The fake jewelry Fred was given by the scammer. (Submitted photo)

By Ian Gustafson

Jewelry Awareness

P.A. resident warns public after he fell victim to jewelry scam

Apr 14, 2022 | 4:00 PM

The Prince Albert Police Service and a local resident are warning the public of jewelry type scams happening in the community.

A P.A. man, who we will call Fred because he wished to stay anonymous, told paNOW after work Monday evening he went to the Husky gas station on Second Avenue where he came across a man in a black SUV, who appeared to have a woman and a small child with him.

Fred explained the man said he needed to get back to Vancouver tonight and needed money for food, gas and a hotel with a promise to repay Fred the next day. The man then proceeded to retrieve two gold necklaces and two rings to give to Fred as collateral.

“He was being persistent, even the lady was begging for help like that,” Fred said.

Fred said he was scared, tired from working his night shift, and decided to help the family. He explained he was worried about them. He proceeded to drive to his bank and withdrawal $1,000 from his account to give to the man. However, Fred didn’t realize it was a scam until he visited a local jewelry store the next day where it was confirmed the items, he received were fake and he was never paid back by the family.

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“Then after that I told my wife what happened. I was frozen, I don’t know what happened either. I trusted that guy,” Fred said.

“I felt bad for them because it’s Ramadan and they didn’t have money for food and hotel. I was scammed.”

He hopes his story will create public awareness to this issue to prevent it from happening to anyone else.

Common occurrence

Owner of Bocian Jewellers Alex Bocian said stories like these in Prince Albert are unfortunately, not uncommon. Two to three times a week he said people will visit his store to check if jewelry is real or fake.

Bocian explained all the stories are very similar where the scammer will have family in the car and they need money for gas or something else. He added this has been happening for years and lately it’s gotten worse, not only in P.A. but the surrounding area.

“I tell the customers go get the license plate and go to the police but police usually do nothing if they don’t see them doing that,” Bocian said. “But I guarantee if the police go [and find them] they’ll find hundreds and hundreds of rings and stuff in the car.”

He explained there is no way for the average person to tell if jewelry is fake or real.

“If you’re not a goldsmith or watchmaker I don’t think you can tell the difference. You can’t because it looks like real,” Bocian said. “I tell them before you buy, bring it in. I don’t charge to tell you if it’s real or not but [the scammer] won’t let you do that.”

“They just prey on poor people…To me, it’s unspeakable, it’s sick,” he said, adding it’s important to get these types of people out of the area.

Police response

Prince Albert Police Service (PAPS) spokesperson Charlene Tebbutt said they have received reports of people being approached for money in exchange for things like gold and in a lot of cases they’re asked to give the money in an emergency situation.

“What we would suggest is that don’t allow anyone to pressure you into making a quick decision on something like this, especially when it involves your money. They can certainly report it to police, or they can also report to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, which has a lot of information on their website and through their phone number on ways to prevent fraud and ways to protect yourself,” she said.

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Ian.Gustafson@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @IanGustafson12