T
he art of the sale is a code jewelers live
by. Schmoozing with a customer can
make or break a business, and jewelers
have learned over time how to read
their clients. What they don’t always
realize is that scammers, too, have become more
sophisticated in reading their marks.
Retail “shrink,” which includes theft, fraud and
other losses in the sector, totaled $61.7 billion last
year, according to the National Retail Federation
(NRF), up from $50.6 billion the year before.
“Between an increase in incidents and new ways
to steal, shrink is at an all-time high,” says Mark
Matthews, the NRF’s vice president for research
development and industry analysis.
The problem is twofold, experts say: Criminals
are improving their techniques, and jewelers are
becoming less meticulous and overlooking clues that
should raise red flags.
“In the cases [that the Federal Bureau of
Investigation] has worked over the last 10 years,
COV E R
Jeweler
While scams have long plagued the industry, fraudsters have
become more sophisticated in their schemes.
BY LEAH MEIROVICH
SCAM 1
Con artists pose as a wealthy customer, building trust over a long
period via phone, email and social media. They then arrange a
meeting with the jeweler off-site, asking the jeweler to bring high-
value goods. While he’s en route, they attack and steal the items.
SOLUTION:
Ask the customer for ID and references over the phone
and check them out the same way they would check you out.
Research them and make sure they are who they say they are.
we’ve seen an evolution in the sophistication of
their operational plans,” reports Steve Gonzalez,
a special agent for the joint FBI/New York Police
Department major-theft task force. “They
sometimes mirror that of law enforcement, with
diagrams, sketches, multiple visits to a location,
etc. And it is very scary for a lot of jewelers to see,
because I think the fantasy is that these are just
individuals that are in need of money, who just come
in, steal and leave,” rather than carefully targeting a
specific jeweler’s business.
The situation has only gotten worse since the
onset of the coronavirus, Gonzalez warns. “Jewelers
are their own worst enemies sometimes. Because
of the current climate, jeweler vulnerabilities are
higher, and jewelers are more susceptible to the
pressures of closing the deal faster, and they aren’t
paying as much attention.”
TARGET PRACT I CE
Even the most diligent of retailers can fall victim
to a scam, but jewelers oftenmake themselves easy
prey without realizing it.
“It’s amazing how lax jewelers can become,
because [as with] anything else, you get
complacent, because it’s the same routine every day:
You go to work, you come home. But the criminal is
not doing that,” says Larry Lawton, a former jewel
thief who now runs robbery-prevention service
Reality Check and hosts his own YouTube channel.
“I cased over 1,000 stores. I went in as a customer,
and I saw their weaknesses. You know, a smash
and grab, those guys are usually hard up, and they
e
bewar
14
SEPTEMBER 2020
DIAMONDS.NET
