how to sell stolen jewelry without getting caught

Consider getting a security camera or smart video doorbell to protect your front porch. According to reporting by The Atlantic, all along the South African coast, workers regularly walk off with millions of dollars in rough (uncut) stones. Why Does A Rose Quartz Turn White? The $4.5 million rock stolen by five men who robbed the reality TV star at gunpoint on Monday is likely to be broken into smaller stones and sold. There's a worldwide network that relies on two basic principles to get diamonds back to their owners. If you believe that an item has been stolen, the best course of action is to contact your local police department. Insurance companies stand to lose millions of dollars when a diamond is never found, and everyone's premiums go up as a result. Look through every nook and cranny of your house. Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | How We Rank and Review |. Most diamonds thefts are far less sophisticated than the 2008 Damiani raid (and far less brilliant). French prosecutors . Sometimes a lost car has been stolen, but more often, youve simply forgotten where you parked. Unfortunately, recovering your stolen items is up to you. In addition to testing, writing, and reviewing for SafeWise, she also makes videos for the sites YouTube channel. You can protect yourself by asking the seller where they got the goods and when. Nothing is easier to move than jewelry and guns. One time a client brought Fuller a sapphire with an old appraisal attached that claimed it was worth $18,000. After returning the goods, you can bring a lawsuit for restitution against whoever sold you the goods. Subscribe to SafeWise for updates on safety news, product releases, and deals! March 1999. http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/199903/steal-diamond, Jeweler Steals From the Rich. Real-world diamond heists are surprisingly like the heists we see in the movies. Lakatos switched the purse of diamonds for one holding pebbles, then left the store, changed her clothes in a bathroom and hopped on the Eurostar. In all, he stole more than $80 million in jewels from a wide range of victims (including famed golfers Jack Nicklaus and Greg Norman). Some brokers charge a flat fee. There are several possible outcomes of your treasured article once it gets in the hands of the wrong person. The FBI recovered the side stones from a jeweler in St. Louis. He used his pass card to get into the vault, went straight for the area that housed uncut diamonds, and emptied five of the safe deposit boxes. There is a high probability of jewelry being stolen from places where it is easy to reach, such as desks, shelves, etc. Just because you cant find your car doesnt mean its gone for good. Turns out it was a rare, untreated Kashmir sapphire worth nearly half a million dollars! Even when no one calls the police, and a diamond thief is successful in selling the gems, it's seldom much of a success. That's why you have to rub oil on our body. Buying stolen gems can also be a serious crime. Retrace your steps, and look for them everywhere. Jewelry isnt always a piece of metal for a few dollars. Missing credit cards can be the thing of adulthood nightmares. File a report. Typically, they provide referrals to their members. http://jewelrymaking.about.com/library/weekly/aa022800.htm, The Case of the Disappearing Diamond. For example, an 18-year-old comes in with an expensive watch that was made when he was just a toddler, White said.. Or a coin collection is brought in and White finds recent theft reports of a similar coin collection. You will have to file a complaint or affidavit to start the lawsuit in small claims court. Consider what you used your card for last and call the store or shop to see if they still have it. Avoiding getting caught at a pawn shop just takes crossing a few state lines and you will get a bit of a better deal. If a guy sells you a $1,500 television, for $50, chances are its stolen, Scott said. With the increase in the number of online e-commerce platforms, there comes a subtle expansion in the number of ingenious ways burglary uses. When the name doesn't match, then you should suspect the goods were stolen. The FBI believes that al-Qaida sunk its money into "conflict diamonds" before the September 11 attacks on the United States, anticipating the freezing of their bank accounts. Unfortunately, many people go through this loss every single day. 2. The Antwerp Diamond Center building vault includes 160 safe deposit boxes in which diamond brokers leave their stones. Legally, several methods allow you to reach out and ask for help in locating your jewelry. These tips can help you avoid becoming a victim of jewelry theft. We use cookies to make wikiHow great. Here are a few you can try to recover your stolen package. Once theft occurs, and you get robbed of one of your most prized possessions, there is barely any way around it. By signing up you are agreeing to receive emails according to our privacy policy. Crime system will be added with the upcoming City of Gold update. The diamond business is a small world that spans the globe. Jewelry without identification, for example, is difficult to trace back to an owner unless the owner has taken photographs or videos of it, he said. Both the seller and buyer can be charged with a crime in such circumstances, he said. About.com. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Thieves see that website advertised on television and they send in the jewelry where it is melted down to an unrecognizable liquid, he said. They require a sophisticated and multi-jurisdictional response. Absolutely that's why the laws require pawn stores to keep records of the items taken in, who they cane from and who they were sold to. You might read The Daughter Of The Hawk - by C.S. The most popular fencing cities are Los Angeles, Houston, Miami, and New York City. Before leaving the building, the thieves even managed to take the security camera footage. This is not a guarantee. Theres one final option: Your appraiser may be willing to act as a broker and help you sell your jewelry. In the workrooms, where the floor is strewn with small diamonds, employees wear glue-soled boots and walk right out of the mine with yes with diamonds stuck to the soles of their shoes. The largest diamond heist ever occurred in Antwerp, Belgium, one of the world's diamond capitals. If you do, then you could be charged with receipt of stolen property if the property was, in fact, stolen. An appraiser can also tell you whether your jewelry is best sold as-is or for scrap. It costs an absolute fortune to insure diamonds. 15 April 2008. They even target items that the site accepts, Cegielski said. If your search turns out useless, its okay. Follow these tips to try and track it down: Android and Google: Find My Device helps you locate your Android phone, laptop, or tablet. Answer (1 of 40): The diamond ring that you found on the ground is not yours. Losing your driver's license or ID can be scary, but it could simply be misplaced or left behind somewhere. In 1979, when New York City police recovered $50,000 worth of stolen diamonds from a fence, it turned out he'd paid the thief $200 for the stones. Additionally, to avoid getting caught and safely selling them, many robbers take their loot to another country. Use a resource like Stolen 911 to check national listings for your stolen items. And what makes it more complicated is the involvement of middlemen. use it. Take photos of your jewelry before shipping it. Jewelry without identification, for example, is difficult to trace back to an owner unless the owner has taken photographs or videos of it, he said. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Protecting Yourself as a Member of the Public, {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/9\/9b\/Protect-Yourself-After-Unknowingly-Buying-Stolen-Property-Step-1.jpg\/v4-460px-Protect-Yourself-After-Unknowingly-Buying-Stolen-Property-Step-1.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/9\/9b\/Protect-Yourself-After-Unknowingly-Buying-Stolen-Property-Step-1.jpg\/aid7893809-v4-728px-Protect-Yourself-After-Unknowingly-Buying-Stolen-Property-Step-1.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"