Stupid Guest Tricks

Even I'm not this stupid...

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/01/17/40 ... da-buffet/

(or that wealthy).

If I somehow had $400,000 in diamonds with me I wouldn't let that bag out of my sight! If I stopped to eat somewhere the farthest from me it would be is under the table with the straps wrapped around my legs and if I got up to go to the bathroom or something I would take the bag with me. The only way I'd leave it in my vehicle is if it was an armored car.

It was extremely stupid to leave a bag visible at all in the car, let alone one containing so much money in diamonds. The thief got a surprise I bet when he opened the bag. He was probably hoping to maybe get a laptop or something, not a whole bunch of diamonds.

He was eating at a buffet? help me understand that. At least a nice sit down restaurant if you can have that much tied up in diamonds.

Probably in the business and figured on a really low profile being the best security. Of course, leaving the bag on the seat might be a little *too* casual.

There are suspicions that this is an insurance scam, of course.

Buggy wrote:There are suspicions that this is an insurance scam, of course.

I wouldn't think it would be a very good one unless the person had some reason to be carrying the diamonds and had gotten an insurance rider. No way an insurance company would pay on a claim that "my car was broken into, and, oh, by the way, I had nearly half a million dollars of gems in the car. When will I get the check?"

Even with a rider, the insurance company might not pay due to the person not taking minimal and reasonable care.

Buggy wrote:There are suspicions that this is an insurance scam, of course.

There are people in the wholesale gem business that regularly transport that kind of stash with them. There is an entire building of jewelry wholesalers and manufacturers next to one of our theatres. The older gents who come and go from there regularly move packets of gems worth in the millions, just in a plain briefcase. They are older men, from eastern Europe mainly. They buy their cigarettes and coffee where I buy my lottery tickets in the lobby of the building. For some reason they nearly always transport their inventory on their person, with no security. They just say that this is how its always been done, they guy in the shop asked them why they dont use an armoured car service, he was answered with a shrug. . I figure they must be armed, but you would never know it from seeing them in those long overcoats that they wear. They even import the gems, mainly from Belgium, in a briefcase that they carry on the plane. They must have nerves of steel.

Those guys have so much money that $400K is a rounding error.

Maybe they could round it on over to me once in a while.

I experienced a mini version of this story once. I was working in a gift shop next to a ride, and some guy walks in and says "I left a bag full of pins in my stroller while I was on the ride, and now they are gone." oops. This is why you don't leave things in strollers or wheel chairs. You guys would be (or maybe not) surprised at how many expensive things people just leave laying around.