"Accidental" Gold Discovery Is 24-Carat Scam
You can imagine my excitement when I received the envelope with 24-point type telling me that an "Accidental Gold Discovery in Arizona Baffles Top Geologists." But even better, the stock being promoted — Gunpowder Gold — was anticipated to surge 369% in the next 3 weeks, "with potential gains as high as 1,333% to follow." I was a little taken aback that Tim Cole, the editor of Secret Gold Stocks, had made the rookie mistake of naming the stock on the outside of the envelope so anyone could share in this unprecedented opportunity. But, hey, the guy is an investment genius not a marketing genius.
Inside, the 16-page newsletter was jam-packed with tidbits that would help me "lock in massive potential profits" with "one of the most spectacular American gold plays that ANYONE has seen in more than 14 years" and I was urged to avoid "one of the biggest mistakes inexperienced investors make [by] acting too late."
I was so excited about the opportunity that my fingers were too nervous and jittery to even place the online trade order — at which point I feared that Mr. Cole was correct. I had delayed too long and lost my chance to party like a gazillionaire. But I still had an opportunity to subscribe to Mr. Cole's newsletter for only $949 per year. That was about $949 more than I felt it was worth, so I passed on that as well.
Fast forward to today, three months later. Gunpowder Gold, which had been trading at $1.05 when the envelope arrived, is now at 0.48. The good news is that now I can buy twice as much for the same price. The bad news for Mr. Cole is that I read the fine print. I learned that parties affiliated with Gunpowder Gold paid Mr. Cole $600,000 to tout the stock. Mr. Cole stresses that "this inherently makes the report biased" and his publication "is not, and should not be construed to be, an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any security."
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