Be careful with your privacy when dealing in Precious Metals

[ChrisSilver]

Hi,

A member wanted me to bring the issue of privacy to the attention of forum members as he has been informed of an incident where a man and his family where tied up in their own home whilst criminals tried to extract info from him about where his gold was kept. The criminals were informed that this man had gold, when in reality he didn't. And he and his child ended up in Hospital.

So just letting you all know, although obvious, please try to be careful who you inform about your hobby. Do not post identifying information publicly in the forums. Ideally it is also best to have a separate shipping address to that of where your coins/PMs are stored. And you may wish to consider private storage / insurance / private mail box / other home security etc.

If any members have any helpful hints and tips in relation to privacy and security for other members, please post below.

[MickB]

What about changing the 'Today i bought' & 'Today i received' threads to members only viewing instead of making available to the public? Just like the gallery which the general public can't see.

[Danny-boy]

What about changing the 'Today i bought' & 'Today i received' threads to members only viewing instead of making available to the public? Just like the gallery which the general public can't see.

Blooming good idea Mick.

[Shamatti]

Blooming good idea Mick.

 

Not really - anyone can pay to be a premium member, even crooks. :/  Chris does not vet applications, just accept the payment and creates the membership. With potentially thousands to be made, a tenner for membership is a worth while investment, huh?

[Danny-boy]

Not really - anyone can pay to be a premium member, even crooks. :/ Chris does not vet applications, just accept the payment and creates the membership. With potentially thousands to be made, a tenner for membership is a worth while investment, huh?

Bit negative huh?

Let's have a bit of positivity. It decreases the chance of a chancer picking up on personal details. Simple

[ChrisSilver]

@MickB Thanks for the idea Mick, it's a good suggestion however it would be devastating to our search rankings. There are a lot of members who have found out about the forum by doing a google search on a particular coin, and because there have been a lot of posts in the today I bought section etc the site is ranked high in the search. A lot of members have stumbled upon the forum like this. 

[MickB]

Don't tell your children or show them your collection. They may let slip to friends at school or outside in the streets what you have, word gets around and then you might have someone planning to rob you. They'd only be innocently telling people by using it for bragging rights.

Imagine the line; "Yeah, your dad has a gold coin, so what. My dad has a hundred under his bed!"

Then word gets around and you have another security problem on your hand.

[Hookythestacker]

Spot on Mick, secrecy is your first and probably best security precaution, if an individual doesn't need to know you stack then don't tell em. Shocking story about the child ending up in hospital Chris, lets hope what goes around comes around for the people that did it. Gold is obviously at more risk than silver, and should probably have a higher degree of security, if I could afford any gold I certainly would not keep it all in one place. Still, forgetting the Hatton Garden business, PM theft is probably a lot less of an attractive prospect than cash, or even a higher end car to most villains.

[HighlandTiger]

I think if you are worried about security then don't post everything you buy or receive. I certainly don't post all my purchases, just the ones that are a little different or if I think someone may be interested i n seeing them. I'm sure there are plenty of lurkers on this forum who don't post anything because they ARE worried about security. I can't blame them either

[HawkHybrid]

That's the great thing about collecting ancients.

 

dealer to seller(thief): I can see that the coin you've

just given me is identical in marks, scratches, corrosion,

coin shape,size and weight to that of my mate bob's? 

 

HH

[Shamatti]

Bit negative huh?

Let's have a bit of positivity. It decreases the chance of a chancer picking up on personal details. Simple

 

No, it does not. I spent 20 years running computer systems and that included all system and internet security. I think I understand these risks better than most.

[Danny-boy]

No, it does not. I spent 20 years running computer systems and that included all system and internet security. I think I understand these risks better than most.

Whatever.

[Shamatti]

Whatever.

 

Well, I am glad that you value my experience and advice so highly. Thanks mate.

[Danny-boy]

I just couldn't be bothered with another disagreement to be honest.

The point has nothing to do with your experience. It's to do with simple maths.

There are more "non-premium & premium members" combined, than there are premium members. Hence, less people read things in the premium members section, therefore reducing the risk of people picking up on personal info.

It won't remove the risk but it will reduce the risk, as I said.

[Shamatti]

I just couldn't be bothered with another disagreement to be honest.

The point has nothing to do with your experience. It's to do with simple maths.

There are more "non-premium & premium members" combined, than there are premium members. Hence, less people read things in the premium members section, therefore reducing the risk of people picking up on personal info.

It won't remove the risk but it will reduce the risk, as I said.

 

I was just typing when you replied.

FTR, my advice would be this. Treat anything you post anywhere on the internet, even in private members areas, as fully publicly visible. Everything and anything you post can be seen by anyone with internet access. Now, paying to join a site which offers varying degrees of membership has no baring on that for several reasons. First and most obvious, anyone can pay to join (Unless it is a specific topical site, like for example The Ferrari Owners Club of Great Britain - you can tell from the name immediately that there are at least 2 criteria to membership which excludes a large portion of the public. Especially if you have to prove ownership to gain membership) However 90% of web sites are not like that. And if you are going to use the internet to fish for victims (And there is evidence from Australia and the US that this does happen) then you are going to search for web sites and forums which are likely to attract wealthy patrons. So right after your attempts to bluff your way into the Ferrari Owners Club have been dispatched, your mind is likely to turn to other web sites which might attract the wealthy..... So you join ALL of them, it is a very small investment compared to the possible gains.

 

It isn't accidentally slipping with personal info in front of other legit forum members that you need to worry about. It's the guy that pays for his membership then trawls the members area for slips made because people thought it was safe there. That's the guy you gotta worry about. For this reason I think it is important that people know that it is no safer than anywhere else on the internet.

 

I started using the internet in Summer 1992 in offices in London, using dial up modems. We were a founding partner in Demon Internet, one of the UKs first ever ISPs.  This was pre-World-Wide-Web internet. Usenet, user groups and chat rooms. Text based green screens. I saw the first 96K dial up in the UK. I saw the first broadband. The first fibre optic. And as IT manager for 15 of my more than 20 years in the industry, I was responsible for internet security for companies with hundreds of users in offices all over the world. There is no internet security question you can ask that I have not considered at some point in my career.

 

Want to keep your stack safe? Don't let anyone know that you have a stack. Everything else is a risk, and it is up to you to calculate how much risk you are willing to take. Anonymous chat rooms under a pseudonym are a pretty safe place to share chat about your hobby, but as Chris very rightly states, be very very careful about what personal information you might let slip. And please don't be under any illusion that a paid membership affords you any kind of protection whatsoever. It doesn't.

[Danny-boy]

Ok Sham, I'll bow down to your superior knowledge.

[Shamatti]

Ok Sham, I'll bow down to your superior knowledge.

One thing I would say though, it appears you are doing exactly what you criticised HT for very recently.

By that I mean, using past expertise to prove a point.

 

I don't know why you feel it necessary to accuse me of doing something I don't remember doing when I try and share the benefit of my experience with the members of the board? That doesn't make sense? I didn't criticise him for sing past experienced, I got annoyed with him for missing my point and spreading negativity where something positive was available.

 

I am sure you would agree that poor information can be worse than no information. Letting people think there is somehow some additional security involved with a members area is an error. Knowing my reputation on this board, I thought it not a bad idea to emphasise my experience to help people understand that this particular opinion is an educated and experienced one.

 

I am attempting to add value to the conversation, and help fellow forum members stay safe. And you, my friend, are beginning to sound a little like HT.

[SilverPirate]

I think it is wise to split up ones stack into say four and be prepared to sacrifice one for the good of the stack if threatened with physical violence.A burglar may be happy to with one stash, and others can be stored off site.

I don't think a run of the mill burglar with a drug habit would find most peoples home stacks,mine has gone into a safe i have access to now,( not at home for all phishing scum bags.) i have a few ounces at home i will admit but the TV is worth more.

Good luck getting past my dog.

[HighlandTiger]

This topic shows the benefits of holding allocated gold and silver with companies like bulluonvault.

[Shamatti]

This topic shows the benefits of holding allocated gold and silver with companies like bulluonvault.

 

I have to agree, as an investment it isn't a bad idea, but for us crazy SHTF stackers, you are better off burying it the woods! (Ooops! ) lol

If you can't get your hands on it you don't own it

[Shamatti]

DSCF4993.JPGI think it is wise to split up ones stack into say four and be prepared to sacrifice one for the good of the stack if threatened with physical violence.A burglar may be happy to with one stash, and others can be stored off site.

I don't think a run of the mill burglar with a drug habit would find most peoples home stacks,mine has gone into a safe i have access to now,( not at home for all phishing scum bags.) i have a few ounces at home i will admit but the TV is worth more.

Good luck getting past my dog.

 

Good idea - Love the dog to!

[SilverPirate]

This topic shows the benefits of holding allocated gold and silver with companies like bulluonvault.

I like the sound of allocated bullion and looked into it with Baird and co, i just think because my stack is so small the charges don't make it viable for me.You need to have a good old chunk of metal to make it worth while.

[Hookythestacker]

This topic shows the benefits of holding allocated gold and silver with companies like bulluonvault.

I'm part of the "can't hold it don't own it" mindset, but if security is an issue for you and world economic collapse doesn't look imminent then a split of part physical and part holding makes sense. Even if it does go against the stacking instinct.

SP,dog is fantastic.

[HawkHybrid]

This topic shows the benefits of holding allocated gold and silver with companies like bulluonvault.

 

keeping it all in one accessible place makes it easier for the

government to 'borrow' it off you if a deposit style bailout

requires more padding. 

 

who's that forum member with a bow?

it gets my vote if my collection gets to the stage of needing

a decision.

 

HH

[silversword]

I have to agree, as an investment it isn't a bad idea, but for us crazy SHTF stackers, you are better off burying it the woods! (Ooops! ) lol

If you can't get your hands on it you don't own it

 

Diversity is the key - never put all your eggs in one basket. Some in allocated, some stashed safely, and as mentioned already, don't tell a single person if they don't need to know.