KERALA MUST ACT TO CURB GOLD SCAMS

Easy money through gold exchange offers destroying families who can least afford it

- BY MANOJ NAIR | Business Editor

Gold prices are surging ever higher - and these days it's happening in a matter of hours.

In fact, shoppers — if there are any still wanting to buy at current levels — don't even have time to think through their actions. In Kerala, quite a few of these hapless investors are paying the price for blindly trusting promises of quick wealth through gold investments.

The most unfortunate part is that the get-rich schemes prey on one of the most obvious weaknesses families in Kerala (and India) face — weddings and their innate connection with the transfer of gold from the bride's family to the bridegroom's.

It's a time-honoured arrangement, and whatever the laws of the country say, society still prefers that gold and jewellery change hands come wedding time.

So, when licensed businesses come with the promise of delivering more from gold, it's no surprise that some get easily duped.