Scammers in Taiwan are pushing victims to buy gold instead of wiring money, and police are now warning jewelry stores that looking the other way can make them accomplices.

• A gold shop in New Taipei's Yonghe let a victim hand over more than NT$17 million to a fake prosecutor scam, even escorting them to the bank to vouch for the withdrawal.
• The shop owner and three staff have been referred to prosecutors on fraud and money-laundering charges.
• Gold is becoming the scam gangs' favorite tool because it is valuable, easy to carry, easy to resell, and hard to trace once it moves.
• Buying gold also sidesteps the bank and police checks that normally catch large cash transfers.
• Police want shops to question big or repeat cash purchases, nervous buyers, and anyone taking instructions by phone, and to stall the sale and call police if something looks wrong.

Outlook: Expect tighter reporting duties and more anti-scam pressure on Taiwan's gold and precious-metals dealers, with more shop owners facing charges if they ignore obvious red flags.