Jenny, You are Wearing MY RING!…It Was Stolen Last Week!

Many times, when people look into purchasing items from pawn shops, those items are second-hand, meaning that somebody else once owned them. How can someone be sure that the items they purchase at a pawn shop aren’t the same items that were stolen from their neighbor’s house a week ago? In truth, less than one half of one percent of all loans are identified as stolen goods. Robbers and thieves are a pawnbroker’s worst nightmare, and as a result, pawnbrokers work closely with local law enforcement to catch and prosecute these criminals. At all pawn shops, a customer must provide personal identification to be able to go through with the transaction. This information is then presented to the police department, who have records of criminals that will come up as red flags if any of the presented information match with anything in their database. Also, pawnbrokers are trained to look for signs of stolen property to avoid these costly mistakes.

Although stolen goods might seem like a good way for pawnbrokers to get more merchandise while paying as low as possible for obtaining it, doing so risks them losing the collateral and the loaned money on the item because the police will ultimately seize the merchandise away.

Hollywood Pawn Shop & Jewelry
Pawn Shop in Los Angeles