With the market reportedly flooded with fake SJC gold bullion recently, holders of the precious metal are now rushing to have their bullion authenticated, or wrapped with the new anti-fake packaging. The Saigon Jewelry Co’s northern branch in Hanoi on Tuesday was packed with customers who anxiously came for the quality tests, after which some were unhappy to learn that their SJC gold bars are fake. “The three taels of gold that I have been saving for 20 years turned out to be fake SJC,” said poor Phuong, a man from Gia Lam District. Phuong said he doesn’t know what to do with the fake gold, as he bought it from a gold shop near his house. Hai from Cau Giay District was much luckier, as the authenticity of her six taels was verified. Hai withdrew the bars from the bank, but still wanted to test them as it is said that even gold bullion from banks can be fake products, she said. The northern SJC branch has detected more than 300 taels of fake SJC gold bullion since August. “Tests show that most of the fake bullion still have adequate quality, and some of them have lower purities of 99.96 or 99.97, rather than 99.99,” the company said. The main cause for the boom of fake SJC gold bullion is that it has been chosen as the national gold brand name, according to an expert from the Vietnam Gold Business Association, who preferred to remain anonymous. Another reason is the huge gap between the domestic and the global gold prices, he added. “A tael of fake SJC gold bullion, with equal purity and weight to the authentic one, already earns the counterfeiters a profit of VND2 million, because gold prices in Vietnam have remained VND2 to 3 million higher than their global counterparts since August,” he elaborated.Buy from reliable shops Many holders have been shocked to realize the gold bars they have saved up to buy are fake products, according to Le Thuy Hang, director of the SJC northern branch. Customers are thus advised to only buy or sell the precious metal at reliable and reputable gold shops, as it’s hard to tell the fake from authentic gold bullion by the naked eye, she said. SJC gold bullion always fetches around VND1.6 million a tael higher than bars of other brand names. SJC’s policy in dealing with fake gold bullion that customers want to sell is to cut it into pieces for the latter to sell as gold material.