Public warned of fraudsters claiming to sell gold at low prices

AMMAN — The Jordan Jewellers Association (JJA) on Wednesday warned against attempts by several groups to defraud people by convincing them that they can sell them gold at low prices.

The association said such attempts have increased over the past two years and that almost every week or two a case is reported to it, JJA President Osama Imseeh told The Jordan Times.

“Some individuals and groups randomly call citizens and tell them they have 10,000 gold liras for example and they cannot go directly to traders to sell them so they want to sell to those citizens the gold for cheaper prices than in the market,” Imseeh said.

“Those individuals give the buyers some real gold liras as a sample of what they have and ask them to go to jewellers to check. After that, they ask them to bring the money to a certain location, where they threaten them with weapons, take all the money and run away,” he added.

“The problem is that those who are victims of the fraud do not complain, fearing shame and disgrace. Only a very small number report these incidents. It is all because of greed,” Imseeh said.

He added that the Public Security Department has repeatedly warned against such fraud attempts, and people should report anything they feel is suspicious to the police.

According to Imseeh, on Tuesday, 24-karat gold was worth JD 24.30 per gramme, 21-karat was sold for JD 20.70 per gramme and the price of 18-karat amounted to JD 17.20 per gramme.  

There are about 625 jewellery stores and around 100 gold factories across the Kingdom.