Fake Gold Infiltrating Manhattan's Market

Wealth Wire - Wednesday, September 19th, 2012

Last spring, we reported about the fake gold panic exploding in the U.K. after a gold bar was found to be filled with Tungsten. We included a video instructing how to identify a fake gold bar vs. a 100% pure gold bar.

Today, I'm sad to say that the problem is no longer limited to countries overseas. Today's story hits a little closer to home: the heart of the world's jewelry district, in fact. The fake gold panic is beginning to feel quite real on 47th Street and Fifth Avenue in Manhattan.

According to MYFOXNY.COM, the trust between merchants has been shattered in one fell swoop. A solid 10-ounce gold bar valued at about $18,000 big ones was revealed to be a counterfeit.

Dealer Ibrahim Fadl discovered the fake after he bought the PAMP bar in question from a merchant he was familiar with and had bought gold from before.

However this time, instead of gold, the bar proved to be filled with tungsten. “He [Fadl] heard counterfeit gold bars were going around, so he drilled into several of his gold bars worth $100,000 and saw gray tungsten -- not gold.”

The metal weighs roughly the same as gold but it's cost nearly nothing; just over a single dollar per ounce. With gold prices approaching $1,800 per ounce, you can surely understand the disappointment of discovering your precious money had been thrown away on another nearly valueless metal when you thought you were investing in the yellow safe-haven.

Don't think this can't happen to you. These tungsten counterfeits go through a very sophisticated process and are impossible to detect unless you drill your own gold bars.

Once a real gold bar is purchased with the serial numbers, proper paperwork and certification, the scammers drill through the bar to hollow out the gold. Next, they sell that gold for a profit, fill the original bar that is remaining with tungsten, then seal the bar back up before selling that and pawning it off as real gold.

It's sneaky and devious, and it's working. It's working internationally. The fake gold was first spotted in England back in March and now it's appeared in New York. This is alarming news for merchants, traders, and gold investors alike.

It's certainly not as easy as it once was to find a reputable merchant and trust your dealers. Not in today's tough economy. A fake gold epidemic is emerging.

The Secret Service said it is investigating after Raymond Nessim, CEO Manfra, Tordell & Brookes reported the latest ordeal to the FBI and Secret Service.

To clarify just how real the counterfeit gold looks, take a look at the images below:

*Images courtesy of Zero Hedge.

Check out the attached video for the full story regarding the specific fake gold bar addressed in this article:

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