Some new kind of fraud has arisen in Singapore to replace The Gold Guarantee, which ceased operations suddenly in January (in the middle of the night).
I received a phone call from a family acquaintance in Singapore. He told me his son had just invested quite a bit of money in a company (the name of which I have withheld for reasons that will become clear) and would I mind looking into it? Never mind the question about doing due diligence after forking over your money.
I looked up the company, which turned out to be a respectable company dealing in technical machinery. I saw that they had been in business for many years, had many long-term customers, and shipped equipment all over the world. So I called this acquaintance back and told him that to a first glance (without going through company finances) the investment seemed legitimate.
He was relieved. He told me that his son had bought a sum of gold from this company, but had elected to receive certificates with an interest payment of 2% per month. This is exactly the same business model as the Gold Guarantee used (and its various predecessors). I told him that the company in question does not deal in gold. I advised him that his son should try to track down the fellow he gave his money to and get it back. Unfortunately, it appears they are out of luck.
Even though the Gold Guarantee is gone, same style of fraud remains ongoing.
The only way to buy gold is to buy physical. And for heaven's sake, do some research on the price before you buy. The Gold Guarantee's website quoted a price for gold nearly 50% above spot, then said they would sell it to you at a discount.
I received a phone call from a family acquaintance in Singapore. He told me his son had just invested quite a bit of money in a company (the name of which I have withheld for reasons that will become clear) and would I mind looking into it? Never mind the question about doing due diligence after forking over your money.
I looked up the company, which turned out to be a respectable company dealing in technical machinery. I saw that they had been in business for many years, had many long-term customers, and shipped equipment all over the world. So I called this acquaintance back and told him that to a first glance (without going through company finances) the investment seemed legitimate.
He was relieved. He told me that his son had bought a sum of gold from this company, but had elected to receive certificates with an interest payment of 2% per month. This is exactly the same business model as the Gold Guarantee used (and its various predecessors). I told him that the company in question does not deal in gold. I advised him that his son should try to track down the fellow he gave his money to and get it back. Unfortunately, it appears they are out of luck.
Even though the Gold Guarantee is gone, same style of fraud remains ongoing.
The only way to buy gold is to buy physical. And for heaven's sake, do some research on the price before you buy. The Gold Guarantee's website quoted a price for gold nearly 50% above spot, then said they would sell it to you at a discount.
I am very surprised in the internet age that people just don't check the current spot gold price before they buy to work out what premium they are being charged. Anyone who did this would realise that they were overpaying well beyond normal coin/bar premiums and effectively the 2% a month was their own money coming back to them.
ReplyDeleteGiven my impression about the average education and reading ability of Singaporeans, it amazes me that there are so many gullible people there.
ReplyDeleteFor some reason, it doesn't seem to occur to a lot of people to do basic due diligence (until they can't get their money back).
all in all its all about greed
ReplyDeleteGold investment is really working or not, Because I don't know about the gold investment. Is your son suggest you to investing their money in the gold market is i think great idea.
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