How to Avoid Gold Scams
Avoid dealers that don’t provide proof that your investment is insured or suggest it’s unnecessary; such behavior may indicate fraud.
Preying on investors’ fears of financial collapse with high-pressure sales tactics and offering guaranteed profits without disclosing fees, storage charges or commissions can be exploited by unscrupulous dealers.
High-Pressure Sales Tactics
Gold scams are perpetrated by unscrupulous sellers who take advantage of investors’ fear and greed by promising guaranteed returns with inside information about the market, promising guarantees from it, or by creating an urgent sense of urgency by suggesting this opportunity is limited or won’t last.
Scammers sometimes attempt to deceive buyers with rare coins sold at higher than market value prices, often with fake reviews or testimonials from supposed satisfied customers.
Investors should insist upon prompt delivery of their bullion purchases. Investors should avoid dealers that want to hold onto it or charge storage fees – this indicates a company doesn’t value its clients and has no intention of keeping its word; additionally, this may indicate they do not disclose full financial disclosures that are required by law.
Partial Delivery Scams
While gold may seem like an inherently secure investment, fraudsters often exploit that perception to draw in unsuspecting investors into risky or outright fraudulent schemes involving promises of high returns and even nonexistent precious metals.
Some scams prey upon investors’ fears and greed by promising economic collapse to persuade them that now is the time to buy gold. Meanwhile, others inflate standard coin values or make claims about quality or rarity of rare coins in order to increase their prices.
One of the most frequently occurring scams involves selling someone gold and storage space when neither actually exist – leaving an investor without both their money and valuable assets. Scammers may charge storage or insurance fees that further devalue an investment; this type of fraud is particularly popular on the Internet.
Storage Scams
Scammers frequently promise to store gold on your behalf at an additional cost; often this fee goes unmentioned and could increase as your purchases expand. Be wary of companies offering to store your precious metals for you; storage services provided by most reputable dealers should never require extra charges.
One common variation on this scam involves sellers advertising well-known coins at fair prices before quickly switching the conversation over to their rarer, upgraded versions and asking that you fund upfront expenses to ship them from their country of origin into the US. At this point, red flags should start to rise – especially if payment must be sent via Western Union which cannot be tracked.
Buy-Back Guarantees
Scammers frequently sell rare coins at exaggerated prices, misleading investors into believing they’re more valuable than they actually are or that their value will increase in future years. Rare coins and bullion should only be purchased by collectors after having first been thoroughly assessed by a gold expert.
Criminals prey upon innocent people by convincing them to purchase gold and store it somewhere that does not exist, charging fees for this service and often demanding payment through untraceable methods like Western Union.
When investing in gold, remember that high returns without risk don’t exist. If a dealer makes such claims, walk away immediately. And if you feel pressured into making a quick decision without taking into consideration all possible scenarios – any rush could make you vulnerable to scams!
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