Africa-Press – Uganda. Government has warned dealers to be on the lookout for scammers who are eager to fleece them in the name of selling them or buying gold from them.
Addressing journalists on Monday, David Ssebaggala, a senior inspector of mines in the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development said many traders of gold have been presented with deals which he said look too good but warned these mostly end up to be scams.
“In most cases, it is a case of who has outsmarted who. Some of these people who pretend to be gold buyers come here to con. No genuine trader of gold is going to ask you for a faction of the entire cost of deal to give you the gold. There is no genuine transaction in a high value commodity where they ask for a fraction and that you will pay the balance later,” Ssebaggala said.
He warned dealer in gold to be cautious about people who come to them in the name of either buying or selling to them gold, noting that many have their own ill motives.
“If a transaction in trade of gold is too good to be true, it is a scam. The scammers are also witch doctors of sorts. Even if you tell people you are going to be cheated, they don’t listen.”
The Ministry of Energy official also warned would be gold investors to be careful about the people they deal with in the gold business, noting that whereas they might look naïve, most of them have knowledge about the trade and could easily scam them.
“When you come with a perception that people here are dumber than you, they will outsmart you. If you think you are going to give them $1 million and take gold worth $9 million, you will be shocked. Uganda is not a paradise where you are going to come for minerals and take them for free. These people, however uneducated they are, they know the current international price of gold. Don’t be deceived you are dealing with people who are not aware. Some of these conmen have licences which are valid. If all you are looking for are people with licences, they will still con you. Endeavour to do due diligence with companies you are trying to deal with.”
The commandant of the Police Mineral Protection Unit, Julius Cease Tusingwire said because gold business is lucrative, many scammers have taken advantage of this to fleece dealers.
“Scammers use a lot of fake documents, they communicate false stories, get pictures from big mines from other counties like DRC and put them on their websites. They also create fake companies and hire fake premises as theirs. After taking your money in the name of selling you gold, you go to the same place and they have shifted,” Tusingwire said.
He noted that scammers lure victims by communicating low prices for gold in a bid to tempt them into entering the deal.
“While a kilo of gold goes for between $100,000 and $120,000, the scammers will tell you they have a kilo at $40,000. They will tell you they will do everything including processing documents and shipping the gold to you after asking you to send them money for the gold.You will wait until gold never reaches.”
Police urged gold dealers and buyers from within and abroad to always be vigilant, noting that since January, they have carried out several operations targeting gold scammers.
The Police Mineral Protection Unit commander said in the past eight months, they have raided and closed several premises used by gold scammers in Muyenga, Buziga and Kansanga where several have been arrested.
He however said there is a resumption in the offences of gold scammers, announcing the resumption of operations around the country.
Source: Nilepost News
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