What Are the Gold IRA Scams to Avoid in 2020?

Our world is far from perfect as you undoubtedly know. Many unscrupulous individuals would love to scam you and take your hard earned money. 

You’d think it would be easy to stop these monsters from preying on you. But sophisticated technology and downright brilliant criminal techniques make it possible to spread disinformation. This negative information makes it likely for you to get scammed even in 2020.

We aren’t interested in leaving our readers vulnerable to potential scams and threats. This is especially true when it comes to investing in a gold IRA. 

As you know, we are huge proponents of precious metals IRA investing and we highly recommend it. But you have to do it safely, because you’ll otherwise find yourself vulnerable to crooks, scammers, and other immoral people.

The Importance of Gold IRA Scams Education in 2020

It’s our goal to educate and protect you from the vultures preying on your wealth. The opportunity to invest in precious metals is incredible right now. In fact, the value of gold has risen by leaps and bounds over the last 20 years. 

The gold price breakdown looks something like this:

• 1.7% rise in value in the past 30 days
• 13.30% rise in value in the past six months
• 33.00% rise in value in the past year
• 41.35% rise in value in the past five years
• 502.50% rise in the past 20 years

Based on this chart, gold has remained relatively stagnant over the past five years but it’s on the move again. Are you ready to capitalize on the next major gold rush?

There has never been a better opportunity to invest in precious metals than there is right now. Learn about the top gold IRA companies doing business today by reading our detailed reviews. And keep reading this post to learn about the biggest gold IRA scams to remain insulated from these real threats.

1. Gold Dealer Bait & Switch Scam

Unfortunately, it’s difficult to trust anyone in this day and age. No matter where you turn, it seems like someone is trying to dig their hands in your pocket. This is even true of certain unscrupulous gold brokers looking to pull a bait and switch scam on you.

Yes, you have to find a gold IRA company that you can actually trust. Why? Because there are shady gold dealers that advertise outrageous deals that were designed to really grab your attention.

Guess what? Most of these low-priced gold bullion deals are too good to be true. The shady gold dealer is actually pulling a bait and switch move on you. They are preying on your desire to get a low price. And unfortunately for the unsuspecting public, this move works.

The dealer offers a low cost once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and because you’re a savvy investor you call them about their offer. This is where things begin to go downhill from here. Once they get you on the phone, the pressure is on. And they are going to put on a full-court press like you’ve never felt before.

The salesperson on the other end of the phone will begin to hard-sell you to buy their premium priced gold products. They will have certain gold coins that are marked up astronomically high. 

But they really aren’t as valuable as these corrupt dealers claim. In fact, these supposed “rare” coins aren’t special, aren’t rare, and aren’t more valuable than other gold investments. They want you to believe it so they can scam you out of your hard earned money.

2. The President Roosevelt 1933 Executive Order Confiscation Scare

Do you know that in 1933 President Roosevelt signed an executive order confiscating gold from Americans? This is actually true whether you know it or not. 

In 1933, the Executive Order prohibited Americans from privately owning gold. If you were a citizen in the United States, you had to give the Federal Reserve all of your gold bullion. If you didn’t comply, you could face up to 10 years in prison or a $10,000 fine.

But this executive order had an interesting clause that gold dealers use to prey on unsuspecting victims. This clause mentioned, “Gold coins having a recognized special value to collectors of rare and unusual coins,” were exactly what the government was looking to confiscate. 

Guess what? Gold dealers today use this clause to take advantage of their customers. They lead them to believe that they sell rare and unusual gold coins that are exempt from potential confiscation. They want you to believe that their coins would never get confiscated like they confiscated gold coins in 1933.

This is completely bogus. There aren’t special gold coins exempt from confiscation. It’s a total fiction created by dodgy gold dealers.

Do you know what else? It gets even worse. 

Because these rare and special coins will never get confiscated, shady gold dealers sell them for 30% to 50% more than their actual value. This is how they rip off customers that aren’t knowledgeable about this topic and it makes me sick.

3. The “Home Storage” Gold IRA Scam

If a gold dealer ever mentions this exciting “investment opportunity” you should run as far and as fast as you can. They are trying to convince you to skirt federal regulations that could put you in serious trouble with the IRS.

So what is the “home storage” scam?

Simply put, gold companies will attempt to convince you to form an LLC inside your home. Your LLC supposedly grants you the ability to store your gold IRA investments inside of your home. They claim you can avoid paying a dedicated gold storage facility this way.

Ultimately, these disreputable gold dealers convince you that you can thwart IRS requirements this way. And they’ll convince you that you’ll never have to pay fees to storage facilities, banks, or brokers again. By keeping the gold in your own home, you’ll save lots of money.

Guess what? The IRS requirements are incredibly detailed and lengthy regarding home storage. Creating an LLC for your house is not going to be enough to qualify. If you attempt to pull this off, you’ll have to meet a huge list of regulations and requirements in order to qualify. The odds of this happening are incredibly slim.

While it’s not technically a scam, you’ll have an easier time hitting the lotto than meeting the IRS’s requirements. So it isn’t worth your time or investment. And any gold broker that tells you otherwise is trying to sell you snake oil, plain and simple.

4. The Hoax about Fancy Bullion Coins

As far as gold IRA scams go, this one seems to catch people off guard the most. Why does it work? It seems valid when presented by deceitful gold dealers.

How does the scam work?

For starters, the gold dealer will contact the mint. When they get in touch with them, they’ll ask about the gold coins they intend to stop minting. Here’s where this scam gets even more interesting and even believable.

These devious gold brokers will say they asked the mint why they plan to stop minting certain coins. They’ll act like the mint believes there’s low demand for that particular coin.

Guess what? Low demand, even if it’s fake, means “rare” coins. The gold broker will tell you that there are only 1000 coins left of a particular rare coin. And they’ll try to convince you that these “rare” coins are a steal at a marked up price.

In this scenario, the broker was “lucky” enough to buy the last batch of these “rare” coins. And now they want you to buy them for 30% or more of their real value.

Put it this way…

If a gold broker ever says they have “rare”, “limited edition”, “exclusive”, or “special edition” gold coins just hang up. Lose their number and never answer their calls again. 

They don’t have magically special or rare coins in their inventory. They have a mark on the phone (meaning YOU!) and they plan on ripping you off!

The Bottom Line

When it comes to buying gold or investing in a gold IRA, you have to use your best judgment. You have to sit down and think about the company you intend to do business with. 

Are they trustworthy? Prove it to yourself by looking them up on Trustlink, the Business Consumer Alliance, or the Better Business Bureau’s websites. 

See if they have a solid reputation. Check their complaints. Have their former customers complained about being ripped off by them in the past? This is a serious red flag so pay attention.

How about their online reviews and ratings? Do they have the highest ratings on peer reviewed websites? If not, there are better companies to do business with. 

Are their online reviews positive? If not, you can find companies with thousands or positive reviews and happy customers.

At the end of the day, you have to do everything possible to protect your wealth. No one is going to do it for you. And there are too many people looking to rip you off. So only open a gold IRA with a trustworthy company with an excellent reputation.

We’ve reviewed the top 10 gold companies in the gold IRA space. Please read about our recommendations and consider choosing one of the top companies that we gladly recommend. We’ve already vetted them for you.