The adage about investors losing their shirts understates the reality for precious metals speculators, who not only can lose their assets but even their lives.

Greed has led unscrupulous people to prey on investors who are too trusting. As a result, investors in precious metals and coins should limit who they tell about their activities to avoid becoming a target of criminals.

With the stock market showing increased volatility lately, the interest in considering alternative investments such as precious metals and coins seems to be growing. Investors who might like the thought of making a so-called killing in the market need to be careful not to end up in the clutches of violent predators willing to steal, torture and even murder.

Rich Checkan, president and chief operating officer of Asset Strategies International, a full-service, tangible asset dealer in Rockville, Maryland, recalled an instance when one of his customers who lived in the South was killed by people who wanted his gold. The perpetrators who the customer told about his collection of gold betrayed him in hopes of stealing it for themselves. The gentleman was tied up, tortured and ultimately killed by his brother, his gardener and another man as they sought to compel the victim to disclose where he stored his precious metals, Checkan said.

The assailants told police they did not intend to kill the owner of the gold, but their torture ended up leading to his death anyway. Checkan, whose company offers precious metals, rare coins and foreign currencies, shared the following tips to help investors in precious metals and coins steer clear of those who would be willing to harm them in pursuit of ill-gotten gains. 

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Paul Dykewicz, www.pauldykewicz.com, is an accomplished, award-winning journalist who has written for Dow Jones, the Wall Street Journal, Investor’s Business Daily, USA Today, the Journal of Commerce,Seeking Alpha, GuruFocus and other publications and websites. Paul is the editor of StockInvestor.com and DividendInvestor.com, a writer for both websites and a columnist. He further is the editorial director of Eagle Financial Publications in Washington, D.C., where he edits monthly investment newsletters, time-sensitive trading alerts, free e-letters and other investment reports. Paul previously served as business editor of Baltimore’s Daily Record newspaper. Paul also is the author of an inspirational book, “Holy Smokes! Golden Guidance from Notre Dame’s Championship Chaplain,” with a foreword by former national championship-winning football coach Lou Holtz.