​Typically, a well-dressed family with small children in an expensive rental car will look desperate, flagging down people on the sides of freeways or in parking lots, with stories about their money and credit cards being stolen. Others might say they need to get to the hospital to help a family member. They say they need help and they offer real-looking jewelry — often rings, necklaces and watches for sale. The jewelry is reportedly stamped "18k," but when the buyer gets the pieces examined at a jewelry store or takes them to a pawn shop, they inevitably find out the "18k gold" is actually cheap brass.

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