Skip to content 
Table of Contents
10 Common Gold IRA Scams Most Investors Miss and How to Avoid Being Overcharged
Written by Pat Collins and John Halloran | 5.0 Google Review Rating | A+ BBB Rating with Zero Complaints | Serving 58,000+ Investors in All 50 States Since 1992
The costliest gold IRA scam is the “exclusive” or “premium” coin trap. Widely traded bullion is typically marked up a few percent. On premium coins, dealers’ own customer agreements disclose 33% to 66%. And because they’re rarely sold anywhere else, they’re hard to price-check.
#1 — Never Invest in “Exclusive” or “Premium” Coins for a Gold IRA
Or if you already have, you may have heard something like this:
“You want to buy premium (or exclusive) coins because they have a limited mintage and are collectible unlike regular bullion. Standard bullion is going to move up and down dollar for dollar with the spot price. But these coins tend to be more stable and even increase in value more as they are taken off the market and placed into long term retirement accounts.”
What makes a coin “exclusive” or “premium”?
A dealer will contract with a mint to produce their own coin, agreeing to buy a set quantity. In exchange, they become the only source for it, at least initially.
Because nobody else sells the coin, you have to take their word for what it’s worth. So at the time of sale, there is no way to check if you’re getting a fair deal or not.
A “limited mintage” only matters if somebody wants the coin. The demand for these items is artificially created by the dealer who had them made. We’ve yet to receive a call from someone trying to buy these so-called “premium” coins, but receive countless calls from people trying to sell them.
Investors who bought them describe the same two problems. They weren’t told the coin was exclusive to one seller, and afterwards they couldn’t find it priced anywhere:
“I was not told the coins were minted only for ***** and not sold to anyone else.”
“I requested the value of the coins **** purchased for me as I could not find them anywhere on the internet.”
How do I know if I already own one?
There is no single product to warn you about because there are dozens of these items in circulation. What they have in common is that they are not widely traded products that you can look up.
They also tend to come in odd weights: an ounce and a half, three-quarters of an ounce, a third of an ounce. The fractional denomination makes it more difficult to determine what you’re paying per ounce.
Pull up your account statement and confirm what you bought. If it was American Eagles, Canadian Maple Leafs, or recognized bars, then in our experience those buyers have almost always paid a fair price, whatever the weight. Odd weights under unfamiliar product names are worth a much closer look.
What are these coins worth when you sell?
Outside of the dealer who sold them to you, there’s no real demand (liquidity) for these items.
So when you go to sell in the open market, a dealer who buys these will most likely send them off to be melted down and turned into a bar. They don’t want an item sitting on their shelf that’s not liquid because nobody wants it.
To make that worth doing, they typically have to bid below the spot price of the metal.
How do I know if I got a fair deal?
Most buyers don’t know to ask what the premium is, and it isn’t the most useful question anyway. This one is:
“What would you pay to buy these same coins back right now?”
Compare that to what you were charged. The gap between the two is what the deal really cost you.
But the dealer who sold you the coins has little reason to answer honestly. Ask two or three dealers who didn’t sell them to you. They have no markup to protect.
It’s also worth searching the coin by name. Once the exclusivity period ends, these items sometimes turn up for sale elsewhere. If you find one listed, compare that price to what you paid for yours.
How large are the markups on “premium” and “exclusive” coins really?
Large enough that federal regulators have gone after them.
In 2023, the SEC charged Red Rock Secured for a precious metals fraud scheme, promising investors a “1 to 5 percent markup” while charging as much as 130 percent. The court entered final judgment against them of more than $76.4 million. The CFTC and 29 state regulators found that Safeguard Metals ran a fraudulent scheme charging an average 71 percent markup on their silver coins, while their contract said it was a maximum of 23 percent. Both firms sold “exclusive” or “premium” products. These are extreme cases, but in the accounts we review, markups of 30% or more are common.
Investors describe what that looks like from the other side:
“I was convinced to buy premium silver coins for $85 a coin, that were really worth about $30-35 a coin.”
“I purchased $236,000 in silver and gold coins from ***** as a 401K rollover investment. I later learned my coins were sold to me at inflated prices. Up to 100% over spot on gold and 150% on silver… It appears I lost 50% of the value of my entire retirement 401K purchase.”
What if I already own them?
If you try to sell soon after buying, some gold IRA companies will offer you more than the coins are really worth. It makes the original markup look smaller than it was. They may also cap how much they’ll buy back at that price, so they don’t return all of the profit.
That offer tends to disappear with time. Part of the reason is internal: the salesperson may have to give back some of their commission on a quick reversal, and that pressure fades.
If you think you may have overpaid, it’s worth finding out sooner rather than later. Call CGE at 800-300-0715 for a buyback quote.
What should I buy instead?
Buy what you can price. American Gold and Silver Eagles, Canadian Maple Leafs, recognized bars. You can find what these trade for from a dozen independent sources in under a minute. That means you can check any quote you are given, before you buy, and again when you sell.
Ask what they would bid today. On the exact item, before you commit anything.
A coin you can price is a coin with high liquidity that you can sell.
#2 — Don’t Trust “Best Gold IRA Company” Reviews
Most people who end up buying the coins we just described didn’t pick their gold IRA companies at random. Many searched for the best firm, and they clicked one of the lists that came up.
How do these lists actually work?
The dealer pays to be on them.
Many Southern California precious metals companies have entire affiliate marketing departments for this. They’ll approach the review sites, settle on what a referral is worth and agree to a contract.
The outcome is agreed upon before anyone writes a word. The company paying the most gets the top spot. Their complaint history doesn’t come up. Nor do any pending lawsuits. Nothing appears that might make you hesitate, because the site only gets paid if you make the call.
The problem is that you’re not reading a review. You’re reading an advertisement that’s been formatted to look like a review.
How much are they paid?
From the figures we’ve seen, gold IRA companies typically pay a commission of between 3% and 6% of the value of your retirement account.
On a $200,000 rollover, that’s $6,000 to $12,000 going to a website because they captured your information and passed it to a dealer.
Now compare that to what an ordinary online bullion dealer may pay for the same referral. Usually a flat fee between $5 and $25, not a percentage.
That gap tells you most of what you need to know.
Why does a commission mean you’ll be sold premium coins?
This is the part that matters, and it’s just basic math.
A company selling ordinary bullion may make around 5% on the sale. A referral fee of 6% is more than the entire margin. Even at 3%, it’s most of it.
So the referral fee has to come out of something with more room in it. That’s the “premium” coin.
Before you even speak to somebody, what you’re buying has already been decided. Not because it suits you. Because it’s the only item that covers the massive payout to the affiliates and dealers.
What do the affiliates say about these commissions themselves?
Most of them will disclose how they’re paid but very few people ever read it.
Forbes Advisor’s advertiser disclosure says:
“We provide paid placements to advertisers to present their offers.”
“The compensation we receive for those placements affects how and where advertisers’ offers appear on the site.”
“This site does not include all companies or products available within the market.”
They also say compensation doesn’t influence what their editorial team recommends, but you can judge that for yourself.
If you want to know whether a company you’re talking to pays affiliate commissions, call us at 800-300-0715, and we’ll tell you what we know.
#3 — Free Metal and Zero Fee Offers Aren’t Free
Both of these work the same way. You’re offered something for “free”, but you’re more than paying for it by buying inflated “premium” coins.
Does the “free” metal even arrive?
Sometimes. We’ve spoken with many people who never received theirs. And if it does arrive, it ships to your home rather than into your IRA.
What does “zero fees” actually mean?
It means the dealer is paying them, not that they don’t exist.
Every custodian charges for administering the account, and every depository charges for storage. Nobody works for free, nor should they.
So when a dealer offers you zero fees for the first two years, they’re writing a check.
What do these giveaways actually cost you?
On a $100,000 IRA at a 30% markup, the dealer can make $30,000. Covering two years of fees costs them about $600.
On a $200,000 account, $10,000 in free metal sounds like a lot. The markup on that same account could be $60,000.
You’re not being given something for nothing. You’re being handed back a small piece of what you overpaid.
What should I do about an offer like this?
Know that you’re dealing with a company that’s going to overcharge. The freebie is only affordable because of what they’re charging you.
#4 — Don’t Choose a Dealer Just Because Someone You Trust Endorsed Them
We get this constantly. Somebody tells us they went with a company because their favorite conservative commentator vouched for them. The reasoning is always the same. If that person is recommending them, they must be legitimate.
What does an endorsement actually tell you?
That the company has a large advertising budget. Nothing else.
An endorsement isn’t a review. Nobody is going to audit how much you’re going to pay. The conservative celebrity has no idea what markup you’ll be charged, or how many client complaints the company has.
What they do know is what they’re being paid.
Who pays for the endorsement?
You do.
Advertising is a cost of doing business, and celebrity endorsements aren’t cheap. Their fees come out of what customers are charged.
So what should I do?
Treat the endorsement as the start of your research rather than the end of it.
Whatever you think of the conservative celebrity vouching for the company, they aren’t the one selling you the metal. Call CGE at 800-300-0715 to find out whether the company you’re considering is likely to sell you overpriced coins.
#5 — Fake Reviews Can Be Bought. Complaint Records Can’t.
Clients tell us all the time. They went with a company because it had an A+ rating and hundreds of five-star reviews, but they didn’t look any further than that.
Can companies really buy reviews?
Search “buy Google reviews” or “buy BBB reviews” right now and see what comes back.
You’ll find businesses that sell them by the batch. It isn’t hidden and it isn’t difficult.
Why would a company need to buy fake reviews?
If a firm is typically charging its customers 30% or more over what the metal is worth, very few of them are having a good experience. Most of them just don’t know it yet.
So a wall of five-star reviews isn’t necessarily evidence that people are happy. It just makes the genuine complaints look like a handful of unhappy outliers among thousands of satisfied buyers. That’s the impression it’s built to create.
What does an A+ BBB rating actually measure?
Mostly how well a company handles the complaints it receives, not how few of them it has.
The Better Business Bureau publishes its scoring mechanism. Complaint volume can cost a company up to 15 points. Not responding to complaints costs up to 40. And failing to resolve them costs up to 30.
So a company that responds to complaints and settles them, whatever that looks like, can accumulate a lot of them and still hold an A+.
Customer reviews and star ratings aren’t even a part of the calculation. In the BBB’s own words, complaints can affect a business’s rating and reviews do not. So a one star review explaining how someone was overcharged doesn’t affect the grade.
What should I look at instead?
The complaints and the one star reviews.
Open the company’s Better Business Bureau profile and ignore the letter. Read the complaints, then sort the reviews by lowest rating and read those too. A lot of people describe exactly what went wrong in a one star review without ever realizing there’s a complaint form.
Complaints are written by customers. The grade is calculated from how the company reacted to them.
Do the same with their Consumer Affairs, TrustPilot and any other review platforms they’re associated with.
That applies to us as well. We have an A+, zero complaints or one star reviews. The A+ isn’t the part that matters. The other two are, and you can check both.
Staying vigilant when dealing with your precious metals retirement investments is imperative due to their being so many bad actors with gold IRA companies.
#6 — Don’t Move Your Money Before You Know Exactly What You’re Buying
Here’s the sequence we hear most often. You’re considering investing in precious metals as a hedge against inflation, for diversification, and find one of the many gold IRA companies online.
Your early conversations with the dealer are reasonable. You may speak about gold and silver, and everything seems fine. You agree to open a self-directed IRA and transfer your retirement funds into it.
Then, once the money arrives, someone calls to tell you about a better item and explains why you don’t want bullion.
Why don’t they tell you what you’re buying sooner?
Because if you knew upfront you would have time to look into it.
A gold bullion American Eagle or Canadian Maple Leaf can be priced in a minute. An “exclusive” coin you’ve never heard of can’t. If you knew what gold or silver they wanted to sell you weeks before you committed to anything, you’d probably look it up. And chances are you wouldn’t find it, which is a big red flag.
Am I stuck with the dealer who set up the account?
No. And this is worth knowing before that call comes.
The account isn’t with the dealer. It’s with the custodian. Once your funds are sitting in your self-directed IRA, you can buy your metal from any dealer you choose. The company that helped you move the money has no claim on what you do next.
It can feel like you’ve committed. You haven’t. The paperwork and the transfer don’t obligate you to anything.
This happens more often than people realize. Someone moves their funds, doesn’t like what they’re being offered by a pushy, high-pressure salesman, and buys from somebody else. That’s a normal thing to do, and there’s nothing awkward about it.
The purchase is the commitment. Not the account, and not the transfer.
Who is the person who calls at the end?
Often it isn’t the person you’ve been speaking to.
With some dealers, they’ll put a “closer” on the phone to complete the sale. They’ll typically have an important-sounding title like senior representative or senior vice president.
That title is issued by the company. It isn’t a license, it isn’t registered, and it carries no obligation to you. A CFP or a registered investment advisor can be looked up in about a minute on a regulator’s website. A senior vice president at a metals dealer can’t be, because there’s nothing to look up.
What should I do before I invest?
Ask which specific products you’ll be buying.
Prices move, so nobody can promise you pricing weeks ahead. But the product can be named, and a dealer who plans to sell you American Eagles won’t hesitate to tell you.
A dealer whose plan depends on telling you later can’t answer at all without giving up the plan.
And if the answer only comes after your money has already landed, you can still walk away. The funds are yours, sitting in your account, and any dealer can handle the purchase.
#7 — Know What Your Dealer Can Do Without Your Signature
When you complete your gold IRA custodian application, you may have the option to elect a Designated Representative for your account. With some custodians that’s the equivalent of a Power of Attorney.
Many Southern California gold dealers will automatically input their own information and expect unsuspecting clients to sign it. Most clients never notice it happened.
Which custodians actually allow this?
Of the custodians we work with most often, Equity Trust is the only one that offers it.
Their form states that a designated representative can “give investment directions on your behalf” and has “unlimited access to your Account information.” That means your dealer can buy, sell and trade in your account without written authorization from you.
Most others don’t provide that option. A dealer can be listed so they speak with the custodian about your account, but the client still has to sign paperwork authorizing each transaction.
So if your gold IRA is held at Equity Trust, this is worth checking today.
Why does a dealer want this authority?
The last thing they want is for you to see how much they’re charging you. It’s much easier to hide it by confirming the purchase verbally and signing the documents themselves.
But that’s not the worst of it. A dealer with that authority can move your metal out of the depository without your consent.
This happened to a client of Regal Assets, a former #1 ranked gold company. He contacted the depository to take possession of his physical metals and was told they had been shipped back to Regal months earlier. Without his permission.
A client of another so-called #1 ranked company bought silver bars for his IRA and received Maple Leafs instead. He wrote, “How did this happen? Without consulting me?”
Because they didn’t need his authorization to transact on his account.
How do I check?
Pull out your custodian application and find the section where a representative can be named. Is your dealer’s name in it?
If you’re with a custodian we haven’t mentioned, call them directly, not the dealer, and ask one question. Can this person transact on my account without my signature?
How do I remove them?
You can do it yourself, and the dealer doesn’t have to agree.
At Equity Trust the form is called the Optional Authorization Designation/Change, and it requires the account holder’s signature. Yours, and only yours.
What should a dealer have instead?
An interested party can see your account information but cannot transact on your account. In Equity Trust’s words, the custodian “will not accept transaction instructions or account maintenance changes from this individual.”
That’s everything a dealer needs in order to help you. Where a custodian’s designated representative carries trading authority, that’s what we ask to be instead.
No company needs the ability to trade your retirement account without your signature. If they want it, it’s a red flag and security risk.
#8 — Your Dealer’s Valuation May Not Be What They’ll Really Pay You
If you ended up overpaying for your metal, you hope you’d find out about it. But most people don’t, sometimes for years.
Here’s why.
How does the custodian value my account?
Approved custodians typically value precious metals based on the spot price.
But dealers will often supply their own valuation as well, and theirs will typically be considerably higher.
But why would a dealer inflate it?
A dealer “valuation” showing that your account is worth more than you started with, and consistently moving up, is what keeps you from asking questions.
How do I find out what it’s really worth?
Tell them you want to sell.
There’s a big difference between a dealer provided “valuation” and them committing to buy your metal for that price.
Say: “I’d like to sell at the number on the valuation you sent me.”
What if they won’t?
It’s a warning sign you may be dealing with a scammer.
What they’ll most likely say is that the figure you were given was the retail value: what the item might sell for in the precious metals market. The buyback price is a different, lower number.
If those two numbers are far apart, you’ve just learned something you didn’t know this morning.
What about the value on my custodian statement?
That’s typically based on the current spot price of the metal itself.
It’s closer to reality than a dealer’s valuation, but for these items, it’s often still high. Premium and exclusive coins typically buy back at less than spot, which means even the conservative figure on your statement is more than you’d actually receive.
Both valuations are probably overstated. The dealer’s most likely by more.
So what can you do?
Get a real bid.
The only number that tells you where you actually stand is what somebody will pay you today.
Call us at 800-300-0715, and we’ll tell you what your items are worth. Whether you sell them is up to you.
#9 — A Long Shipping Delay Is a Risk, Not Just an Inconvenience
This one isn’t a trick. But it’s the item on this list that can cost you everything.
Why does a delay matter?
Between the day your dealer receives your funds and the day your metal arrives at the depository, you don’t own metal. You own a promise.
If the company goes out of business in that window, you’re no longer a customer waiting on a delivery. You’re an unsecured creditor.
Does that actually happen?
In July 2026, Rosland Capital filed for Chapter 11 and began liquidating. Court filings show a $49 million deferred revenue balance: customers who had paid and were still waiting for delivery. The company didn’t have their metal.
It isn’t the first time it’s happened, and it won’t be the last. Oxford Gold Group closed its Beverly Hills office in 2024. Customers who had transferred retirement funds reported never receiving the metal they paid for, the FBI opened an investigation, and a class action followed.
How long should it take for my metal to be delivered?
Per the FTC, a seller who hasn’t given you a shipping date is expected to ship within 30 days. If they can’t, they’re expected to tell you, give you the option to cancel, and refund your money if you don’t want to wait.
We typically ship within 48 hours of receiving your funds.
If you’re still waiting on a delivery, call us at 800-300-0715, and we’ll tell you what your options are.
#10 — What They Won’t Tell You on the Phone Is in Their Contract
We’ve reviewed the customer agreements of ten gold IRA dealers.
The markups they don’t want to discuss on a call are disclosed in writing, in the document you sign. But almost no one reads them.
What do the contracts actually say?
Every one discloses their markup.
On widely traded bullion, markups run from around 2% to 20%.
On “exclusive,” “premium,” semi-numismatic and numismatic items, the same contracts disclose markups ranging from 33% to 66%.
One discloses a markup on premium products “typically between seventy percent and one hundred and sixty percent.”
This isn’t an accusation of fraud. It’s in their own disclosures.
Who decides what counts as a “premium” coin?
The dealer does.
Several of these contracts say it outright. They state that there is no official or industry-standard classification of precious metals, that the category is the company’s own opinion, and that another dealer might classify the same coin differently.
So a coin they deem to be “premium” can simply be generic bullion to another dealer, which makes a big difference when you’re looking to sell your metal back.
What if something goes wrong?
Nearly all of these agreements contain binding arbitration clauses and class action waivers. Signing one gives up your right to take the company to court or to join other customers in a claim.
What should I do before I sign?
Ask for their customer agreement up front, and find the paragraph on spreads, markup or gross profit. It’s usually one paragraph, and it’s written plainly.
Then ask one question: which coins do you recommend I buy? If it’s a “premium,” “exclusive” or numismatic product, you’ll know you’re about to overpay.
Common Gold IRA Frequently Asked Questions
Are gold IRAs a scam?
No. A gold IRA is a legitimate retirement account permitted by the IRS, held by a custodian and stored in an approved depository. The scam isn’t the account. It’s what some dealers mislead clients into buying inside it, which can lead to heavy losses right off the bat.
Are gold IRA dealers regulated?
No. Custodians and depositories are regulated. The dealer selling you the metal typically isn’t. No license is required to sell physical bullion, not for the company or the salesperson advising you.
One major Southern California dealer’s own customer agreement states that its specialists “are not licensed and their knowledge of precious metals and the precious metals marketplace varies.”
What’s a normal markup on gold IRA metal?
On widely traded bullion, it’s typically a few percent over spot. But some dealers’ own customer agreements disclose bullion markups of up to 20%, and 33% to 66% on “premium” and numismatic items.
Can I change dealers after my IRA has been funded?
Yes. The custodian administers your account. The dealer is whoever sells you the metal, and you can pick a different one. Establishing your account and transferring funds into it doesn’t obligate you to anything. The purchase does.
Why do “best gold IRA company” sites frequently recommend firms with so many complaints?
Because they’re paid to. Most of those rankings are affiliate placements, where the site earns a commission on every customer it sends. From the figures we’ve seen, referral fees run roughly 3% to 6% of the purchase. The firms that can afford to pay the most are the firms charging the most.
What’s the best way to sell metal out of a gold IRA?
Get an accurate quote, from someone other than the dealer who sold it to you. Call Certified Gold Exchange at 800-300-0715. We’ll price what you own, and if you’d like to move forward, we’ll handle your custodian’s paperwork and manage the process for you.
Can I store my IRA metals at home?
No. IRA metal must be held by an IRS-approved custodian and depository. If someone is offering you a “home storage IRA” it’s a warning sign. If you already have one and hold physical metal owned by your IRA at home that violates IRS rules and can end up with a major penalty, call us for help at 800-300-0715.
I think I overpaid. Can I get my money back?
It depends on your current situation. But first you need to know whether you did, and if so by how much.
Call us at 800-300-0715, and we’ll confirm what you bought, what you paid, what those items are actually worth, and what the agreement you signed says the dealer was entitled to charge. That’s the first step, and you’ll come away with a number.
From there, it comes down to timing. If your metal hasn’t shipped yet, your odds are good. A dealer who will try to brush off “I think I overpaid” has a much harder time when you come back with specific numbers from their own contract.
If it’s been delivered and less than a year has passed, there are attorneys who specialize in recovering money from precious metals dealers. In our experience, dealers would rather return the funds than deal with one. We can refer you.
Filing with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission or Federal Trade Commission puts it on the record, but it won’t get your money back.
What These Ten Deceptive Tactics Have in Common
They all end up at the same place.
Every item on this page points at a single moment, the day you buy an overpriced “premium” coin. The rankings, the endorsements, the free metal, the fake reviews, none of them cost you a dollar on their own. But they lead you to the dealer who does.
Everything else is there to keep you from noticing, before you buy and for years afterwards.
Most of it is legal. Most of it is disclosed somewhere. Almost none of it comes up on the call.
So how do you avoid all ten at once?
Buy widely traded bullion, from a reputable dealer you can check on.
An American Eagle, a Canadian Maple Leaf, or a recognized bar all have published prices you can verify in a minute, from anyone, before and after you buy.
Certified Gold Exchange has sold them since 1992. But you’ve just read ten reasons not to take a company’s word for its own reputation, so don’t take ours. Check the one number that can’t be bought: our Better Business Bureau complaint count is zero. Then check our prices against spot, from any source you like.
Every scam on this page depends on you not being able to check. We’d rather you did.
Disclaimer
Certified Gold Exchange is a precious metals dealer. We are not a licensed investment advisor, tax advisor, or law firm, and nothing on this page is investment, tax, or legal advice. Before making decisions about your retirement savings, consult a licensed financial advisor.
The markups and spreads mentioned on this page are taken directly from dealers’ own customer agreements and from public court and regulatory records. They describe what those documents state, not what any particular company charged any particular customer. Terms vary between dealers, products, and over time. Read the agreement you are given.
The descriptions of industry sales tactics reflect what we have observed in our own business and in accounts customers have brought to us. They are not claims about any specific company, and do not describe the gold IRA industry as a whole.
If we refer you to an attorney, we are providing a contact and not legal advice, and we have no involvement in that relationship or its outcome.
If you’re considering opening a gold IRA to protect your retirement savings, or you already have one and something on this page sounds familiar, call us at 800-300-0715 for complete transparency.
We’ll tell you what you own, what it’s worth today, and what widely traded gold and silver actually costs. None of that requires you to buy anything from us.
Transparent & Competitive Pricing
Exceptional Service.
-
BBB Rating
Zero Complaints
- 5.0 Star Google Review Rating
-
58,000+ Served
In All 50 States
-
Serving Investors
Since 1992
