As gold costs and cons rise, an area expert works to track crime

If schemes are attracting attention with gold trading a shade under $1,360, just wait until the price approaches $5,000.

As the article suggests, beware of gold investment schemes as "The gold may not exist." While watchdog groups patrol the realm of bullion and numismatic coins, the precious metal ETFs, an absolute behemoth in term of size and scope of the scheme compared to coins, receives very little attention. As the old saying goes, penny-wise but pound foolish, appropriately describes the public focus towards the today’s precious metals ‘schemes’.

The price of an ounce of gold is higher than ever -- more than $1,300. People are buying, and people are selling. And some inevitably will get ripped off.

The Texas State Securities Board issued a warning last week "to be cautious about jumping on the gold bandwagon."

"Beware of gold investment schemes," Securities Commissioner Denise Voigt Crawford said in a statement. "The gold may not exist."

Source: star-telegram.com