Anguilla’s residents are being urged to exercise caution after a series of scams involving gold jewellery have been reported across the island.
Officer Leonard Lake of the Royal Anguilla Police Force explained the schemes during an interview with DJ Hammer on Klass FM on 28 February.
He said the scammers have approached people in their homes offering to test, clean or make moulds of their gold.
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They used distractions and chemical reactions to convince victims that their gold was fake or had been damaged. While they were distracted, the scammers stole the genuine gold.
Lake said some victims lost thousands of dollars’ worth of gold between late August and the end of September last year, and said the scam has continued into this year.
Scammers were also offering to sell items such as cell phones, washing machines and fans – many of which were low-value, refurbished or counterfeit, the police officer said.
A police investigation is ongoing, and Lake urged anyone who experienced similar incidents to come forward and provide a statement.
He added that the scammers are believed to be from South America, though not all of them have been definitively identified.
The police officer stressed the importance of vigilance, warning residents not to allow strangers into their homes for gold-related services.
“Please be careful of who you let into your yard for whatever reasons,” he said, adding: “Please, please don’t try and be a hero. We don’t know what are the chemical components of this stuff that they’re using.
“You don’t want to approach them, because you don’t know if it’s acid or what – they may throw it on you to get away. If they’re there, call the police – let the police deal with them.”
Anyone with information can call police on 911, (264) 497-2333 or 497-5333, or leave an anonymous message, video or photo at secureaxa.com
Information from the website is stored in a secure location in California where access to it is tightly controlled.
Watch the interview in full below:
