Key points
- A price well below spot is the most common warning sign.
- Prepayment, shipping and “escrow links” are typical online scam patterns.
- Screenshots are not proof of payment.
- Real police never collect gold or valuables “for safekeeping”.
Warning signs in online listings
- Too cheap: nobody gives away gold below its metal value. Anyone who offers it that way almost always wants your money.
- Prepayment or shipping only: the seller is “abroad at the moment” or “unfortunately can’t meet”. The money is gone and the goods never arrive.
- Time pressure: “Today only, or I’ll sell to someone else.” Pressure is meant to stop you from thinking.
- Moving to other messengers: you are quickly pushed to WhatsApp, Telegram or email – away from the platform where they could be reported.
- Copied photos: images taken from dealer shops or the web. A reverse image search often exposes them.
Payment scams
- Fake escrow or payment sites: you receive a link to a site that looks like a payment service and supposedly “holds the money safely”. It belongs to the scammers. Nobody needs such a service for a private gold trade.
- Fake payment confirmations: screenshots, PDFs or emails showing a transfer. As a seller, only the actual arrival in your own banking app counts.
- Overpayment: the buyer “accidentally sends too much” and asks you to refund the difference. The original payment is later reversed.
- Fake shops: professional-looking online shops with dream prices, often prepayment only. Check the legal notice and reviews, for example with the fake shop finder of the German consumer advice centres (Verbraucherzentrale).
Counterfeits
Fake Krugerrand, Maple Leaf and Philharmonic coins as well as bars with tungsten cores are in circulation, often with deceptively real certificates or blister packs. Weigh and measure every piece and have valuable ones tested professionally. Everything you need is in Testing gold.
Warning signs when meeting in person
- The swap trick: after testing, the seller briefly takes the coin back – “just to pack it again” – and hands over a fake. Keep the checked piece in your hand.
- Odd meeting place: remote spots, meeting in a car, after dark or last-minute changes of location. Insist on a public place.
- Counterfeit money: check notes with “feel – look – tilt”, or exchange the money directly at the bank branch.
- No testing allowed: anyone who won’t let you weigh and measure has something to hide.
Scams aimed at sellers
- Doorstep and party buyers: people who ring unannounced or buy at “gold parties” often pay only a fraction of the value. Always compare several offers.
- Fake police and the grandchild trick: callers pose as police, bank staff or relatives and ask you to hand over gold and valuables “for safekeeping”. Real police never collect valuables. Hang up and call 110 yourself – not via the redial button.
What to do if it happens
- Secure evidence: chat logs, listings, profile names, payment records, photos.
- Contact your bank immediately if money was transferred. Sometimes a payment can still be stopped.
- Report it to the police – at any station or via your federal state’s online police service.
- Report the person on the platform so others are warned.
This guide is general information and does not replace investment, tax or legal advice. No guarantee of accuracy; rules can change. Updated: 30 September 2026.