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Replies: 46 / Views: 12,348 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4409 Posts |
That is good news JobIII. It's great that you were able to provide them with information that will likely help bring this scammer down.
-MV
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
2448 Posts |
I'm ever amazed at how much work some people will exert to scam someone for a buck. It makes the adage "Knowledge is Key!" even more poinent. The coins, IMHO, are fairly easy to spot, I have now idea how to detect the bad ingots. Puts a big question mark in my mind before buying bouillon on line now.
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
815 Posts |
JobIII, yet another reason to stick to government minted bullion such as Eagles, Maples, etc.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1804 Posts |
I do not like scam people. they mess it up for everyone.
ers,
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Valued Member
 United States
366 Posts |
Hi All, ** Got a message from on my blog Update 2/17/2014 **
Head's up if you buy bullion in the Maryland area.
Just got an email from a guy in the Baltimore area. Who purchased a large amount of 1 oz bullion bars back around January. They were packaged just like the ones I bought up here in New England. And ended up being counterfeits. For anyone in the MD area buying bullion (Matthew, Sunshine, Pan Am Scottsdale bars, etc.) Please exercise caution when buying from new sources.
With silver prices on the rise, this might become more of an issue again...
~JobIII
Edited by JobIII 02/17/2014 7:32 pm
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Valued Member
United Kingdom
477 Posts |
Very good article Job. A few things I find alarming as you mentioned is the lack of prosecution for this criminal behaviour, when the criminal had even paid you back-that is the criminal admitting they did wrong. They could argue they din't know, but after the second attempted sale to your friend was it? That should be concrete evidence for couterfit goods and enough to prosecute or stop this criminal. Now you mention that he has an attorney by his side, helping him seemingly get away with this. Maybe by the attorney being the third party in that transaction that took place where you received the money back is where part of a loophole is to stop prosecution. Also the fact this guy is driving a Lexus and has the brains to use a briefcase for these fake bullions shows a higher level of criminality to the average. Which I agree is scary. Another thing that came to mind is, with bullion being openly accessible on ebay etc. Maybe bigger companies are seeing dips in sales, because bullion is in circulation between customer too customer more and more. You see my point is, when say a coin is known to be faked alot-it makes customers less likely to buy it on say ebay, or if it does get purchased the price would be significantly lower. Companies can use dirty tactics to their advantage, because customers will only go to them because they're afraid of fraud-allowing these companies to maybe ask for a little more for bullion. I mean when you think about what this guy has at his disposal, it's not a cheap operation-who's behind him? I know my third paragraph may be 'out their', but it's food for thought. I'm a former data centre specialist from the UK, who worked with highly confidential documents for a while. I'm not saying I'm speaking facts, just saying I'm not a loon. This is just an opinion.
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Valued Member
United Kingdom
477 Posts |
Sorry about my appalling spelling, it appears I should proof read more often.
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Valued Member
United States
69 Posts |
Thank you for sharing this valuable information, I may start carrying a magnet and scale even when purchasing from my LCS. Thanks again for the info
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
815 Posts |
A magnet and scale are insufficient. You need calipers, and a smartphone to look up specs of bars. If a given bar is the exact same height, weight, and depth as the listed specs, it is almost impossible for it to be a fake.
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Valued Member
Canada
293 Posts |
Thanks for sharing your story...it'll help us all out someday.
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Pillar of the Community
 Canada
9866 Posts |
Great thread here, thanks for sharing you experience.
"Dipping" is not considered cleaning... -from PCGS website
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Valued Member
 United States
366 Posts |
Happy to tell it. Just hope it helps other like minded coin collectors and dealers from getting bamboozled. Thanks for the kind posts!
~JobIII
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Valued Member
United States
269 Posts |
I read your post and your blog then saw this, Kind of spikes my "these are fake" instincts when you see an add on craigslist like this http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/for/5363999.htmlCould be all fine and dandy I guess, then you read you MUST buy at least 100oz Same guy has had this add running for quite some time, it could be legit, not for me though
Edited by Fusion555 05/07/2014 6:41 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
738 Posts |
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Valued Member
United States
179 Posts |
Thank you for sharing! and thats why I won't by bullion from just anyone, especially ebay or Craigslist!
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Replies: 46 / Views: 12,348 |