How to protect yourself from online gold buying scams
The number of fake online stores in the precious metal sector is rapidly increasing in view of the large number of precious metal buyers. Tempting offers on the Internet for gold coins, gold bars, silver and other precious metals should be met with caution in any case.
Fake online stores for gold and other precious metals lure with one-time discounts on products that exceed the actual trading margins of the dealers many times over. Experienced investors know that the trading margins are approximately between 0.5 and 5%; inexperienced investors, on the other hand, think that discounts of 10%, which are also common in other industries, could also be possible in the investment sector.
We at Gold&Co. also specialize particularly in counterfeit investment precious metals to inform customers against such fake products and if possible prevent them from making bad purchases.
In view of this new threat, we as reputable merchants not only want to offer you expertise in advice, but also provide further information on how to recognize the currently popular fakeshops. We also want to provide you with guidance on what to do if you do fall prey to an online scammer.
REPORT FAKESHOP NOW
As a service, we also offer a blacklist in which we show dubious dealers & websites that have come to our attention during our Internet research or have been reported to us by customers.
If you have any relevant information about fakeshops that are not yet listed, please submit it to us at alarmfahndung@goldundco.at or via the online FORM.
How do gold fake stores work on the Internet?
Fake sales platforms on the Internet usually lure with particularly great offers - high discounts (in the gold area, for example, 10% new customer discount), gladly also with formulations such as "exclusive" or "only for a short time". But if you find only offers on a page, you should be skeptical.
These stores usually work with the same scam: you have to pay in advance, usually via an online payment service. The merchants are based abroad, usually using addresses and data of reputable stores on their quickly and cheaply assembled pages, which are often only online for a short time. When enough profit has been made, the pages are taken offline again.
Since profit can be made quickly and easily with such fake stores, these fake dealers often even place advertisements on search engines and as banner ads on other sites. When internet users then search for keywords like "buy gold" or "gold dealer online", they are quickly lured to the site.
The customers are either referred to real stores (of real traders!) where they are supposed to pick up the gold - which of course they don't know about - or wait in vain for the delivery of the goods.
Gold Fakeshops as a topic in Ö1 Mittagsjournal
Gold & Co expert Walter Hell-Höflinger, court-certified expert, on this in the Ö1 Mittagsjournal of March 12, 2019:
"These web stores promise big discounts. We had some customers who had transferred between 3000 and 7000 euros to such stores and, after not receiving the goods, found out that they had fallen for a scam company."
How do I recognize a fake gold store?
The following signs on should make you skeptical about a web store:
- Focus on great discount offers: Especially for precious metals like gold and silver, the margin for traders is not very high, discounts of 10% (often called "new customer discount") and more are therefore unrealistic.
- Strange web address: All renowned companies have as domain name the company name with as few additional words as possible! (e.g. the website of the company ABC is called www.abc.at but not www.abc-edelmetallhandel-seit-1999.at !)
Even if the content of the website does not match the web address, this should make you suspicious - for example, if you are suddenly offered gold on a page for "Homedecor" or "Games". Fake providers also like to work with address extensions like "seit-1920" or "24" like the fakeshops goldscheideanstalt-seit1920.de or mein-goldbarren24.store. - Non-secured website: https is now the standard for websites instead of http - a certificate is required for this, and https is then displayed in the address bar at the top, with a padlock in front of the address. If this is missing, data is not transmitted encrypted.
- Payment methods: What payment methods are offered? Fake stores often use cash transfer services like Western Union or MoneyGram. These transfer services are primarily intended for private money transfers - you should only use them if you know and trust the recipient!
- Incorrect imprint, data protection information, terms and conditions, etc.: Fake stores often lack imprint and data protection information, as well as terms and conditions and information about the legal right of withdrawal.
- Particularly perfidious: the imprint contains addresses of other, well-known companies. If the customer does not look closely, you can quickly get the impression that this is a page of this well-known precious metal dealer. Often however a mistake happens - it finds itself under the addresses, also branch addresses, to which however an OTHER precious metal dealer however not that company of which the imprint was copied. (e.g. company name of the precious metal dealer A and under the branch addresses an address of the precious metal dealer B).
- Texts are copied, often not even exchanging the names in the body text - look closely to see if the same name is given in the texts as elsewhere on the website and imprint itself!
- Fake seals of approval: Fake stores like to list fake seals of approval for online trading or simply list real seals without having the certificate. In the case of a genuine online seal, the seal must be linked to the operator's site - so simply click on the displayed seal to see whether you really land on the certificate page of "Trusted Shops", for example, or not at all or are linked to a false page. You can also find more information on Internet seals of approval here: http://internet-guetesiegel.de/ or, specifically for Austria, the Austrian online quality mark: https://www.guetezeichen.at/
- Address: Often gold fake stores use the real addresses of real precious metal dealers! If an address is given, look it up online, such as on Google Maps: Can the address even be correct? Is there really a company called "Feingold-Scheideanstalt" on this address or does a completely different name appear here?
- Phone contact: Is a contact telephone number provided? Especially in a sensitive business like gold buying, it should be possible to make uncomplicated contact by phone and get important questions answered. If no one can be reached at the telephone number or you end up in a call center where only the purchase process can be discussed, but no questions about the price development are answered, no offers for further consultations, etc. are given, it is said to be skeptical.
- Only positive reviews: If you find only positive reviews for an online store, you should be suspicious - usually you will find a mixture of positive and negative customer feedback. Even the best company reaps the odd cranky review!
- Incorrect spelling & grammar: If you come across many errors on the page, the text looks hastily copied together or automatically translated, with incomplete sentences etc., you should be equally skeptical.
It is always helpful to Google the store again and see if you can find more information, ratings, a Facebook profile, reviews on online platforms, etc. Inform yourself comprehensively before you come to a purchase decision!
Our current list of known fakeshops:
- feingold-scheideanstalt.de
- feingoldscheideanstalt-since1974.de
- feingoldscheideanstalt-since1973.de
- feingoldscheideanstalt-since1972.de
- goldscheideanstalt-since1946.com
- goldbars-forge24.com
- goldbars-profis24.com
- goldbars-trade24.com
- goldbarren-laden24.com
- goldbarren-scheideanstalt.de
- goldbars-forge24.com
- goldsheath1924.com
- goldscheideanstalt-aktuell.de
- goldscheideanstalt-anmelden.de
- goldscheideanstalt-elite.com
- goldscheideanstalt-exklusiv.de
- goldscheideanstalt-globus.com
- goldscheideanstalt-green.com
- goldscheideanstalt-today.com
- goldscheideanstalt-intern.de
- goldscheideanstalt-juwelier.de
- goldscheideanstalt-master.com
- goldscheideanstalt-nest.de
- goldscheideanstalt-since1920.com
- goldscheideanstalt-since1923.com
- goldscheideanstalt-since1946.com
- gold-sheath-anstalt-tab.com
- goldscheideanstalt-testsieger.de
- goldsouk.com
- my-goldbars24.store
Also compare the list of suspicious stores on the German comparison platform gold.de.
What should I do if I have fallen for a fake store?
- Cancel payment
Contact your bank immediately and try to cancel the payment! Here it is important to act within a few hours. Unfortunately, this is mostly not possible with a self-transfer. You could only contact the counter bank and demand to freeze the payment, since "charges have already been filed for serious commercial fraud...". - Save evidence
Take screenshots, save all messages and payment information! Since gold fakeshops are often online for a short time, you should do it as soon as possible to be able to prove the purchase. - Contact the police
If cancellation is no longer possible, you should contact the police and file a fraud report. You can report crimes at any police station and file a complaint. However, since the merchants are usually located abroad and are often not easy to track down, the chances of success in getting your money back are usually unfortunately low. Searching the addresses given in the imprint will also not lead to any success.
You can also find more information at onlinesicherheit.gv. at and watchlist-internet.at.
What can I do if I notice a fake store?
If you come across a fake store for gold and precious metals in general, it is best to report it here as well - we collect all fake stores in our database.
If you have any doubts about the seriousness of a dealer, check the name or the site in our database or contact us personally!
