]

Christ people actually fall for this, seriously????

[intexasatthe moment]

Easy to be so certain you'd never fall for anything like this while you're reading about it on line .

Perhaps you wouldn't - I bet I would ,I fall for everything .

So I'm grateful for the warning .

No need for people to be so scathing when someone has publicly outed themselves as being less knowing than you .

[DulwichFox]

I seem to remember this happening to me... Cannot rememeber where it was. May of been Lordship Lane.

Asian guy appeared to pick up something from the pavement in front of me.

I thought it was just a joke.

It did not get to the stage of them asking me for money as I walked off.

The ring was large, No Decoration , I beleive it was a 22mm brass plumbing Olive which had been buffed up.

Seems to be quite common from what people are saying.

Foxy.

[tiddles]

also I think that sometimes one is caught on the hop, you don't really think something thro. Thanks for the warning

[David A]

It's very widespread and not always so subtle.

It happened to us in Paris a couple of months ago, accompanied by the most animated 'Ooh la la! Qu'est-ce que c'est?' I'd heard since 'Inky' Fenton found the cartoon penis we'd drawn in his 'Longman's Audio-Visual French' teachers' edition.

[LondonMix]

Yes, thanks for the warning

[edcam]

If anyone's daft enough to fall for this then the scammers deserve the money!

[tiddles]

no actually they don't deserve to lose their money. If someone is daft enough to part with money in trying to be helpful, then shame on the scammers. Yes of course one never should part with money after some cock and bull story, but there is the element of trying to be helpful and not having the chance to rationally think what is going on. It seems to me that for the most part, people try to be kind and helpful, and just because someone makes a daft mistake, being taken for a ride by some dodgy person is not ok to excuse or commend the behaviour of said 'scammer'

How often have we read the thanks from people who's relative fell in the snow, was knocked off the bike/hit by a car etc and lots of people rushed to help offer help, a cup of tea, a place of refuge, not for a moment thinking that the 'victim' might actually be looking for a way to fleece these helpers? Yes I know there are dodgy types out there, but please let's not squash the natural instinct to help where we can.

[edcam]

Helping someone after an accident is a completely different story. Handing over cash in circumstances as described is just dumb, sorry.

[Mands]

Yesterday when i was in the west end the same thing happened to me. A guy appeared to pick up something from the pavement and then proceeded to walk over to me to show me what he had found. It appeared to be a large mans wedding ring and he asked me if i wanted it. I told him no.........and then he shrugged his shoulders and walked off!

[lozzyloz]

There's another scam similar to this where someone appears to drop wallet in front of you. Beware.

[AcedOut]

If it sounds like it's too good to be true, it probably is....

Sounds like a pretty obvious scam - I'm suprised anyone would ever fall for that.

[Bouncy]

This happened to an older relative of mine when she was looking after my toddler in a park (in the Ladywell area). Seems like they are endemic throughout London. She did hand over some money - not because she is stupid, as some have suggested, but because she was confused and felt somewhat threatened. Let's blame the scammers, not the people they are scamming. Turn your contempt on the people who are intimidating pensioners and children, not those who are being intimidated.

[LondonMix]

Agree with Bouncy. What's the point of making fun of / hurling contempt at the OP? Just take it for what it is- someone reporting a scam in an attempt to be helpful. If people feel they'll be the target of derision if they come on here and admit that they were conned, people might stop alerting the community about these crimes.

[Chillaxed]

With you Bouncy.

Trust all the mockers on this thread will maintain their current bravado and sangfroid into old age and infirmity.

[polla2256]

I don't agree with the liberal single mindedness as stated in the previous posts - there is no comtempt from those who mock (me for one) as bouncy suggested.

I agree with the idea of feeling threatened, especially amoung the voulnerable, but in the same guise if people allow themselevs to be indtimidated, in that it is a manifestiation within their own minds, these scams will perpitrate, and yes when (if) I end up old and infirm I will remain this way - arrogantly so ; ) not through "bravado" but shear bloody mindedness.

[LondonMix]

Is it really liberal to suggest its rude to respond to someone who is telling you that their partner fell for a scam by saying that only and idiot would fall for it and they deserved to be ripped off? No one would do that in real life. Its only the anonymity of the internet that allows people to behave this way.

[Bouncy]

Yes, not quite understanding what 'liberal single mindedness' is in this context! Also at a loss as to how calling someone 'a fool' is not contemptuous... Perhaps, to extrapolate from LondonMix's suggestion, it's all just internet-enabled nastiness purely for the sake of nastiness...

[DJKillaQueen]

If the OP stops even one person from being taken in by this con (and let's face it, the scammers wouldn't keep doing it if it didn't work sometimes) then it's a worthwhile post.

It's easy to ridicule anyone being taken in by this but how many of us have been taken in by beggars, giving some untrue story about needing bus fare etc? I think many of us have all fallen victim to that one. Asking for money from strangers in the street (whatever the story or rouse) most of the time is just a scam.

[polla2256]

I'm not being nasty. Its quite simple - Don't give anyone money (not withstanding in exchange for a product or service), if you do and you get conned its your fault and no-one else's. As for anonymity - I'm always like this, even before the internet was invented.