VANCOUVER -- Mounties are warning the public about a scam involving fake jewelry that they say has been "making the rounds" in the Lower Mainland in recent weeks.
The perpetrators of the scam have been approaching people in parking lots, claiming to be from another province and short on cash, B.C. RCMP said in a news release Friday.
The scammers then offer to sell their allegedly valuable jewelry to the victims, at prices supposedly well below the items' value. In fact, the jewelry is worthless, police said.
"This scam is successful, in part, because it relies on the fact that so many people are willing to help a person they believe is in distress," said Staff Sgt. Janelle Shoihet, a media relations officer for B.C. RCMP, in the release.
RCMP said detachments in Mission, Chilliwack, Maple Ridge, Richmond and Burnaby all received reports of the scam this week, with victims paying as much as $1,000 for the fake jewelry.
Mounties in the province's southeast issued a public warning last month after a rash of similar incidents in their area.
"It’s great to help people, but be cautious, particularly when someone is offering you a great deal on high-value jewelry," said Shoihet. "Ask yourself, ‘If the jewelry is so valuable, and they need cash, why don’t they pawn it themselves?’"
