Yet another fraud attempt with fake, plated silver bars

CaptHenway

Posted by a local dealer this afternoon on my old dealer-to-dealer network:

"Dad and his 10-year old son walk in -
Dad say's "My sons looking to sell some of
his silver"...Son hands over a taped stack of
10 bars - yep, real Nationals on the top and
bottom, fake "clad"s in-between...Dad was real
upset when we didn't offer to re-tape the stack
for him - guess Dad figures if his kid does it,
it isn't a crime...."

DorkGirl

Did they or can they call the police?

CaptHenway

I doubt that the police would care.

ricko

Such a shame, using a kid as a shill......Cheers, RickO

CaptHenway

Great scam, eh? What a way to bring up your kid!

"come along, son, I'll show you how to be a !@#$%^&*()_+ing cheat!"

PerryHall

I assume they were one ounce bars. The dealer should have taped them back up with a fake bar on either end and using plenty of tape.

Wingsrule

Capt - when you were in the biz, were there any requirements when you ran across fake items? Hang on to them, report them to somebody, etc.? Or was it just give them back to the folks and let them try elsewhere?

piecesofme

Maybe the kid will have sense enough to know his old man is an arse and rebel against him for trying to use him the way he did. That would be a nice pay back for the old man.

CaptHenway

<< <i>Capt - when you were in the biz, were there any requirements when you ran across fake items? Hang on to them, report them to somebody, etc.? Or was it just give them back to the folks and let them try elsewhere? >>



We were not a law enforcement agency, and we had no legal right to seize anything.

Sometimes we would pass word to other dealers.

DorkGirl

It just seems like if someone is trying to cheat you, you should be able to report them to someone who cares. They shouldn't be able to keep trying until someone does get cheated.

ricko

In this case, they would likely claim innocence and that 'they' were cheated when they bought them....and no way to prove otherwise - unless they try it at another coin shop. Cheers, RickO

Amigo

The problem is that LE is overwhelmed with cheating aholes and simply can't pursue them all.

In my locality, the DA has made it known that nothing less than $2k in fraud will even be considered to be prosecuted. I've had two incidents of fraud against me above 2k in recent years. Even then, after pleading, the DA still wouldn't take them on. They don't have the resources to pursue most fraud, period. If you don't bring them proof beyond any reasonable doubt, you're out of luck.