4 ms·

Tungsten and gold have a comparable density. This company sells realistic looking, fake gold bars, that are supposed to pass typical tests as well. They are adv

Tungsten and gold have a comparable density. This company sells realistic looking, fake gold bars, that are supposed to pass typical tests as well. They are advertising them for e.g. as a prop for trade fares and such. Whoever would need a prop at a trade fare to pass a chemical test is anyone's guess... Yes, fake gold bars like this have obviously already been used for fraud, e.g. of the top of my head: in 2016 a then-18-year-old in Göttingen sold 259 fake bars to a local bank for a total of ~300k Euro until somebody realized it. [1](German) [1] https://www.haz.de/der-norden/wieso-hat-niemand-das-falschgold-erkannt-I4NMFJBFZONFMHEV2MTVGBO2XE.html https://www.haz.de/der-norden/wieso-hat-niemand-das-falschgo...

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duxup 4y ago
I didn’t realize there were banks that would buy gold bars from a random 18 year old.
- Someone 4y ago
  In multiple transactions, and they called him and asked whether he had more of it. (“Das Geldinstitut soll ihn sogar zwischendurch angerufen und gefragt haben, ob er nicht noch mehr habe.”) That makes it look like and inside job to me. Alternatively, they must have paid significantly below market value.
- bluedino 4y ago
  You can't fool an honest man.
  - rationalist 4y ago
    Yes you can. Sell him something fake at a real item's fair price.
    - hackeraccount 4y ago
      Yes but if it's a fair price there's every chance he'll buy from some other guy selling the real deal. Now if you definitely (and you're taking a risk with the shenanigans you need to go through to get/setup this fake item so you want to get paid) want to sell it you need to undercut the fair price. How can you explain a low price? Well, the easy way is to convince the mark that either the two of you are in on a scam together or that the mark is the con. Personally I don't really agree with that statement, "You can't fool an honest man." but I can see the logic that drives it. Generally it seems like the honest people who get scammed are the ones who are trying to help someone which makes the people running these scams see even more pathetic.
- JediPig 4y ago
  finding that amount of gold bars is incredibly hard. People usually respond "comex & london" has gold bars? I dare say 30% are fake, numerous occasions where gold bars stored in the vault are fake.
  - ineedasername 4y ago
    In light of this week’s banking collapse precipitated by (among other things) lost confidence, I’ll ask: To what extent does it matter that some of the bars in the vault are fake if everyone has confidence they’re real? Also it seems like anyone who might inadvertently acquired some in lieu of the real thing & suspect the fraud down the line, they really have little incentive to cut the bar in half to find out. Best not to know.
    - deleted 4y ago
      [deleted]
    - ASalazarMX 4y ago
      It doesn't matter, as long as no one notices. You could say the same about counterfeit anything.
    - killingtime74 4y ago
      It doesn't matter as long as you're not the one holding the bag when it gets discovered and something negative happens
    - lazide 4y ago
      At some point someone will need to melt it down to use for industry, or for another purpose, or form. Say a comex bar, or smaller bars, or for alloying, whatever. Anyone who thinks they might be that person, or thinks they might sell to that person, certainly cares! They’re the ones who will suffer the consequences of the fraud.
      - Fatnino 4y ago
        One example of a use that requires real gold is the manufacture of gold plated tungsten.
- pelagicAustral 4y ago
  Gold
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DFHippie 4y ago
From the article it sounds like the Göttingen guy bought is gold bars from this very site!

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duxup 4y ago

I didn’t realize there were banks that would buy gold bars from a random 18 year old.

Someone 4y ago
In multiple transactions, and they called him and asked whether he had more of it. (“Das Geldinstitut soll ihn sogar zwischendurch angerufen und gefragt haben, ob er nicht noch mehr habe.”) That makes it look like and inside job to me. Alternatively, they must have paid significantly below market value.
bluedino 4y ago
You can't fool an honest man.
- rationalist 4y ago
  Yes you can. Sell him something fake at a real item's fair price.
  - hackeraccount 4y ago
    Yes but if it's a fair price there's every chance he'll buy from some other guy selling the real deal. Now if you definitely (and you're taking a risk with the shenanigans you need to go through to get/setup this fake item so you want to get paid) want to sell it you need to undercut the fair price. How can you explain a low price? Well, the easy way is to convince the mark that either the two of you are in on a scam together or that the mark is the con. Personally I don't really agree with that statement, "You can't fool an honest man." but I can see the logic that drives it. Generally it seems like the honest people who get scammed are the ones who are trying to help someone which makes the people running these scams see even more pathetic.
JediPig 4y ago
finding that amount of gold bars is incredibly hard. People usually respond "comex & london" has gold bars? I dare say 30% are fake, numerous occasions where gold bars stored in the vault are fake.
- ineedasername 4y ago
  In light of this week’s banking collapse precipitated by (among other things) lost confidence, I’ll ask: To what extent does it matter that some of the bars in the vault are fake if everyone has confidence they’re real? Also it seems like anyone who might inadvertently acquired some in lieu of the real thing & suspect the fraud down the line, they really have little incentive to cut the bar in half to find out. Best not to know.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
  - ASalazarMX 4y ago
    It doesn't matter, as long as no one notices. You could say the same about counterfeit anything.
  - killingtime74 4y ago
    It doesn't matter as long as you're not the one holding the bag when it gets discovered and something negative happens
  - lazide 4y ago
    At some point someone will need to melt it down to use for industry, or for another purpose, or form. Say a comex bar, or smaller bars, or for alloying, whatever. Anyone who thinks they might be that person, or thinks they might sell to that person, certainly cares! They’re the ones who will suffer the consequences of the fraud.
    - Fatnino 4y ago
      One example of a use that requires real gold is the manufacture of gold plated tungsten.
pelagicAustral 4y ago
Gold

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[deleted]

DFHippie 4y ago

From the article it sounds like the Göttingen guy bought is gold bars from this very site!