Here’s one for  all you gold people.  Just another of the many messages to arrive in my mailbox on a daily basis,

which  make little or no sense.

So the first person who can write in and tell me what this scheme is about or not, will win an all-expenses-paid trip to the moon in 2020. The winner will also be crowned the “smart alec” of the month.

Answers on a postcard.. no rather send me a comment here, as quick as a flash.

Moneypenny

ALLUVAIL GOLD for sale.
To:	jessicabeloved00@yahoo.com

Dear sir

Its with pleasure that I write to inform you of the availability of ALLUVAIL GOLD for sale.

Below are the classification of the goods :

PRODUCT : ALLUVIAL GOLD.

QUANTITY :500 KGS.

QUALITY : +22 KARATS.

PURITY : 92+

PRICE : 30percent below the standard price

TERM OF PAYMENT : NEGOTIABLE.

we do not accept advance payment, the transaction will be done according to the seller and buyers agreement and we expect you to come with your Inspector machines and after checking, the payment will be on bank to bank bases.

If you are interested in the above product please get in touch with me and we will make arrangement on the mode of delivery.

I await to hear from you very soon.

Regards.

Mrs Jessica.

 Well done Benson for setting up the donation  link for Burma. hopefully all you bullion traders will donate some of your returns to those who have lost everything, and let’s hope they open up the borders to help. 

 Today I’m including a post I made before about online payment companies. For those that think I’ve been after them, heres what I said two weeks ago:

There are surprising demographics. It is not only those who don’t have a credit card, or  who are cautious about putting credit card details online. More companies are using it to pay suppliers or freelancers who do work for them. Its a good way for a company to hold some funds in an account for that purpose, thus removing all those movements from the  regular bank account. The simplicity of sending money to  “joesmithsmoney” is a lot easier than getting the iban codes, swift addresses and coordinates for numerous international bank accounts. More people use Ebay to purchase things large and small, everyday, then there’s secondlife, and amazon, and online gambling, its endless…. they may not want to insert credit card details for many reasons. ( no I don’t work for them or get any kickbacks. Although if after reading this, any of you efinance companies begin to feel  overwhelmingly generous towards me…. go ahead, double my balance, I dare you.) 

Many people, on various forums I have visited, have many axes to grind with paypal and others, who they say won’t give them their money back when they want to close the account, or withdraw funds. (See previous blogs written by Mark and Benson.)  I myself have had no problems with this. I do have a nominated bank account however, to empty funds into, so I can get the cash.  I also secured my  paypal account with my master card perhaps this helps, I don’t know how though, perhaps because im traceable though my bank.

On-line payment companies have been offering cards to draw money at ATMs, or to use as a charge or debit-card, for some time now. I think it rather depends where you live, when it comes to the security of these, as some are very bad and others Ok. Anything based outside of regulated U.S.A. or Europe could be a risk, check the fine print and rules about disclosure. But don’t quote me on that, again just an opinion.

A nominated bank account is kept within your paypal  account, and should you want to empty some funds into your bank account, you request this. I normally wait 5 days for an international transfer into my bank, I wait till I  simply have to, there are no charges for this. Although I do pay when receiving funds into Paypal.

 If you need to close your account, this can  be accomplished with a  nominated bank account. Simply request it. I haven’t tested this, as I don’t want to close mine and open it again. Please give me feedback if you’ve had a problem closing, and I’ll research this more. There are hundreds of threads on paypal-forums and e bullion ones about this, so Google it.  Next post.. investing in e currency.

Yours in money,

Moneypenny

Quote for today:  “If you owe your bank a hundred pounds, you have a problem. If you owe it a million pounds, it has a problem!” JOHN MAYNARD KEYNES

You receive 170% after 7 days
 Spent Amount $50 - $299
 Invest now!

Here’s a typical bullion ad to trade online, and quite typically there is no mention of risk in the stated fantastical returns. So who wouldn’t  want to get a  170% return in a week? This is the kind of thinking that I mentioned in my post on investing online. While driving to work one day in 2000 I saw a billboard that said ” If you can click a mouse you can invest and buy and sell shares online” my response to this kind of thinking? “Yeh, right, and you can also jump off the empire state building, and wish to catch an updraft, which  lands you safely and gently on your feet. 

Clearly there are a lot of people out there trying to get these returns. 

So here’s the challenge, since you are all heated up and ready for competition after the last post.

Tell us what your returns are in a week, in percentage terms. Your best week!

I keep seeing headlines such as this one: IMF Chief Warns Dollar May Suffer “Abrupt Fall” telling us all that, “The dollar may still have further to fall, and the effects would not be good for the global economy”.

Then there is the daily list of stories in my newsreader from precious metal gurus like James Turk of GoldMoney.com, forecasting that, “…we can expect US$800 gold by the end of the year, and a four-digit number next year.” What does it all mean?

The true meaning of this supersized USD/Gold combo is….Time to buy more gold.

Read more

GoldMoney has just announced the introduction of a new storage facility in Zurich, Switzerland. Any GoldMoney client buying or selling goldgrams®, now has the option of storing their precious metal in either London or Zurich. Since safety is such a big factor in today’s global economy, diversifying the storage of precious metal assets over multiple jurisdictions can be a smart move to reduce risk. Just like the London vault, all precious metal stored in Zurich is insured by a policy underwritten through Lloyd’s of London.

Both GoldMoney storage vaults are owned and operated by VIA MAT International which is one of Europe’s largest and oldest armored transport and storage companies. Mr. Turk also tells me they plan to introduce additional secure vault locations in other countries during the months ahead.

GoldMoney was the first to establish a patented currency called goldgrams® where 1 goldgram = 1 gram of gold. This offers clients the ability to send or receive gold payments electronically between accounts.

Read more

(Q) If you had 10 minutes of face to face discussion time with each of your customers, what is the one single idea you would try to teach each one of them about freedom?

(A) hmm, that is a really good question and one that is not easily answered. I don’t believe that ALL customers can be fit into a mold that would relate to something I could convey to them in some generic sense of things. I think freedom is something best left to each individual to determine for themselves. If I could present just one idea, then I guess it would be that.

(Q) Is there an advantage to shopping for one ounce silver bars from your web site, over visiting a local coins shop and buying from them?

(A) I think local dealers have a market that works well and is useful. Our aim is to supply silver bullion products to that market. If you have a local coin shop that also sells bullion then it would be useful to show them our products when you shop there. When a dealer places a large order they can convey the savings on shipping to their customers.

(Q) Are you operating as a Money Service Business? Do you hold any other Federal or State regulatory licenses which permit you to operate?

(A) We are not operating as a money services business as silver is not money according to the law today. Nevertheless, we do understand that the digital silver currency can be used by criminals to further criminal activity if left unchecked, so we have implemented a full anti money laundering program, a customer verification program, employee training and customer education program that serves to keep our system free from fraud. The results of this is thousands of clients and zero fraud. We also do possess a MSB license from the jurisdiction of the USA even though our company is based in Panama. We feel a good anti money laundering program and more importantly a strong anti fraud and anti crime policy is essential to our success and essential to the security of our client’s silver. Our terms of service policy explains all this in greater detail.

(Q) I know that I can buy digital Silver online from at least one other company, GoldMoney, what advantages does the Phoenix Dollar offer over James Turk’s digital product?

(A) James is a wise businessman. His product has its place in the market and is valuable even to our customers. That being said, it has absolutely no resemblance to our product offering. Our focus is on actually holding real silver in your hand where it belongs. We enable the average person, even if not rich, to hold silver in their hand even after someone sends it to you in digital form. This is something that is impossible in other systems.

(Q) Do you ship overseas?

(A) Yes, we ship all over the world to all but a few countries found on the sanctions lists.

Read more

The Phoenix Dollar was created in late 2005. The company is a silver bullion retailer offering their own brand of pure silver bars, disks and even digital silver holdings which is 100% backed by bars in a secure vault.

These accounts are free to open and the Phoenix Dollar community offers some exciting advantages and tools to those who would use the digital silver for online commerce. The digital silver is transferable between anyone operating a Phoenix Dollar Holding and there are several popular independent exchange providers who can assist you with a secondary market transaction. The digital product is exchangeable with other digital currency such as Pecunix.

Any user can easily have their silver balance (as little as one ounce) delivered right to their front door for just a few dollars over the spot price. The physical silver one ounce disks and bars are very beautiful and I happen to own several.

The bars and disks can be used as payment between any person as a method of barter. While some of these items may look like money, its important to note that The Phoenix Silver Bullion Products are NOT “legal tender” and NOT “current money” nor are they endorsed by any sovereign government, country, city or state. While the designs are great, both the silver and paper designs do not look like government issued currency. Paper designs? Yes, the company is soon offering SilverBacks® which is a series of Authentic Paper Silver Certificates. More on that below.

Today I’m interviewing Gordon Hayes designer, creator and operator of the The Phoenix Dollar.

(Q) Can you tell us your current position with the Phoenix Dollar company and how long has it been operating?

(A) I am the President. We opened to the public in October of 2005. The concept was in development for a couple years before that.

(Q) Who came up with the design for the silver bullion products? How about those new silver certificates?

(A) I have two very special artists that I collaborate with who shall remain nameless for security reasons. I create the concepts and they come up with the artwork for them. Sometimes I am able to pick a piece out of their extensive portfolio for certain things and apply them to the silver without any modifications. Having a high caliber art team has enabled us to exceed in designing silver pieces that never fail to win people over for their sheer beauty.

(Q) Out of all the successful businesses you have been involved with over the years, why did you create the Phoenix Dollar? What were your reasons for coming out with a private barter currency backed by silver?

(A) The world simply needs to know that what I am doing is possible. My ultimate goal is to create a currency that actually improves the lives of its owners. This would take a bit of explaining to get across properly, but to summarize, today we have a world that contains all sorts of fiat currencies. Not a single one of them have any real value except that which is derived from the end of a gun. I set out to build a currency that actually protects the wealth of its users, that improves how people interact and do business with one another and that creates more freedom and success in the world. This is the sort of philosophical background information that is not really necessary to know when using the currency. The results of using it speak in subtle ways.

(Q) I have seen the pictures of your new SilverBacks® paper silver certificates which are now on the way. What do these certificates offer users that the bars and disks don’t already provide?

(A) This product conflicts with my personal beliefs to some extent, but its main benefits are that you can carry it in your pocket in quantity without being weighted down so much that you cannot walk. Silver bullion is very heavy and cannot easily be transported in quantity. The SilverBacks® address that problem thus enabling the currency to gain more use in the everyday over the counter market. I expect this product line to be a curiosity in the market for some time, but I am doing it anyway, just in case things rapidly change.

(Q) Your bullion products look fantastic.

(A) Thank you.

Read more

(Q) Your primary exchange agents for CSATM, how did you choose them? Or did they request to work with CSATM?

I contacted them. Having devised this system I knew I needed Exchangers to work with. I have also contacted more exchangers than accepted the ATM. I believe that as coverage expands, the exchangers will be happy to add us to their list of services.

(Q) Is it difficult to become a CSATM exchanger?

Exchangers are subject to the full KYC requirements. They are acting effectively as money service businesses, and the ATM has to be cognizant of that and ensure that all legislative guidelines are being adhered to. I don’t think that is difficult for anyone who is seriously in the Exchange business.

(Q) Do you allow your users to work with HYPS and AutoSurf/Investment programs? Or do you really know what the users are doing with their accounts?

CSATM works with HYIPS and autosurfs. The system can be integrated to their scripts (although I do note a preponderance of encryption of scripts - I cannot incorporate where encryption may be). This brings up an important point. As you would be aware there is a preponderance of hackers and whatnot within that hyip field. Security is paramount. Or should be. The CSATM API will only work with servers that are pre authorized. And only with a location that is preauthorized (the location is provided to CSATM in encrypted format - I do not know “where” it is. This encryption provides security against those who might hack a hyip or autosurf script and then try and run with the money. If a site has their server hacked - they will lose their assets. This is the case now with any other form of payment processor. Admins in that area need to keep their servers safe, the ATM will provide for security and integrity of our API, but that is as far as it goes.

The other point that has to be made is that the ATM does not accept business from adult sites, terrorist sites or warez sites. As the IP of every server using the API is known, I can ensure that this integrity is maintained. Now it also has to be noted that just because an IP is allowed, I do not know the location nor amount of savvies they are collecting. That part is secure. The above IP requirements were added as a direct response to some of the charges e-gold is currently facing.

Read more

Today I’m interviewing with the operator of the CyberSpaceATM (CSATM).

The CyberSpaceATM is a new concept based on the Loom System of value transfer. It private, liquid and quickly becoming very popular.

(Q) I’ve read your web site and see the CSATM advantages: “There are many advantages to using CSATM: Transaction Privacy, low transfer fees, reliable exchange options.” Exactly what purpose does the CSATM serve? How does it aid your customers with online value transfers?

First - let me thank you for the opportunity of this interview. CSATM came online approximately one month ago, and this Interview serves as a valuable place to discuss the issues surrounding the raison d’etre of the ATM, and the plans for the future. CSATM provides users with the ability to conduct online transactions in an environment of privacy. The core of the technology is Loom, but the model that the ATM uses is an almost “reverse Loom”.

By way of background, Loom provides for any user to issue an asset type and then trade in that asset type. It is a remarkably clever concept that will go a long way to creating a free market . The concept that I am using is that there is only one asset type created. I am yet to come up with an appropriate name for it. For the purpose of this I will call it a ’savvy‘ (which is a mutation of cs and value). The value does not have to be assessed for each transfer. I have set the savvy to be valued at “1 USD”. This would seem to be the most widely recognized and easiest accepted “value”. I do note that even though e-gold was always suppose to be denominated in grams of gold, it was always referred to by the USD value.

This standardization will allow users to know what the value of various locations are, and it will not be subject to online fluctuation. Obviously on an exchange to fiat currency they will receive the market rate at that time.

To the heart of the question. Once a person has obtained a savvy value, they can move it around within the CSATM system in complete privacy. The system has been set up to simulate the payment process, so that one can make a payment to a merchant who is using the system. Value transfers are instant, and the system can also provide a receipt for that transfer with the email function that is built in. It has to be emphasized that the emails are sent unencrypted. If you choose that option, then you have to be aware of that.

The database provides extreme encryption, and there is no history of value moves kept. There are no accounts. In essence what CSATM provides is a storage system. We charge for the storage - there is a minimal charge for each movement of assets. Anyone globally can use the system. In summary CSATM seeks to provide a global solution to the storage and movement of assets in a secure and private environment.

(Q) Why is this system better than PayPal, or does it even compare?

The system does not equate to any other “standard” existing payment solution; the greatest difference is that there are no accounts in CSATM. One could argue it is “better” than PayPal as it is a completely global system. It is equally accessible in the north south east or west. The only limitation on obtaining assets is the layer provided by the exchangers. The issue of exchangers will be discussed in more detail later.

Read more

Reprinted from 04/05/2007 on the BullionVault web site.

DID YOU SEE that the US Department of Justice indicted on-line firm e-Gold on charges of money laundering, conspiracy and operating an un-licensed money transmitting business?

The US government claims e-gold’s easy-to-use private transaction service makes it easier for criminals to launder money. For good measure, the Feds added that a digital payments system in gold would be favored by terrorists, child pornographers, and other real or imagined enemies of the nation-state and civil society.

Did it occur to the Feds that maybe people want to use gold as money because they have no confidence in the fraudulent, counterfeit product currently printed by the US Treasury?

Governments fear gold because it competes with their own paper currency as a viable and preferred means of exchange AND a store of value. So, under the guise that only people with something to hide would use a digital payment system backed by gold, the US government is hoping to obscure what the very existence of a company like e-gold signals: a growing lack of trust in the money of the American government.

The huge bull market in resources and resource stocks is also a sign of U.S. dollar diversification. Investors and foreign governments are storing (and hoarding) their wealth in more tangible sources of value rather than US currency or bonds. If anything, the Department of Justice’s attack on e-gold is a sign that officials in Washington are getting nervous.

They don’t want any competition for the dollar. They have lawyers and jails and are willing to use both.

Incidentally, we asked a lawyer friend of ours who works for the Department of Justice what he thought of this case. Off the record he wrote:

“I wonder how, with all that anonymity [in the creation of e-gold accounts] the government will show that the company knew that they were receiving money from these illicit sources. This is the crux of the case. Knowingly receiving stolen property is a crime and having any involvement with kiddie porn is probably enough for a jury to convict anyone, but I would venture a guess that every bank in the world, without exception, possesses proceeds from criminal gains. However, most depositors don’t inform the teller where the deposited money came from.”

The US government has ruined American money. It is the biggest fraudster of them all. People are seeking alternatives like e-gold to protect themselves from the government’s monopolistic debasement of the currency. Trying to make alternatives to that money illegal or criminal doesn’t change the fact that the money is suspect. It just alerts the public that something is horribly wrong with America’s currency.

This is good for gold, if you can keep it.

Dan Denning, 04 May ‘07

Formerly editor of Strategic Investment with Lord William Rees-Mogg, Dan Denning is an independent investment analyst now based in Melbourne, from where he edits the Australian edition of The Daily Reckoning. He is also author of the best-selling The Bull Hunter (Wiley & Sons).

e-gold webmoney egold pecunix 1mdc