We were approached at the same place as Apres_Londee in June of this year with the gold ring scam, when I told the guy in English that I knew what he was up to and held up my hand as though to say 'stop' - he spat at me!!!

Outside Gare du Nord we also encountered the 'do you speak English' followed by a written note scam. She was politely(?) told to bugger off!!

Thanks to Fodor's, we were ready for any scams while we were on our trip.:)

OK, folks, this is what really happened. On the morning in question, Pierre (the man vedette got the ring from) had a fight with his wife, Mimi. She threw him out of the apartment and told him never to come back. Meanwhile she threw her wedding ring at him as well. Because of the fight, Pierre hadn't had breakfast and was really hungry. He knew the ring wasn't worth anything because he had bought it for just a couple euros, convincing Mimi it was a wonderful ring, so he thought he'd try to scam someone to get some money (knowing the ring wasn't really worth anything). But the problem was, Mimi had been having an affair with JeanClaude who had also given her a ring -- a very nice one. When Mimi got mad and threw the ring she accidently threw the wrong one -- JeanClaude's and not Pierre's. So, vedette, it is purely by accident that Pierre gave you a good ring when he thought it was the cheap one he had given Mimi.

Hope this clears it all up.

Patrick -- I feel so relieved! I don't think I could have slept tonight if you hadn't explained everything for me. Next time I'm in Paris and some guy tries to pull this on me I will ask "how's your love life?"

I just came back from Paris. I didn't go to any of the main tourist sites until my last day, when I walked over to the Champ de Mars with the intention of spending some time taking photos of the Tour Eiffel. As I walked around with my camera, people kept falling over in my path to pick things up in puddles and call out to me. It felt like a cartoon in Mad Magazine.

I left the area in search of a more peaceful environment.

I thought Pierre's real name was Rodolfo.

Isn't Mimi dying of Tuberculosis? Perhaps the ring is contaminated.

We had the same experience in June--just outside of L'Orangerie. It was a girl...but we knew what was up.

www.hereinfranklin.wordpress.com

I tend to agree with Christina. The OP has a point to make, but I can't figure out what it might be.
The ring scam is so done.

hi vedette

<<We were approached at the same place as Apres_Londee in June of this year with the gold ring scam, when I told the guy in English that I knew what he was up to and held up my hand as though to say 'stop' - he spat at me!!!

Outside Gare du Nord we also encountered the 'do you speak English' followed by a written note scam. She was politely(?) told to bugger off!!>>

when we are approached now, with the "do you speak english" or "are you english, sign my petition" scams, [prevelant in Venice] we've started to say that we're from Cornwall and only speak cornish.

though we say this in english, it seems to throw them right off.
in Paris a swift "je ne comprends pas" seems to work well. they never seem to try this nonsense on the locals.

regards, ann

It's a venerable old scam.
It's actually mentioned in Dickens "Our Mutual Friend"

I bet it or a version of it was in operation when France was Gaul.

annhig wrote: "when we are approached now, with the "do you speak english" or "are you english, sign my petition" scams, [prevelant in Venice] we've started to say that we're from Cornwall and only speak cornish."

Herself and I have a better resource: we respond in Gaelic. The language is so little spoken outside (or even in) Ireland that people are unable to figure what part of the world we might come from.

How can some of you NOT understand what vedette's point it? Sure he knows the ring scam is old and sure he knows how it works. Do some of you NOT get the idea that the ring he ended up with is worth a lot of money -- so clearly this was not the usual scenario for the ring scam? That doesn't surprise you? Or are you buying my story?

Not understanding this is like someone playing the shell game (pick which cup the ball is under), and report that the scam guy ended up handing you $500 for guessing the right one. Wouldn't THAT surprise you, and wouldn't the poster have a point in asking how or why that happened when the whole point is that the scammer takes in money rather than handing it out?

Patrick - my guess is a lot of the folks who responded DID NOT read the whole post that vedette wrote. They probably took a look at the title, read the first few sentences, then came to a conclusion that this is another one of those "Warning! Gold Ring Scam" post.

yk, I'm sure you're right. Many people here love to respond as if they are experts without even reading the initial post -- yet alone following disussions. So who ends up looking stupid? Not the original poster.

Nikki and annhig--

Had a similar experience at the Trocadero overlook to the Eiffel Tower. The plaza was crawling with what were from all appearances Gypsy women, and like several of the tourists there I was approached by them on a couple separate occasions. Just said a very curt "Allez vouz en!" to them and ignored their hurt looks -- no, you're not taking me in that easily, sorry.

Years ago, in Avignon, As I walked by the Ferris Wheel I saw a cute dog wearing a denim jacket sitting on what looked like an organ.
I snapped a photo and started walking away. Out of nowhere, it seemed a young gypsy girl came running after me demanding I pay for taking her dog's photo.
I kept walking and she started hurling $#$%&$!s

This ring scam was attempted on me 14 times--yes, 14 times--whilst I was in Paris.

Most times the scam took place in the Tuileries near the steps going up to the Louvre.

A couple of times took place near Invalides. Once, outside the Orsay.

"It is gold!"

Your old friend,
T

We were also approached by a girl with the ring outside Musee D'Orsay in September, but thanks to the great info from Fodorites I had read before we left I was aware of the scam. I was actually pretty excited that it had actually happened after it being talked about on this forum!!!