Forum Topic

Gold Ring Scam

I'd originally intended to post on here to theeffect "If anyone has lost a gold ring comingout of South Ealing Station then they'd be out of luck. As their ring had been found by some chap who clearly had no intention of handingit in. In fact he tried to sell it to me"However only afterwards did it occur to me that it was all a scam. Which it was. The same scam was/is quite common in Paris. As Google will confirm. Maybe its common in London as well andI should get out more. Anyway.I was walking along outside the Park opposite SouthEaling Station and it just so happened that this chapwalking in front of me bent down and apparently picked up a gold ring lying on the pavement. "Its not gold " I said to him without thinking. He immediately engaged me in conversation in broken English and was inmmediately able to make out the 375 engraved on the inside. (Now what'sthe chance of that happening as Harry Hill would say) When I suggested he hand it in Sainsburys he said he had no money and would I give him some money for the ring.Still not having "fallen in" at this stage I myselfgave him a sob story about how the person who'dlost the ring might have no money either. If I had too much time on my hands it might be entertaining to follow him around and watch him in action. In my opinion anyone who buys a "goldring" in such circumstances deserves all they get, as if it really is lost as they believe then theyare profiting from someone else's misfortune.michael adams    

Michael Adams ● 2946d10 Comments

Still common in Paris. I was delighted to have it tried on me a couple of years ago on a fleeting visit. I'm still on correspondence with Nigerian royalty too. The old scams are the best. Bring a tear to the eye.

Maire Lowe ● 2943d

South Ealing Sttaion is becoming quite the popular pitch for beggars at the momentThe fella you refer to is Mr "Have a Nice Day".... which is his refrain as I bowl into the station at silly o'clock to go to work."Yeah.." I think to myself, "it'll be fantastic thanks, working a 12 hour day with people moaning at me non stop"That bloke actually catches the train from the Hounslow area to work his pitch, gets a free sarnie from the French Cafe and blags a coffee from the kiosk as well. I'm sure he does well in collecting for whatever he needs to collect for....MmmmmmmThen there's a few others, couple nearly always drunk, a one legged girl in a wheelchair etc, etcLovely old area.....

Colin Goodman ● 2944d

Susan Kelly explained:I haven't noticed a beggar outside South Ealing tube...He was there yesterday at around 11.30 in the morning. The chap working the ring scam is probably Romaalthough his accent sounded more Russian or Polish.Same as the women in headscarves selling the Big Issue. I think these beggars are well organised. I saw two chaps at the back of the Park, opposite the Station, this morning one in a leather jacket with a moustache speaking on a mobile phone, and later saw the same pair outside Morrisons in EB 40 minutes later, the one still on the phone.While there was a Roma woman with the headscarfwith a printed sign sitting begging further along.I don't know if these women are coerced into this or not. But moving beggars on - professionalsnot like the well known chap in Chiswick is surelya good idea. But possibly not by a costly police presence but maybe wardens of some kind. Maybe LT staff or people from the taxi office move on the chap outside the tube. michael adams...

Michael Adams ● 2944d

I haven't noticed a beggar outside South Ealing tube. As you say, people are always scurrying along, often with their heads down.

Susan Kelly ● 2944d

Colin Goodman explained " Well I think it suits me....... even if it is making my finger go green "And it may even come in handy if you ever get a leaking compression joint in your pipes. Looking back a bit later I realised it had actually been a plumber's olive. These are rings used inside compression joints in pipes which get squeezed into the ends of the pipe. This one had been polished up - total cost including labour probably less than 50p.The scary thing is I only really remembered this,(having used them myself years ago) after I'd looked it up on Google at home to confirm it actually was a a scam. The point is you don't normally expect to find people suddenly finding what turn out to be plumbers olives on the pavement oppositeS.Ealing tube more especially ones with 375 scratched inside (according to him as I wasn't wearing my glasses).So all my critical faculties temporarily went out of the window.While its unlikely he will have fooled many people - people near tube stations are usuallyin a hurry - unlike people on holiday in placeslike Paris - he probably only needs one hit a day to make more than the beggar now it seems permanently installed against the railings outside the station; who has to to keep up the sad expression al the time. Which probably gets a bit tiring after a bit.Still at least it makes a change from the sand dog sculptures from last year. There was one outsidethe Arcadia Centre for a time and I've seen them elsewhere. The guy squatting on the blanket alwaysputting the "finishing touches" to the dog withthe bag of sand and tools alongside. As withthe suspicion that some buskers aren't reallyplaying their instruments but miming to theiramplified "background music" with these sculptorstheres a susupicion that there's maybe a lightweight papier mache former underneath. michael adams

Michael Adams ● 2945d

I first came across this in Paris in 2012. As you say, anyone dishonest enough to buy it deserves to lose their money.

Susan Kelly ● 2945d

I bet his one has been around for thousands of years!The internet say it originated in Paris, but I bet people were doing it in Roman times, or even before!

Paul James ● 2945d

Well I think it suits me....... even if it is making my finger go green

Colin Goodman ● 2946d

I fell quite happy about it actually.At the time, I really felt sorry forwhoever had "lost " the ring, as I thought.As clearly this chap had no intention of handing it in so they had no chance of getting it back.Once I realised it was all a scam and peoplewho fell for it only had themselves to blameI didn't feel too bad about it.Funny old world.michael adams

Michael Adams ● 2946d

It's an old scam - so I read - but I've actually never seen it.

Philippa Bond ● 2946d