An investment that was not exactly golden

DEAR HARRY: I recently became a semi-retiree, and I got a lump sum for my contributions to a pension plan. I chose to take my share of the fund in one payment so I could do the investing myself. I thought I could do at least as well as the pension advisers. Well, I got taken - to say the least. I attended a "seminar" given by a man with top credentials - all fake. He conducted this scam under the auspices of one of our elite retirement communities. Gold was his cry, citing all kinds of authorities. He urged buying 1-ounce coins. For safety reasons, he would hold them in his safe-deposit box at a well-known bank, and you would get a receipt showing that deposit. And do you know what the clincher was? He would let you hold a couple of those coins. Did you ever hold a coin that heavy and that pretty? Two months after we invested $10,000, the government shut him down. His safe-deposit box was empty. He disappeared. We were told that our money was almost certainly gone. Any hope?

WHAT HARRY SAYS: I wouldn't trade $10 for your interest in this scam. Sorry. For older Americans particularly, I always have advised a cautious approach. Do not buy from someone you do not know. Do not buy on the phone unless you initiate the call. If it sounds too good to be true, it is - no probablys, maybes or ifs. I just hope that loss didn't hurt too much.