THE FRAUD IS SEAMLESS

UPDATE: POLITICO also has an article about this scam.

(h/t Atrios)

You may have noticed how the radio gasbags preach doom and gloom just before leading into an ad for Goldline. This makes them very useful idiots for the gold scam artists who need people who can reach out to the rubes. Will Bunch (ATTYTOOD) points out that buying gold coins is a huge ripoff:

Weiner's staff investigated Goldline and found that the coins it sells are not the good investment that its salesmen -- who are not licensed investment advisers -- claim that it is to consumers, because the price of gold would essentially have to double beyond its current high to begin seeing any gains. Specially, the investigators found Goldline coins selling for 90 percent above the melt value of the coin, that is, its value by weight. The largest markup seen on a coin, Weiner said, was 208 percent above the melt value.

I noted below that LifeLock, another major advertiser on the gasbag shows, has run into some legal problems because of its unjustified claims, something the gasbags don't seem to have mentioned. You may recall the LifeLock ad in which the CEO gives out his SS number to show how great LifeLock is. Bunch found that this was more BS:

In fact, the New Times reports there have been at least 13 episodes since 2007 of people using Davis' Social Security number -- as revealed in the LifeLock commercials -- to open bogus accounts.