Paris Ring Scam Busted: TL;DR - In Paris, France 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! (Click 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 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 woman 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 Roma 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 Roma 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.

• published: 31 May 2014
• views: 189584