Police Warn South Asian Community of Gold Necklace Switch Thefts

The con takes under a minute. A stranger steps out of an SUV in a parking lot, arms open, speaking with the warmth of an old friend. She puts a ring on your finger, starts talking about jewelry, then pulls you close for a hug. By the time the vehicle pulls away, your gold necklace is in her hand. Around your neck is costume jewelry you won't notice until you're alone.

Fairfax County Major James Curry described exactly this tactic after four incidents struck the county in a single afternoon on March 20. "We've seen two different crews, 'cause it was all on March 20, four different locations spread across the county, Franconia-Springfield, Chantilly and Herndon or near Herndon," Curry said. "In these instances vehicles stop by our community members, they try and gauge them and ultimately try to distract them."

Detectives in both Fairfax and Loudoun counties have been investigating the incidents, which appear to have deliberately targeted South Asian women, many of whom wear significant gold daily: mangalsutras, layered chains, gold bangles that carry deep cultural and religious meaning. That visibility, combined with the cultural instinct toward warmth with a stranger, is precisely what the crews exploited.

The playbook was consistent across all four scenes. At 1:30 p.m. at the Backlick Plaza parking lot on Hechinger Drive in Springfield, a woman returning a shopping cart was approached by a white SUV. The passenger, now identified as Cristina Milhaela Paun, 21, of Baltimore, slipped a ring onto the victim's finger, opened a conversation about jewelry, then used a hug to swap the woman's real necklace for a fake. Around the same time in Chantilly, occupants of a black SUV asked a woman for directions on Metrotech Drive and used the close exchange to execute the same switch. At roughly 3:30 p.m., a woman near Wood Crescent Circle in Herndon claimed it was her birthday and asked for a hug; she left with the victim's necklace. At 3:55 p.m. in Franconia on Commerce Street, a black SUV arrived with two suspects working in tandem: a woman described as about 50, with red hair and gold teeth, held the victim's hand and placed a necklace on her while a rear passenger described as a 25-year-old in a headscarf kept her distracted. That victim discovered both her necklace and her bracelets had been swapped for costume pieces.

Paun was briefly in custody. Delaware State troopers stopped a white 2026 Toyota Highlander linked to the robberies on March 21 at a shopping center in New Castle after detectives circulated a nationwide bulletin built from surveillance footage and license plate reader data. Paun was detained and identified as one of the occupants, and Fairfax County obtained felony pickpocketing and robbery warrants. She remains at large.

Recognizing the setup before it closes is the clearest line of defense. The approach always begins with manufactured warmth: an overly friendly stranger in a parking lot who escalates quickly to physical contact. The scripts vary, a birthday, a question about jewelry, a request for directions, but the pivot is always the same: a hug, a handhold, or something placed around your neck. The correct response is to step back immediately, decline any physical contact, and refuse to try on or accept anything offered. Do not follow anyone to their vehicle. If a vehicle follows you through a lot, walk toward a store entrance and call 911. Anyone with information on Paun's whereabouts should contact the Reston Police Station at 703-478-0904. Anonymous tips can be submitted to Crime Solvers at 1-866-411-8477 or through the P3 Tips app under "Fairfax Co Crime Solvers."

The Franconia victim lost a necklace and a bracelet. The thieves were gone before she looked down.