Q: I am 48 years old and...

Q: I am 48 years old and on a medical retirement. I have four kids--one still in college. I don’t have much money and can’t get a job without getting into trouble. My truck has been down for a long time, and I don’t have anything else to drive. So when I had some money I bought stock in gold, which was supposed to get me back on my feet. I paid $2,500 for the stock to a company in Beverly Hills. Well, I guess I got cheated. Can I deduct this as a loss on my income taxes? -- Blasdell, N.Y.

A: It appears you were cheated. It looks like you bought yourself 266 tons of dirt in one of the hottest scams of the year. Here’s how the scam works. A disreputable firm buys a mailing list that gives the names of investors who have showed interest in gold. The investor is then sold a contract for delivery of dirt, in your case 266 tons, and is guaranteed that the dirt--or gold ore as it is called--will contain a certain amount of gold. In this case you were told that there would be no less than 20 ounces of gold in the dirt.

When you work out the figures, it looks like a great deal. You’d be getting gold at $125 an ounce. What a bargain! The only problem is that there never is any gold; there probably isn’t even any dirt, and the company that sold you the contract plans to stay in business only long enough to cash your check.

William McDonald, enforcement chief for California’s Department of Corporations, says this particular scam began in 1985 when a court ruling took jurisdiction for such gold pacts out of the hands of the Securities and Exchange Commission. McDonald says his group, the U.S. Post Office and the SEC have been making headway battling the scam. But there are still “30 to 40 boiler rooms selling dirt piles as we speak,” McDonald says.

Unlike other scams, the dirt pile hoax is a sure thing for the scam artists. No investor ever makes even a little money. “The risk is 100%,” says McDonald, “because nobody has gotten any gold in any (of these) deals. They are totally fraudulent.”

You’ll have to consult a tax adviser, but scams like this usually can be written off, experts say. Sorry you lost so much money. But here’s a good rule to follow in the future. When you get an unsolicited phone call (especially one from out of state), asking you to invest in something, hang up before the caller starts his pitch. It’s all right to be rude.

Q: I have 200 shares of Copper Lake Exploration Ltd. that I bought through a brokerage. It is worth only 62 cents a share. I’ve tried to close my account and have asked the brokerage to send me the stock. But I was informed that Copper Lake has no transfer agent, and so the firm cannot send me the shares and close my account. I am now being charged a custodial fee on a stock that is worth almost nothing. What could I do to stop being charged a custodial fee? -- Los Angeles

A: It looks as though you are being cheated. Enno Hobbing of the National Assn. of Securities Dealers in Washington looked up Copper Lake Exploration and found that the stock hasn’t traded in a long time, and that the last bid for these shares was 2 cents, not 62 cents. Hobbing says his records show that the last known transfer agent for the stock was National Trust Co. of Vancouver, British Columbia. And the last known address for Copper Lake Exploration was Room 1201, 789 W. Pender St., Vancouver, British Columbia, V6C1H2.

You could, of course, simply not pay the custodial fee and see what happens. But you sound like the sort of person who’d like to get this stock off your conscience.

Q: While working on a construction project recently my brother came across stock certificates for Denver Oil Co. I’ve enclosed a photostat for you to look at. Does this stock have any value as a security or as a collector’s item.? -- Lakewood, Colo.

A: There was a company named Denver Oil Co. that was incorporated in California in the early part of this century. But according to R. M. Smythe, a New York firm that specializes in tracking down lost companies, Denver Oil lost its charter in 1913. So the stock is worthless.

Maybe Haley Garrison, an expert on antique stock certificates, can help you determine if there is any value from a collector’s standpoint. He can be reached at (800) 451-4504.

Address letters to P.O. Box 610, Lincroft, N.J. 07738.