SILVER LINING? In troubled times, precious metals...

SILVER LINING? In troubled times, precious metals are a popular investment, benefiting legitimate dealers as well as some not-so-legitimate ones in Orange County, often referred to as the nation’s fraud capital. . . . “Scam artists will use unsettled market conditions as pitch material,” says Newport Beach Police Detective Doug Parmentier. “They want to capitalize on whatever is current news and sticking in peoples’ minds.”. . . The flip side? They’ll use a favorable turn of events as an excuse when the investments don’t pay off.