Wanting 70,000 VND cheap, got caught with fake gold and lost everything

Buy cheap gold on the 'online market' when the price is at its peak and then lose everything

Recently, a representative of SH Gold and Gemstone Company in Bac Ninh livestreamed to share the story of discovering that the gold rings that customers sold were fake.

Accordingly, a customer named Phuong T. bought gold rings in blister packs (Thang Long Dragon Gold) from another person on the “online market”. At the time of purchase, the gold was 70,000 VND/tael cheaper than the listed price at the stores, but there were no guarantee papers.

On February 18, needing money, Ms. Phuong T. brought this amount of gold to SH Company's store to sell. When the staff checked and scanned it, they discovered that it was fake gold with extremely sophisticated tricks.

“The round, smooth gold ring is blister-pressed, with Bao Tin Minh Chau’s logo inside. The outside has a stamp and barcode that looks exactly like real gold,” said the representative.

Immediately, Ms. Phuong T. called the seller and received a reply that they did not take responsibility, and at the same time said that they also bought the gold ring from someone else on social media.

Finally, this fake gold product was recalled and destroyed. The customer named Phuong T. lost all the money he had spent to buy gold.

A representative of Bao Tin Minh Chau Company Limited confirmed that the incident of a customer buying fake gold of this brand and then selling it at a store in Bac Ninh is true. The company sent someone to work directly with the store and check the gold product.

Bao Tin Minh Chau representative said that on the gold blister and gold products of the company, there are separate symbols and trademarks. The smooth plastic shell is embossed with the words Bao Tin Minh Chau Company, the color of the gold will be golden yellow, when weighed it will be 1.3 taels (including the shell). The product has an anti-counterfeit stamp and a barcode containing information to control the origin and materials.

Buying fake gold not only causes economic and mental damage to the buyer but also violates the law, product business rights, and brand reputation, he emphasized.

Gold trading boom

For nearly a year now, when gold prices have been soaring and continuously breaking historical peaks, stores have been regularly selling limited quantities of gold... causing the buying and selling of precious metals on the "online market" or on the streets to take place vigorously.

Just type in the phrase “buy and sell gold brands” and you will immediately find hundreds of online gold trading groups, with members ranging from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands. Some groups even have nearly half a million members.

On these groups, there are often anonymous accounts posting large quantities of gold bars and gold rings in blister packs of many brands. Under each post, there are hundreds of comments with the content: selling 20 rings of 1 tael, selling 5 taels of gold bars in blister packs, messaging to discuss specific prices...

The buying and selling price is usually 1 - 3 million VND/tael lower than the listed price of the brands.

The difference that makes online gold trading increasingly popular is that it meets the needs of customers, they can buy as much as they want. Transactions are quick, no need to queue for a number, no need to order in advance and wait for a week or half a month like in gold shops.

Not only bustling in the online market, according to the representative of Bao Tin Minh Chau Company, there are also many fake Facebook and websites of this brand to take advantage of customers' trust to trade and make illegal profits. From there, gold buyers feel like they are lost in a maze, difficult to distinguish between real and fake.

Faced with the situation of buying and selling gold "hand over hand" right on the street or on the "online market", economic expert, associate professor, doctor Dinh Trong Thinh commented "the risk is too great".

According to him, gold is a commodity and also an asset, so transferring it is normal. However, buying and selling without invoices or documents, buying directly on the street or online is very risky. Buyers can benefit from a few hundred to more than 1 million VND/tael, but there is a potential risk of buying fake gold, imitation gold, poor quality gold, gold of the wrong age... and even the risk of being robbed.

Mr. Thinh recommends that people should be more careful with this type of transaction. Because the technology for making fake gold is very sophisticated. When buying or selling without checking carefully, it is easy to encounter risks.

Gold businesses have also warned customers to be careful with transactions outside the store. Gold prices are very expensive, so it is necessary to buy gold at reputable addresses, with sufficient documents to ensure the origin and quality of the product.