Scam Alert! Fake silver bars being sold on Craigslist.

So tonight I was doing my usual forum visits to see what was happening in the world of silver and precious metals. I came upon kitco.com forums and noticed a very interesting thread about counterfeit silver being sold through Craigslist.


It appears that a fellow silver-bug has written about an ordeal that he just experienced. He answered an ad on Craigslist, where some one was selling 150 ounces of silver bars from reputable manufactures such as Pan American Silver, Stagecoach and Sunshine State Mint. I personally don't buy "generic" silver but the appeal of generic silver is that they sell for  lower premiums when compared to buying Government issued bullion.

These are the bars in question:

How they were sold to the victim, vacuum sealed and with "Made In Korea" printed on the bag.

 

You can read the entire story here: 

http://xxjobiiixx.blogspot.ca/2013/02/oh-no-ive-just-been-scammed-into-buying.html

It is an excellent read and it goes in detail from the beginning of the purchase to the very end when police became involved. I highly recommend you read it.

I would suggest to those who are interested in buying silver from third parties via sites such as Craigslist and Kijiji to do the following things:




Meet in a public place:

This is done for safety precautions. Also if you can try to bring a friend along. Avoid meeting in parking lots, parks or alley ways. Best places to meet are at Banks, Malls or Lobbies of buildings where security is common-place. 

Get seller information:

 Ask for identification and a receipt. Write down sellers name and number. Get a receipt even if its written on a piece of paper. Remember that you are dealing in a lot of money so an honest dealer shouldn't hesitate to provide these things.

Test the silver:

 Do this in front of the seller. Get yourself some nitric acid to test the silver. Also weigh the silver using a digital pocket scale, these are cheap and easy to carry around. if the weight is off, walk away. lastly you must use a magnet to test the silver. Silver is non magnetic and shouldn't be attracted to the magnet you are using. However remember NOT THAT ALL COUNTERFEIT SILVER IS MAGNETIC. that is why you must include the acid test and scale test when buying silver bullion. 

Walk Away:

If the deal is too good to be true, then it probably is. Don't hesitate to walk away from a deal, if you think that you are dealing with a scammer.

I personally don't purchase silver from Craigslist or Kijiji, I just go to my trusted bricks and mortar dealer Toronto Gold Bullion or I order online from Silver Gold Bull.