There was big news last week in the precious metals industry. Anthony Columbo and his companies (Premier Precious Metals Inc., Rushmore Consulting Group Inc., and PPM Credit Inc.) were banned by the FTC from selling precious metals “investment opportunities.”

The FTC charged Columbo with swindling millions of dollars from investors through hard-sell telemarketing schemes.

The saddest part is that a large number of his victims were senior citizens, who were probably looking for a way to protect their hard-earned savings from inflation and a crumbling US economy. We expect there’s going to be a lot more stories like this in the coming years as gold and silver start to make headline gains once again.

Read the Full FTC Press Release Here

If you don’t want to become a victim of the next would-be Columbo, now’s a great time to bone up on your gold-buying smarts. Peter Schiff has just re-released his free special report, “Classic Gold Scams and How to Avoid Getting Ripped Off”. It is completely updated with the latest information on the most common gold and silver scams you should avoid, and tips to find out if a dealer is honest. Read more about it here.

Download the Updated “Classic Gold Scams”