Fake online advertisements and social media groups are luring people in Jordan with promises of “quick profits” from cheap gold, with sellers disappearing once funds have been transferred or customers defrauded with counterfeit and substandard metals, Jordanians tell Al Jazeera.

Mohammed Nassar said he was quoted a price for gold lower than local market rates due to an “online store” claiming it was exempt from manufacturing fees, government licensing costs or shop rents. The Jordanian shopper transferred the money to secure what he thought was a bargain before the website disappeared and Nassar realised he had become the victim of a scam.

In another case, a young woman named Tala Al-Habashneh told Al Jazeera that she bought gold through a social media platform after agreeing with the seller and transferring the promised amount. On closer examination of the product, she found that her gold was counterfeit, mixed with other metals and lacking any official stamps or invoices to prove its origin or carat. Tala immediately filed a complaint with the Cybercrime Directorate of Jordan’s Public Security Directorate. The case is pending.

Wafaa Al-Momani, assistant director general for Regulatory Affairs and director of the Jewelry Directorate at the Jordan Standards and Metrology Organisation (JSMO), told Al Jazeera that the institution is the only entity in the kingdom responsible for monitoring precious metal jewellery – such as gold, silver and platinum – and overseeing jewellery trading. All imported jewellery is examined and stamped by the JSMO before being released onto the market, she said, while local workshops are also required to submit jewellery for inspection and verification before it can be sold.

Al-Momani said her organisation has received some complaints about companies, websites and social media groups engaged in fraud by “promoting the buying and selling of gold, especially broken gold [used or damaged], through unlicensed individuals”. The JSMO is monitoring sellers engaged in fraud in coordination with security authorities to prevent jewellery from being sold outside licensed shops.

Rabhi Allan, the head of the Jordanian Association of Jewelry and Goldsmiths, explained that gold remains a traditional means of saving and investment for Jordanians as well as an accessory. However, he described the sale of gold through social media as “alien to Jordanian society” and stressed that transactions of this “cash commodity” should only take place via official shops with invoices clearly stating the weight, carat and labour costs of the product. He said the association had filed complaints with the Cybercrime Directorate against unlicensed and anonymous sites, noting that these pages “appear and disappear without warning”, a situation that leaves victims without the ability to secure their consumer rights.

The Cybercrime Unit of the Public Security Directorate also warned citizens against buying gold through social media advertisements and confirmed that the body has received multiple complaints of fraud linked to the trade. Colonel Amer Al-Sartawi, Public Security Directorate spokesperson, told Al Jazeera that the grievances ranged from cases where money was wired to fraudsters who subsequently disappeared without delivering the promised gold to incidents in which buyers received counterfeit pieces made from other less valuable metals, such as copper or iron. Al-Sartawi urged citizens not to deal with such pages and to buy gold exclusively from licensed and accredited shops.

Source: www.aljazeera.com