The Precious Minerals Marketing Company Limited (PMMC) has warned of an increase in gold scams in the nation and advises the public to be cautious.
The gold fraudsters, according to PMMC, offered phoney photographs and videos of gold for sale.
The PMMC stated in a statement that “some of these eventually turn out to be gold-plated tungsten.”
The scammers are able to persuade their victims to give large sums of money for the aim of moving gold from mining sites or specified areas to Accra for sale.
Transportation
“Once the money for the supposed transportation of the gold is received by the scammers, various excuses are now given as reasons for their failure to deliver the gold to Accra.
The scammers use these excuses to claim more money to facilitate the delivery of the gold,” the statement said.
Furthermore, the con artists export a gram or a kilogram of gold in order to win over their victims’ confidence and show that they are capable of providing larger quantities.
Once the victim’s confidence is gained, enormous sums of money are demanded, and the fraudsters vanish, leaving their victims frustrated.
Scammers
The notice cautioned the general public and people interested in purchasing gold to exercise caution and avoid falling victim to fraudsters’ deceptive schemes.
Prospective gold purchasers have been reminded to do their homework to verify that they are receiving a good deal.
“At all times the usual caveat emptor precautions should be adhered to,” the statement added.
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The PMMC’s Managing Director, Nana Akwasi Awuah, issued a statement advising potential gold purchasers to contact the PMMC, the sole certified national assayer, to oversee their gold purchase transactions.
In recent years, it has been home to a multibillion-dollar business that accounts for about half of the country’s exports, according to the Observatory of Economic Complexity.
However, this rich resource has also attracted a network of fraudsters who, acting as reputable gold merchants, defraud consumers.
