Blessing scam

A New Zealand Police poster warning the public about blessing scams.

The blessing scam, also called the ghost scam or jewelry scam, is a confidence trick typically perpetrated against elderly women of Chinese origin. The scam originated in China and Hong Kong and victims have fallen to it worldwide including in Chinatowns and overseas Chinese communities. The object of the scam is to persuade the victim to put valuables into a bag, which the perpetrator then secretly swaps for a different bag, enabling them to take the valuables.