Hope Is Still Alive

 

Yes, hope is still alive, just ask the people who mailed their gold and silver jewelry to the no name no face no way to follow up with or track down cyber companies promising a fair price for their jewelry.  Not that brick and mortar cons don't exist or provide any additional safety net, but it does take a few minutes to rent, occupy and move out of physical space. 

People hoped they would be able to gather enough booty to make it worthwhile, they hoped what was being parted with and shipped was going to draw a good price, they hoped the company would see the same value and send a check in a few days as stated in the commercial.  They hoped that this was legit and yet I wonder if underneath the hope if these people knew there was a high probability of this being a con. Because if they did and went with it anyhow, they needed to keep the hope alive.  On the other hand, does it matter if they knew?  They needed the money and thought this was a way to get it.

These companies were allowed to advertise on television, radio, internet and in the newspaper.  SEND US YOUR GOLD AND SILVER AND WE WILL MAIL YOU A CHECK !!! 

They targeted diverse groups of people with one thing in common, they all needed the money now more than ever.  I am convinced; had this economy not been swimming in the stench of the recession/depression (by the way is the jury still out on which one it is?) people would have used alternate means to earn a little extra cash.  I will take a guess that most of them have been holding onto this jewelry for years and would have continued holding onto to it had they not felt the impending doom of a crisis.

So last week some employed person at a national newspaper earned their keep for the week I guess, by writing what they thought was a shocking article about how people have been scammed out of their jewelry by fictitious or illegal companies with no way to follow up.  Nooooooooooooooooo, really?

I am sorry people were duped and left with the very difficult job of trying to prove what was in the envelope they mailed.  How are they going to do that?  Worse is they won't be able to retrieve what they claim they mailed either.  And just for anyone out there who isn't familiar with this con; you call a phone number or request a mailing kit via the internet.  Once you receive your kit, you place your jewelry in the special envelope, complete the paperwork and mail your gold and silver to the company.  Upon receiving the jewelry the company makes a value determination and sends you a check.

Let me rewind and ask this question, "Who's job is it to check out/research Too Good To Be True claims being made by a company such as the one in the gold scam?".  Remember these claims of payment in a few days sent direct to your home were being made on several major television channels and networks by more than one company in plain view for all to read and hear, and someone paid for the advertising.  So people, I ask again, "Who's job is it to police this type of stuff and considering how long (2 plus years) these companies were advertising their service "CASH FOR GOLD", is it reasonable to expect that an investigation might be underway by whomever should have this on their radar?

And that's who again?