A person holds a diamond in a set of tweezers (Photo: Stellarit/Shutterstock.com)

Picture this: A person walks into an agent's office wearing a luxury watch that belongs to a friend, appraisal in hand, and walks out with a personal articles policy after paying a premium of just 1 to 2% of the value of the watch. Three months later, they submit a claim alleging that the watch was lost while swimming in the ocean, or stolen in a robbery or missing after the house was cleaned. With little investment and, unfortunately, very little risk of criminal penalty, this person can quickly make a profit of tens of thousands of dollars or more.

This happens every day in metro Atlanta and throughout the United States, as jewelry fraud is growing in staggering numbers. The U.S. Department of Justice reports that over $1 billion in jewelry "disappears" annually, which represents 70% of all stolen personal property, according to a leading jewelry insurance underwriter.

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