Caught on Camera: New York Scammer Pushes Fake Gold Rings in Broad Daylight
NEW YORK — A longtime street scam has resurfaced in broad daylight, this time caught on video by a sharp-eyed New Yorker. A Reddit user, who goes by the handle Severe_Fun_6773, described how they were stopped on the street by a driver trying to run the infamous “ring scam” that has been circulating for decades.
The Encounter on a New York Street
The scammer pulled up with a woman and young boy in the back seat, a setup that immediately raised suspicion. Leaning out, the driver insisted the man take two gold rings.
The good Ol’ Ring scam. Who falls for this crap? 🤣
byu/Severe_Fun_6773 innyc
“He showed me two rings and told me take them. The rings looked like total garbage,” the Redditor wrote.
The man quickly recognized the con and told the driver he had already seen him exposed in viral Facebook and TikTok clips warning about this scam. When he tried to film the vehicle, he realized it carried no license plate, a red flag described in a breakdown of the encounter.
How the Scam Works
After posting his video on r/newyork, the man explained that he first heard about the trick in the early 2000s. Its persistence today shows how effective it still can be.
One commenter clarified the mechanics:
“They want cash. Supposedly, as collateral, the ring is worth thousands. He only needs $100 for gas or milk for the baby. The only thing is, the ring is worthless. That is the scam.”
Another reader reacted more bluntly, calling the swindlers “so shameless” for carrying out the scheme in broad daylight. The idea that worthless rings are passed off as valuable collateral has been emphasized in community discussions.
Community Shares Similar Stories
The thread sparked responses from others who had been approached in nearly identical ways. One person described being stopped by a driver who claimed he was out of gas and needed money to reach a station uptown. When they hesitated, the man began quoting religious verses to pressure them into compliance.
He then offered his ring in exchange for a few hundred dollars, but the person walked away, later describing it as “dodging a bullet.” Details of these tactics — from false family emergencies to religious guilt-tripping — have been flagged in similar reports.
Why Old Scams Still Work
While modern fraudsters often use AI-driven phishing emails or online impersonation, old-fashioned tricks like the gold ring scam survive because they prey on human psychology. Con artists exploit:
- Sympathy for a family in distress
- Urgency to make a quick decision
- The promise of a valuable item as collateral
By manipulating emotions, scammers push victims to hand over cash before realizing the jewelry has no value.
Have you ever come across someone trying to hand you “gold” jewelry in exchange for quick cash? If so, how did you handle it — and do you think these scams are still catching people off guard today?