The Ho Chi Minh City police caught Thursday a man trying to sell 25 fake one-tael SJC gold bars to a jewelry shop in District 5.
They had been tipped off by the suspicious shop owner.
This is part of a disturbing trend in recent times, with shops discovering many look-alikes of Saigon Jewelry Co’s one-tael bullions, Do Cong Chinh, deputy general director of the company, told Tuoi Tre.
The fake bars are 97-98 percent pure compared to the 99.99 percent purity of the genuine ones.
The problem came to light after a customer of a jeweler in Tan Binh District complained. The trader then went through his inventory to find several fakes, some just 91-92 percent pure.
Their real value, as a result, was just around VND27 million (US$1,387.5) instead of VND29 million ($1,490) for a one-tael bar.
Some genuine SJC gold pieces had their edges missing reducing their weight by 0.7-1.2 grams and, worth by VND580,000-1.16 million ($30-60).
These bars had been repacked in their original plastic cover and sold in the market.
It is the first time that fake and damaged SJC gold bullions have been found in the last two decades, SJC general director Nguyen Thanh Long said.
Fake gold characters
Since the fake bars contain other metals, they appear darker but glitter more.
The familiar dragon and SJC insignia are bigger and less sophisticated than on real ones, with numerals and characters seemingly glued to one another.
The fake ones are numbered FS, a series that SJC has yet to use.
The plastic packaging, however, looks exactly like the original to the naked eye.
SJC has told its dealers and gold shops to put up notices to warn customers who can take SJC gold bars they buy to the company or its dealers for free testing.
It is urging buyers to ask sellers to print out receipts with the bullion serial numbers and refuse to buy in case they do not oblige.
The company plans to begin major improvements in packaging and engraving next month to ensure the real bars are easily identifiable, Chinh said.
