The short answer: real physical gold can be checked. It has a weight, a purity, a known maker, an invoice in your name and a place where it is kept. If the person offering it cannot show you one of those things, or hurries you so that you do not ask, walk away. If you have already transferred money, call your bank now and report it today.
In this article
Why gold lends itself to this
Buying a bar or a coin is the purchase of a physical good, like buying a painting or a car. It is not a financial product, and in Spain no authorisation from the securities regulator (CNMV) is needed to sell physical gold. That is the legitimate part. The dangerous part begins when what you are being sold is not a bar but a promise: a "plan", a "gold account", a stake that pays a fixed percentage a year. That is no longer selling metal. It is taking in savings, and anyone doing so without authorisation is what the CNMV calls a chiringuito financiero, an unlicensed outfit.
The warning signs
- You are promised guaranteed gains. The gold price goes up and down every day. Nobody honest can tell you what it will be worth next year. The CNMV itself puts it bluntly: promises of large gains with no risk are false.
- They called you. An offer you did not ask for, by phone, email or social media, is the usual way it starts.
- There is a rush. "The offer ends today", "two places left". The rush is there so that you check nothing.
- The gold never appears. You cannot see it, you cannot collect it and no document says that a specific piece is yours.
- Storage with no paperwork. You are told it is in safe keeping, but there is no certificate, no serial number and no name for the vault.
- A price far below the market. Gold always sells somewhat above the market price, because making and distributing it costs money. Nobody sells it at a big discount. You can see the current price on our gold and silver price today page.
- You are asked to pay in cash or in crypto. In Spain a professional seller cannot take cash for transactions of €1,000 or more (article 7 of Act 7/2012). We explain it in the cash limit when buying gold.
- The company will not let itself be identified. No tax number, no address, a mobile phone as the only contact, or a bank account in someone else's name or in another country.
- To get your money out you have to pay more. A "release fee" or a "tax" before any refund is the sign that the money is already gone.
"Real gold has a weight, a purity, a maker, an invoice and a place where it sits. If one of those five is missing, you are being sold something else."
What to check before you pay
Who is selling
Ask for the full company name and tax number (NIF), and check in the Spanish Companies Registry that the company exists and where it is based. Look its name up in the CNMV's search tool for warnings. If in doubt, the CNMV investor helpline is 900 535 015. A company not having a warning does not prove it is sound, but if it has one, you have your answer.
What exactly you are buying
It has to be a specific piece: maker, weight and purity. Bars carry those details stamped on them and, in most cases, a serial number that must match the certificate. Bullion coins have no serial number: they are identified by the mint, the year and the weight. Ask which refinery made the bar and check that it is on the Good Delivery list of the LBMA, the London market association that accredits refiners. We go into detail in certification of physical gold.
Whose name it is in
An invoice in your name, with your tax number, a description of each piece and the price. Without an invoice you cannot prove it is yours or how much you paid on the day you want to sell.
Where the metal is
If you take it away, you check it yourself. If it stays in storage, ask in writing which vault it is in, in whose name, whether your gold is kept apart from other clients' gold, who audits it and how you can withdraw it. The options are in where to keep physical gold.
How you get out
Ask what price they would buy it back for today, and against what reference. A serious seller gives you a figure tied to the day's price. There is also a legal safeguard here: when a company sells goods while undertaking to give you back the price, or promising that the value will rise, Spanish Act 43/2007 requires it to warn you that the goods have no guaranteed market value, to sign the contract as a notarial deed and to have a surety insurance policy or a bank guarantee covering what it has offered you. If you are promised a buy-back at a gain and none of that is in place, be suspicious.
If you have already paid
- Call your bank at once. Say you believe you have been the victim of a fraud and ask them to try to recall the transfer. It does not always work, and every hour counts. If you paid by card, ask them to explain how to dispute the charge.
- Pay nothing more. No fees, no taxes, no "release costs". And nothing to anyone who calls afterwards offering to recover your money for a payment: that is usually the second half of the same con.
- Keep everything. Contract, transfer receipts, emails, messages, screenshots of the website and profiles, phone numbers. The CNMV points out that for court action to be effective you need to hand over all the documentation.
- Report it. To the National Police, the Guardia Civil or the court. Deceiving someone into handing over their money is the criminal offence of fraud (article 248 of the Spanish Criminal Code).
- Tell the CNMV if what you were sold was an investment product. Reports allow it to publish a warning so that others do not fall for it.
On deadlines: there is no magic date, but money moves in hours and the trail goes cold in days. A report made today is worth far more than one made next month.
Mistakes that make it worse
- Keeping quiet out of embarrassment. It happens to very capable people. Silence only helps whoever took the money.
- Paying more so as "not to lose what you put in". What you have already sent does not come back because you send more.
- Deleting the messages. They are the evidence.
- Warning the fraudster that you are going to report them. You give them time to move the money.
When it makes sense to get help
Before paying, whenever the amount matters to you and you do not fully understand what you are buying. Showing the offer to someone who knows the market takes little time and prevents nearly all of these cases. After paying, as soon as you suspect something: to put the documentation in order, file the report and claim against the bank in writing.
If what you want is to see how an ordinary purchase works, step by step, read where to buy gold in Valencia.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know whether a gold offer is a scam?
Be wary if you are promised guaranteed gains, hurried, unable to see or withdraw the gold, given no invoice in your name or serial number, quoted a price far below the market, or asked to pay in cash or crypto.
Does the Spanish regulator (CNMV) supervise sales of physical gold?
No. Buying a bar or a coin is the purchase of a good. The CNMV does publish warnings about firms offering investment products without authorisation, and answers queries on 900 535 015.
What documents should a gold seller give me?
An invoice in your name describing each piece and the price, and the bar certificate showing the maker, weight, purity and serial number where it has one. If it stays in storage, a document stating where it is and how to withdraw it.
I have already made the transfer. What do I do?
Call your bank at once so it can try to recall it, pay nothing more, keep all the documentation and report it to the police, the Guardia Civil or the court.
Can I be promised a buy-back of the gold at a gain?
If a company sells goods while undertaking to give back the price or promising a rise in value, Spanish Act 43/2007 requires a notarial deed and a surety policy or bank guarantee. Without those, the promise has nothing behind it.