Hold Your Wallet Close
No matter where in the world you go, there are always thieves and pickpockets waiting to target innocent tourists. The OP visited Paris when she was just 19 and was walking around in a bucket hat that made it obvious that she was a tourist. People tried to scam her not once but thrice using the same story.
They would purposely drop a ring in front of her, pretend to “find it,” and then strike up a conversation by asking if it belonged to her. The idea was to somehow get her to take out her wallet. Thankfully, she was smart enough not to fall for it but others may not have been as lucky.