Nigerian 409 Scams Have Moved Into Gold

This warning may not be that needed, given the many others that have been made about such E-mail scams, but a woman had been victimized to the tune of $15,000 by one.

A 57-year-old Lambton County woman [in Ontario, Canada, near Sarnia] has lost about $15,000 in an Internet gold trading scam.

She received an e-mail from an alleged gold trader in Africa. The trader promised to send her gold and convinced the victim to send money to Africa through Western Union. Various excuses were used by the suspect to convince the Lambton Shores woman to continue to send money. The victim finally called police after sending money and not getting any gold.

Sadly, one of the unintended consequences of gold's bull market is a rise in gold-related crime and scams. More than ever, it's "holder beware."