Gold from Ghana - scam or not?

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Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2014 12:57 pm

If I had any doubts whatsoever about any business deal, which you obviously do if you're here, I wouldn't go through with it. Not worth the risk.

Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2014 1:01 pm

Quote:

I was referred to him by a member of his "family" - the local community, so that was the first step in establishing some trust

And no accident either. A good referral goes a long way and is a common element of many frauds that we handle here on a daily basis.

Quote:

We've been communicating for a couple of weeks while he was getting to know who I am and then preparing the shipment.

This is consistent with the usual timescales for getting a victim ready for payment. If the shipment was genuine he would have it ready and want it sold ASAP with no mucking about.

Quote:

He paid for delivery and didn't ask for anything upfront and that was his trust deposit.

He says he paid for delivery. Most likely it was already in place. Do you have any proof he travelled? Scammers network well and could easily have contacted a guyman on the ground near you to do the face-to-face work.

Quote:

We met at a public place and he showed me the dust in my car only after we had lunch and got to know each other.

Sure, you have lunch with someone, you know their life history? must have been a good lunch. And I've bought and sold all kinds of stuff in and out of the UK and never had to do business in someone else's car before.

You've given yourself all the answers you need, and you need to go back and re-read them. Why all this emphasis on establishing trust? Because this deal doesn't deserve it, and establishing it will take work. To give the guy credit, he's done a good job, going so far as to make a dog and pony show of trusting you - it's called reciprocity and is a powerful strategy. It's the same with the waiting and the elaborate seals and closures. He trusts you, so you trust him. It's the same with the waiting and the elaborate seals and closures. Theatre and rituals, introductions referrals, authority figures and secret deals are all powerful convincers that we see in play daily. We use them ourselves. They work to an extent that should scare you, because right now, you are so close to giving him a really sweet payday and going away with a bag of brass filings.

This deal stinks to kingdom come and deep down, you know this, don't you? I imagine you came here looking for someone who would say don't worry, this looks legitimate.

Sorry to disapoint you. But you'll feel a whole lot worse if you go through with this.

Baiting Guru Joined: 19 Mar 2012 Posts: 5373

Quote:

Friend is actually wealthy, whole area where he is from is full of minerals and they all make their money together sending shipments like this one out. He has been a good friend for years. From what I understood after these years, is that the wealth is not permanent because they blow through money fast on luxury and don't invest much just because of their lifestyle - work hard, party hard. And some of them sometimes come to a point where they are broke but got dust stored somewhere for the future, so they fly out and sell it.

When I read this, I translated it this way:

"my acquaintance of 5 years is a scammer. He is getting ready to scam me. An elaborate attempt to steal my money is through a gold scam. How much of a profit will he get from this? Do they divide the money? Or just spend it on drugs and prostitutes?"

I'm sorry to be so blunt but you are ready to say goodbye to your money and left with a box of poop.

I think you already know this but are deep into the fantasy of the scam.

Perhaps if you suggest bringing police (law enforcement) with you during the exchange of money you will see a very different side of your friend and the gold dealer.

Best case scenario is you lose a ton of money.
I don't want to tell you the worst case scenario.

ETA: I do not intend to anger you with the suggestion that your friend could possibly be part of this scam, it is just the first thought that hit me when I read this set up for the scam. I hope I'm wrong about the friend. I am not wrong about the scam part.

Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2014 1:14 pm

heretolearn wrote:

Personal friends introduced me to someone in Ghana

Quote:

I was referred to him by a member of his "family" - the local community, so that was the first step in establishing some trust

I'm not for one minute saying your personal friend and family member is in on the deal, but unfortunately prisons worldwide are full of personal friends and family members who have I'm afraid screwed over personal friends and family members.

You have to look at it at face value

Say the dealer bought it for 90 and sells to you at 100 an 11% profit for him. You sell on for 110 which is a 10% profit for you. Why doesn't he just sell to your buyer and make 21%, no need for the middle man.

It's a scam through and through, walk away whilst you can.

Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2014 2:01 pm

@OP: This community by and large consists of people who deal with scammers every single day and from all walks of life. You could say we are jaded cynics who see scams everywhere and that the so far identical viewpoint of all our members is biased. But if it was like that, all you would have gotten now is "this is scam because this is scam". Instead you have gotten lengthy and well argued posts explaining why this seems like a scam to people who deal with scammers every single day. I have nothing to add to those arguments, because they are far better and contain much more expertise than anything I could offer. I am just encouraging you to listen to everyone who has tried talking you out of this. That's not cynic and jaded attitude talking there: that's expertise that comes from years of seeing people like the ones you are now dealing with, and also from years of meeting people like you here on our forum.

Hello I'm New here! Joined: 20 Mar 2014 Posts: 9

GTmama wrote:

heretolearn wrote:

I was referred to him by a member of his "family" - the local community, so that was the first step in establishing some trust. We've been communicating for a couple of weeks while he was getting to know who I am and then preparing the shipment. He paid for delivery and didn't ask for anything upfront and that was his trust deposit. We met at a public place and he showed me the dust in my car only after we had lunch and got to know each other.

There are more things suspect with what you've said here than with anything you've said thus far. The 'family' member could just be another scammer. It's very common to have more then one person in on a scam, especially a very profitable one. The fact that he paid for delivery may have been his 'trust deposit' as you say but it was more likely a display to reel you in and make you believe the scam is legit. So far you've not been asked to pay for anything but the gold right? So surely everything must be legit right?! That's not true...Try thinking outside the box for a minute. Is it possible that this initial shipment actually is real gold? Just a small amount to establish the relationship. They've paid for the delivery. They've done everything they can to make it look legit. All to establish a relationship with you. You purchase the gold. They make a profit, you make a profit, everyone's happy. You're so happy that you ask for a bigger shipment in a couple of weeks and get a big crate full of metal shavings or bars painted gold and that's when the scam happens. There's a reason this guy wouldn't go to your jeweler. He knows he will be scamming you. He doesn't want to show his face to anyone but you and your friend. Especially to someone in a place that has cameras. These people aren't stupid. Bottom line is that you know something isn't right. Your gut instinct is telling you that or you wouldn't be here. We see this type of thing every day. We see people scammed by it every day. We're not trying to ruin a good thing for you but genuinely offer you some advice and help you to not make a big mistake. The best thing to remember is that if something seems too good to be true it always is! If they could get more money for the gold elsewhere, and they easily could, why would they choose you to sell it to. It just makes no sense.

Not a bad point, and we discussed future shipments with them already. Here's where your theory fails though. They will ship future shipments directly to my address under my name. This trial I am discussing here is trust establishment and their funds to cover future export costs. So I'm not out a penny on future shipments until I test and smelt all of it, then wire the payment directly to the seller.

Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2014 2:27 pm

Clearly, you have made up your mind already. You came here asking for an opinion, and you got a lot of very expert advice. If you choose not to accept that, it's your privilege. But why come to a forum to ask for advice if all you are going to do is dispute it?

Everything that could be said, has been said. I am locking this thread because it has become a waste of everyone's time.

It's a scam. The more you argue that it isn't, the more obvious it becomes that it is. I know that's not what you wanted to hear, but I'm sorry to say that it's the reality.

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