Up to 31% of consumers who purchased silver in the past five years from either in person or online reported being cheated, according to a LocalCircles report.
The survey also noted that 93% of respondents supported mandatory hallmarking of silver items. Hallmarking invovles an official stamp or marking to certify its authenticity, purity, source of origin and manufacturer.
The centre introduced voluntary hallmarking for silver jewellery and articles, backed by a digital identification system, which came into effect Sept. 1, 2025, to assure quality and protect consumers.
"According to official updates, consumers can verify key details such as article type, purity grade, hallmarking date, testing center information, and jeweller registration number through the BIS Care mobile application," the report said.
Up to 19,148 consumers who responded to the survey regarding silver theft. It noted that 23% of respondents said that they were defrauded multiple times by jewellery stores or websites.
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Around 8% of those polled stated thay were cheated once when trying to purchase silver. The survey found that 42% of respondents did not report being scammed, while 27% of respondents gave an unclear response. This meant that three in ten people reported being swindled when attempting to purchase gold.
"Considering the high prices of gold and silver, consumers need to be protected through compulsory hallmarking of all silver items, else as in case of gold, many more stand to lose a lot of investment, which sees a surge in villages after a bumper harvest." the report said.
"To swing the consumers into demanding and buying hallmarked products, the government will have to try to inform consumers in cities, towns and cities, so that people don't end up with steel or some white metal camouflaged to look like a silver item," it added.
The survey got more that 38,000 responses from consumers situated within 311 Indian districts. Up to 62% of the respondents were men while 38% of them were women. LocalCircles further stated that 41% of those polled were from tier 1, 31% from tier 2 while 28% respondents were from tier 3, 4, 5 and rural districts.
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