The Northumberland Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) want to warn the public that the jewelry scam is re-circulating in the Northumberland County area. Six separate incidents were reported this past weekend throughout the county near the Highway 401 corridor.
The perpetrators of this scam play on the good nature of people by pretending they are broken down, out of gas or have been inconvenienced in some other way. The good natured citizen approaches the person in question and after hearing the story a solution is offered by the occupants of the vehicle. They have jewelry that they can offer in exchange for cash. The jewels are offered at a very low price just to get the person out of trouble. When the buyer of the jewels goes to re-sell the items it is found out that they were sold worthless pieces of costume jewelry.
These people are very convincing. Sometimes they will have women, children or animals present and put pressure on the citizen to act. The best solution is to call the police and not offer money especially in large sums. If you are approached by someone or see someone broken down and they offer something for cash please be aware it could be a scam and call the police.
Police continue to investigate these situations and are seeking the public’s assistance with any information that can help bring these people to justice. A licence plate number is most helpful with this type of investigation. Anyone with information on regarding these types of scams in our area, are encouraged to contact the Northumberland OPP at 1-888-310-1122.
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
