Bartelsmeyer Jewelry staff have had approximately 12 people bring in gold items to be appraised, and they are not gold, all with a similar story.
John Bartelsmeyer said he wanted to inform the public.
“I wanted to get the word out that people are getting scammed,” Bartelsmeyer said. “People have told us they are buying supposed gold at gas stations. Several local people have brought in items to be appraised in this manner since last fall.”
Bartelsmeyer did not know if they were local gas stations where the scammers were.
“They say, “This person was at a gas station and needed gas and told me they would sell me their gold ring( for money)’,” Krystal Hulbert, an employee of the jewelry store said.
The fraudulent gold pieces have included necklaces and bracelets too, but mostly gold rings.
Often they have been stamped 18KT to indicate that they are real, which can really fool people, Bartelsmeyer said.
“The gold looks nice,” Hulbert said. “But someone like John who has been working on real gold for 50 years knows it’s not real.”
There is also a chemical test to provide proof that the article isn’t real, Bartselmeyer said.
“If people are wanting to help them out, that is one thing, but thinking they will get a bargain in gold, no,” Hulbert said.
Sgt. Tim Harper, Fort Scott Police Department, said there have been no people turn in a report to the department about this.