Reply With QuoteI am impressed with the policing work that caught them! Well done!
BW,
Chi Kai
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Brazen daytime criminal using a young child and a good fake to enact the robbery.
https://mol.im/a/8905067
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I am impressed with the policing work that caught them! Well done!
BW,
Chi Kai
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Whilst all theft and crime are generally categorically bad, a con against a large store like Harrods is more “””palatable””” than a violent robbery against individuals. (Hope this did not come out the wrong way). I didn’t expect this story when I saw the post title! I thought it was going to be another violent grab off a person on the street.
BW,
Chi Kai
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Last edited by Ctam; 2nd November 2020 at 14:12.
Good work by the staff noticing the anomalies!
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thats the problem with a watch worth so much, it attracts scum like a fly on ####
Kind of surprised the store assistant did not notice straight away, as fake gold AP was surely lot lighter than the genuine counterpart. At least they were caught, employing child on top of it...
Well done.!!
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The involvement of a child I suppose is what has driven the news coverage of this, but sadly I imagine that thefts of high value watches from jewellers and individuals are so common that this probably doesn’t really deserve to be news worthy.
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Yeah glad they Were caught. Disgraceful using a child in their crime.
Wow talk about a brazen attempt
She must have had a tough paper-round if she is truly 33
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A little disturbing though that it took until the next day to notice. It must have been pretty accurate. Apparently the dial was slightly different and the serial was missing, but it clearly wasn’t different enough to notice straight away, it may have been their reluctance to give their contact details that tipped them off.Originally Posted by ywl23n
The Times has also covered this story (and also managed to avoid using "Romanian" in their headline):
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/n...rods-czjpq0tg8
I suspect this is not the first time they have pulled this scam, pretty organised for a couple of first timers. Like most criminals they start off small and work up to something like this, I wonder how many Rolex they have swapped, lets face it, there are a lot of good quality fakes out there?
Imagine the hassle for whoever may have subsequently bought the fake from Harrods.
I am starting to wonder if the only way to buy an expensive watch ‘worry free’ is to ask for a fresh watch out of the safe, or just walk away!
They would check that the serial on the watch matches the box and papers when activating the warranty so the buyer wouldn't have left the store with a fake watch.
Maybe the way forward for these stores is to accurately weigh each watch prior to display and note the readings. When the assistant gets handed a watch back - he places it on the scale on the desk to check the weight. Not too blatant a check that it might offend a genuine purchaser.
alternatively - a flexible label with their own bar/QR code ID for that watch - attached to the clasp. “Sorry sir, we cannot remove that until the watch is purchased”
Or just keep an eye on the customer when they have a watch in their hand? Only show one watch at a time...that kind of thing?
If counterfeit watches can be made so accurate, I am sure they can also make them weight the same.
Weren't some grey dealers doing that? The watch was only returnable if their security label hadn't been removed or some such?
______
Jim.
The label sounds like a good idea!
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Or maybe they were chancers and got caught which is what happend
I would just make a note of the time the watch is saying before handing over
If they didn’t spot a fake being returned there’s a reasonable chance they’ll make another mistake and sell it.
I’ve had this when buying sunglasses, seems to be an effective way of keeping track of things.
Pre-electronic stock control it was commonplace for jewellers to have little cardboard stock labels (attached by a string/thread, not unlike a miniature luggage label) on every item, including watches. These were only removed at POS & the stock number was then recorded on the receipt.
______
Jim.
They were jailed!
https://mol.im/a/9055641
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Good. Hopefully deported when released.
Started out with nothing. Still have most of it left.
That was quick, I thought they would be on remand for many months.
deservingly!
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