@clarkfan1979, we would love an update on your dinar-loving brother too. I'm kind of curious why he thinks the value will be going up so drastically?
This is a thing that pops up now and then, I've been hearing about it for years. I don't know where it comes from, but every once in awhile I'll talk to some moron who thinks they're going to end up rich because of it.
I read this @clarkfan1979 , and then I read about the $9,200. So now I need to give you a caution here.
So, this sounds remarkably like the Philippines "gold" finding scam (example) that pops up occasionally, as well as various other scams.
I was going to say--before I read the posts about the $9,200--that you should be careful because there may be some "broker" involved and they may be doing cash transactions or the like, figuring out unconventional ways to wire money, or so on. You have now confirmed (via the $9,200) even further that it sure sounds like that sort of transaction.
Literally: this is setting off all of the red flags. Your relatives won't want to hear it, so I don't know whether you tell them, but this sounds like an obvious scam.
And, to confirm: it's a known scam. I searched for "gold" on reddit.com/r/scams to see if the Philippine one I've run into repeatedly pops up there, and it did, but, more interestingly, I then searched "dinar" and guess what's a known scam? Selling "dinar" as an investment. It had all the hallmarks of a scam already, from your description, and it turns out that a search for "dinar" shows you that people have tried this exact type of scam before. (Here's a particularly far-out version.)
Pro tip: one can buy options and cover those options for currencies if you want to bet on them--one does not need to withdraw $9,200 to shuffle it to some weird place to do that. That's what scammers do. There are no actual dinar involved; it's a straight-up scam. It'll turn on some friend-of-a-friend or random broker guy who's actually making off with all of the money (or at least a finder's fee).
So, your family is getting scammed. But like a religion, they are unlikely to take it well if told, because they have $9,200+ reasons to want to disbelieve you. That doesn't mean you keep it to yourself, but it's a caution because I've had to deliver similarly bad news before and even with a good approach, it usually lands like a rock with someone who has already bought into it. (See also: MLMs, and that never-ending thread about them.)
Anyhow, I hate to tell you that, @clarkfan1979 , but I also don't think that's any surprise to you.
I'm not surprised. This has always been my best guess. They have been getting scammed for 4-5 years and continue to believe. It's not possible for an outsider to change their minds, which includes me.
I do have one last nuggest from my trip. I went golfing with my brother and his friends. His friend told me that he won $1,000 off of my brother from the last Presidental election. He had to tell me about it because it was no ordinary bet.
Well, it started off as an ordinary bet. Friend had Biden and my brother had Trump for $50. No big deal. However, one week after the election was certified my brother claimed that there was no way Biden was going to be sworn in as President. His friend would comment that it's pretty much a done deal. My brother then asked to increase the bet to any amount that he felt comfortable. Feeling pretty confident about the results, one week after being certified, the friend said, "$1,000". My brother response was, "done"
They both sent $1,000 to another friend to hold the money and be released on inauguration day. On inauguration day, my brother lost the bet and the friend got his $1,000.
Anything is possible, but if I'm making that bet, I'm going to want 10,000 to 1 odds. To make that bet with even odds is incredibly misguided, in my opinion. I could chose other words, but he is my brother and overall, a decent guy.