What scam was being run on me?

[Martinus]

The best scams are the ones that exploit the greed of the victim. Although technically I am not sure if I would even qualify the "ring ploy" as a scam. There is no actual misrepresentation made by the scammer other than the claim he/she just found the ring - he/she is not claiming it is made of gold. Which makes the victim almost deserve to be cheated out of some money in a situation like this.

[Martinus]

I never was robbed or pick-pocketed anywhere in Europe. Otoh, a colleague of mine got robbed at a knife point within 10 hours of arriving in NYC.

In all my years of living in London I only got pick-pocketed once - my iPod from the back pocket of a rucksack. However, within 30 minutes of arriving in Brussels, a pair of gypsy women feigning having problems getting a stroller onto the Metro nicked my passport and iPaq - remember those?!

Oh yeah I remember. I guess Warsaw/Krakow were safer than Brussels in this regard.

[Warspite]

Funnily enough, a "Bosnian" tried this trick on my girlfriend and I in Paris last year too.

Bad luck for the scammer when we both replied - in Bosnian.

He scarpered off rather quickly.

[Valmy]

Funnily enough, a "Bosnian" tried this trick on my girlfriend and I in Paris last year too.

Bad luck for the scammer when we both replied - in Bosnian.

He scarpered off rather quickly.

So...he lied about being from Bosnia?  Is there some sort of advantage to being from Bosnia?  Why would you pretend to be from Bosnia?

[Admiral Yi]

So...he lied about being from Bosnia?  Is there some sort of advantage to being from Bosnia?  Why would you pretend to be from Bosnia?

The obvious advantage is that Bosnians are not gypsies.

[Warspite]

Funnily enough, a "Bosnian" tried this trick on my girlfriend and I in Paris last year too.

Bad luck for the scammer when we both replied - in Bosnian.

He scarpered off rather quickly.

So...he lied about being from Bosnia?  Is there some sort of advantage to being from Bosnia?  Why would you pretend to be from Bosnia?

Perhaps because it's a place people know and tend to have sympathy with its people? It puzzles me too. That said, there were a lot of "Bosnian" beggars back in the late 1990s panhandling their way around European capital cities, obviously trying for the refugee sympathy buck.

[garbon]

Why would Marti remember them?  Are you accusing him of stealing them while he and a friend were disguised as gypsy women?

I presume because Brazen and Marty are personal friends and might talk about things that happen to them from time to time.

Heck she might have even been in Brussels to see him.

I had thought those referred to the iPaq

[Valmy]

I had thought those referred to the iPaq

Right Marty might remember those things being stolen because Brazen might have brought it up in a conversation.  And, indeed, he does.

[garbon]

I had thought those referred to the iPaq

Right Marty might remember those things being stolen because Brazen might have brought it up in a conversation.  And, indeed, he does.

No I meant the actual device - as in that such a device existed.  I didn't remember that one existed - as I never knew about them.

[The Minsky Moment]

[iPaq - remember those?!

Still have my old one around somewhere.  Even got a little fold-up keyboard for it.