NewsFlash: Alert as Jewellery Scammer Strikes Again
benchpeg reported a few weeks ago that there had been a series of thefts and attempted thefts in jewellery galleries and shops in the Central London area. It has been brought to benchpeg’s attention again that the thief has successfully struck again, last weekend.
Until the last strike the scenario had always fitted same pattern, but it seems that the female jewellery thief has changed her story.
The middle aged black American woman is now gaining the confidence of sales assistants by telling them that she is the sister-in-law of Bob Marley. The technique which the apparently very affable woman uses, is to look at high value items in a relatively short space of time to run up a sales value of over £10k or more. In the last shop the potential sale value was £52k.
However, there is always an excuse made, very nicely, requiring the lady to return to the shop/gallery in order to get cash out to purchase. The woman does not return, and stock is later found to be missing.
Benchpeg has set out the two accounts which have been recored for your information, and to date has prevented one theft from occurring:
South London:
A middle aged, black American woman entered a gallery in central London last weekend and spent a very long time considering the purchase of jewellery. She said that she was in London on business, that she worked in the film industry and that her relatives were allergic to silver, and so she was looking for gold jewellery for presents, although in fact the gallery exhibits little gold jewellery. The woman in question took time to develop the confidence of the shop assistant and was very chatty. She had totted up a potential bill of between £8k - £9k. In the middle of the selection process a small sale to another customer was made, also an American, a man, but this could be coincidental.
When it came time to purchase the customer tried to pay with dollars, and when she was told that the outlet only accepted pounds she quite affably said she would go and get sterling, as American Express was also not accepted. The woman didn’t return and at the end of the day it was discovered that a whole acrylic block of rings on display has gone missing, about six in total. While it has not been necessarily assumed that this woman is the culprit, a jewellery shop nearby reported that a couple of days later two or three telephone messages had been left by an American sounding female caller asking to view gold and diamond jewellery. The police have been informed. The concerned contact would like people to be vigilant.
North London:
Today benchpeg received an email in direct response to its ‘newsflash’ feature from a shop in Islington: “I work in Angel/ Islington and the lady you described has just been in to our shop today ... the exact same story. That she was here on business and was leaving on Friday. She wanted to see the most expensive diamond jewellery that we had and toted up a bill of £4,000 in about 15 minutes.
I remembered the warning in benchpeg and so she did not get any opportunity to steal anything. She left under the same pretense that she was going to get some sterling cash, she has not come back. I have informed the police in the area.
The woman is black, around 5ft 5, hair pulled back tight, has a well spoken Caribbean accent with a hint of American, she wore a fake gold watch, diamond cross pendant and large diamond cluster ring on her engagement finger. She was well dressed in a skirt and a blouse. She was carrying a posh paper-type carrier bag. An American man did not come into the shop after her.
I have been told that another shop in the area had her in yesterday. I would say she is at this full time at the moment making her way around the shops in central London.”