The number of scams going around seems to be increasing and becoming more and more despicable. Usually preying on someone in a weak state or vulnerable to trusting people.
Let me start by describing a scam that my wife had almost fallen prey to. We were having about ten people over for dinner. Our older dog Bailey, gets nervous with so many people. She is a Portuguese water dog that is over thirteen years old, has bad vision, virtually no hearing and had a bad back injury. She is not spry. But she is cute.
We also muzzle her when we let her out because she will eat anything she can off the ground. Anything! We let her outside.
My wife realized Bailey was out and went to bring her inside, and Bailey did not respond. My wife went outside, and no Bailey anywhere. Panic hit. How could our fur baby have gotten out of the yard? Did someone take her? There were coyote sightings reported. Was she taken by a coyote? The panic increased, and then about six of us started looking down the alley and around the neighbourhood. My wife posted a note on the local online neighbourhood site.
Suddenly, there was an answer to my wife’s post that this person helps find lost dogs. My wife was now in panic mode and barely able to think when she read the email. My wife contacted the person via email, and they started asking a few questions and seemed very genuine. Then they asked for an etransfer, and things changed. To make things short, they were scammers. Imagine the level of depravity to take advantage of someone at such a horrible and emotional time as they did. Luckily, my wife recognized this, and they did not get a cent.
And our fur baby Bailey managed to get under our deck, which is virtually impossible and Bailey was there until my wife heard a bark hours later and saw her under the deck. We retrieved her without any issue other than the worries now gone and the thought of the low-life scammers.
Common Scams in Calgary
Now there are scammers showing up in new ways with new technology aimed at jewellery.
There are many warnings about various scams and scammers when you want to sell your jewellery through online sites. Some of the scams that have been reported over the last few years have been:
- People say yes to purchasing the item you want to sell online, and come to your home, grab the item and run. Or they barge in and take whatever they want from some elderly people.
- The buyer agrees to meet the seller in a public place or even the parking lot of a public space and then, when they have the item in their hands to inspect it, they literally say, “they will take it” and do so by running away with it.
There are more horror stories that float around. There are safeguards you can take, such as arranging for the sale at a police station. Just know that you have to be aware of potential scams.
Now the latest scam seems to be even more despicable than most. The scenario goes that a jewellery item is lost or stolen. The owner puts a post on various sites with a description of the missing jewellery. Often people do not have pictures of older heirlooms. The scammers troll for these posts. They use AI to generate pictures of the jewellery from the descriptions posted. They then respond to the post with the AI created pictures and say they have the jewellery item. And the owner can have it back. For a fee. The fee should be transferred to a specific email that happens to have auto deposit, or the scammers may even request the owner of the jewellery go and buy cash gift cards and give the scammers the code on the back of the cards.
No matter what is paid, these people do not have the jewellery, and after payment is given, the jewellery owner will never hear from them again and not be able to even trace where they are.
Again, these lowlifes prey on the vulnerable.
AI Jewellery Scams
If you have lost jewellery and have posted ads offering a reward for its return, you should be aware that there are scammers from overseas who use AI to modify their voices and pretend that they have found your lost jewellery. Don’t send them an e-transfer as you will never get your jewellery -or money- back.
What Happens Next?
The vast majority of jewellery items that are stolen and sold are broken up and melted very soon after being sold. What may have great sentimental value to the owner is just a lump of gold to the store or pawn shop that bought the piece.
It may be extremely hard to tell if the AI-generated picture is really your jewellery or not. If you are asked to pay what is in effect a ransom before you see the item physically, don’t do it. And don’t believe these people if they say they will sell it or melt it if you don’t pay immediately. Again, it’s just a scam.
If you are interested in selling old jewellery, please visit us, and we will assess the value of your jewellery and give you a free estimate of the value. Contact Troy Shoppe Jewellers for more information.