The Bangkok Gem Scam is a confidence trick performed in Bangkok, Thailand as well as other cities in the country. A network of touts and con men present the mark with an opportunity to profit from buying discount gems from a jewelry shop. The mark is convinced that she can buy gems at duty free price and bring them overseas for a threefold or more profit. Through a network of helpers, each of whom tells the mark bits of information, the mark is guided to the jewelry shop. In 1994 my sister and I fell for this trick and only avoided plumbing the depth of our naive greed by the grace of a faulty credit card.