Oregon Department of Justice renews urgent alert after another ‘gold bar scam’ victim loses large sum

'SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) – The Oregon Department of Justice is issuing an urgent warning to Oregonians as reports of a sophisticated “gold bar scam” continue to climb in the Pacific Northwest. In the latest case, an Oregon woman was defrauded out of tens of thousands of dollars after scammers convinced her that her bank accounts were compromised and her money would only be safe if converted into gold.

This comes just weeks after another victim lost $600,000 in a nearly identical scheme in Eastern Oregon, while another person in the same county lost $60,000 involving silver bars—just two of countless cases under investigation across the country.

In almost all of these cases, the scammers impersonate financial institutions or government agencies, creating a sense of urgency and fear. Victims