The mechanism
Once a discounted gold offer has a buyer's attention, the next request is often a payment to "release" the metal: an export tax, customs levy, airport or police holding charge, transport from the mine, or a last government fee. Each payment is described as the final obstacle. Another then appears.
This is advance-fee fraud in official clothing. The U.S. International Trade Administration warns companies to be extremely cautious of any transaction that requires advance monies or fees, lists taxes among the labels used, and flags gold purchase, sale, and transport deals, often with forged documents, as a recurring scam type. Ghana's Precious Minerals Marketing Company has warned that scammers use fake photos or videos, collect money supposedly to move gold, then invent further excuses to collect more.
Who benefits, and who is targeted
The person receiving the fee benefits. There is usually no export to tax. The targets are buyers who have already accepted the discount story and are now negotiating logistics instead of title.
The independent check
Do not pay a tax, levy, or transport charge to a private account to unlock a sale. Confirm any genuine fiscal or export requirement with the competent authority or licensed assayer through a contact you find yourself. If the metal cannot first go to an independent assay under terms you can verify, the fee is doing the same job as a blocked inspection. See the cluster overview.
