If the Mark Purchases the Jewelry
The tout will also tell the mark that a certain tuk-tuk waiting nearby is cheap or even free because it has been sponsored by the tourism ministry and can bring him to other temples elsewhere to visit. Sometimes this gentleman finds out which country the mark is from and informs the con man at the next layer about it. When the mark walks into the temple, there will be a gentleman praying inside. If the mark gets on the tuk-tuk, the driver will bring him to a secluded temple in the city, drop him off, and wait for him to return.
Other scams include fake Thai Mikimoto certificates. Once in a store, a variety of selling tactics are employed, including bait and switch, and “educating” gemstone novices about “fake gems” which are in fact real, and selling them “real gems” which are in fact fake. In Sri Lanka the jewelry scam takes place more or less in a similar way like in Thailand. Gem and jewel scams take place in other countries as well. Here the jewelry sold is of regular quality, but overpriced due to large commissions charged on them. In the Turkish tourist town Antalya, the tourists are ensnared by an organised trip to a tourist attraction such as a waterfall, after which the tourists are transported to a state-licensed jewelry store.
The gem scam is a confidence trick performed usually against tourists. The most known version occurs in Bangkok, Thailand as well as other cities in the country. Most of the shops are gold or jewelry shops. It has been alleged that this scam has been operating for the past 20 years, sometimes in the same premises. It is one of the most pervasive scams in Thailand. The marks tend to be tourists from outside Thailand.
A tout will be on the lookout at popular tourist spots like the Grand Palace, Wat Pho, Khaosan Road, Siam Square, or other temples or tourist attractions in Bangkok. The tout, taking advantage of the Thai people’s reputation for friendliness, may strike up a conversation, asking where the mark is from, and if this is his first time in Bangkok. The tout will be dressed as a student or gentleman and will approach the mark to tell him the place he is about to visit is closed today because of some made-up holiday.
The tuk-tuk may take the mark to another temple, where another person (sometimes a Thai, sometimes a Westerner) tells the same story, building up the mark’s confidence through a seemingly “independent” verification. If the mark purchases the jewelry, the gem will be packaged and shipped directly to the mark’s address in his home country so that he will not have a chance to get the gem appraised or return it for a refund. At the shop the mark will be pressured to buy jewelry. If the mark is interested, the person will tell the tuk-tuk driver to take him to the jewelry store. The mark returns to his home country, only to find the jewelry to be worth far less than he paid for it (often due to inferior quality of the stones or gold).
