Month: September 2025

Barney Lerten

(Update: Adding video)

SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) -– A state agency issued a warning to Oregonians on Friday about a “gold bar” scam that’s rapidly spreading across the nation, causing millions of dollars in losses.

“This scam involves fraudsters impersonating government officials who convince victims to purchase gold bars to supposedly protect their nest eggs,” the Oregon Division of Financial Regulation advised Friday.

Here’s the full details in Friday’s DFR news release about the scam – and how to avoid it:

This scam involves contact from someone claiming to be a government official, often associated with the U.S. Department of Treasury, who convinces the victim to convert money held in financial accounts into gold bars. The fraudster claims the victim’s financial institution isn’t safe and that physical gold is the only way to protect the assets.

Once the victim agrees to convert the funds to gold, the fraudster either appears at the victim’s front door or arranges for the victim to meet them at a nearby location to pick up the gold bars. DFR urges the public to stay alert, informed, and safe. Do not become the next victim of this scam.

More generally, the scam goes like this: Victims are contacted through text, email, or phone call and told their financial accounts are at risk of being compromised for various reasons. The reasons given may include that the accounts were subject to a cyberattack or are being used for illegal activity and must be closed.

Victims are advised to empty the account, purchase the gold bars, and then deliver the bars over to the “government official.”

For those unable or unwilling to purchase the gold themselves, the fraudster will offer and even insist on making the purchase for them. Sometimes this includes giving the “government official” remote access to the victim’s electronic devices.

Victims are tricked into believing that converting their assets to gold and storing it with the government via the scammer, or “government official,” is necessary to protect their assets.

“This is positively – and always – a scam,” the agency said. “It has already caused millions of dollars in losses to Oregon investors and others across the country.”

“It is troubling that these criminals are using fear and a false sense of urgency to pressure victims into making devastating financial decisions,” said TK Keen, DFR administrator. “Even more troubling is the reality that they are in our communities and facilitating these crimes in person.”

As an additional precaution, DFR emphasizes that government officials will never contact you and demand payment using gold bars.

To stay safe:

Be cautious of someone contacting you and claiming to be a government official. The imposter scam was the most common scam reported to the Federal Trade Commission in 2024. Government officials will never threaten you or demand that you make a payment using cryptocurrency, gift cards, or gold. If you need to communicate with a government agency, look up the contact information yourself, verify that you have not been directed to a scam site, and – only then – contact the agency using the information provided on its official website. Never share your home address with strangers who contact you.

A government official will never give you a top-secret password. Some victims are given a supposedly top-secret password and instructed to give assets to a person who provides them with the password. This is always a scam.

Never click on suspicious links or respond to unsolicited messages. If you receive an email or text from an unknown sender (even if the details appear accurate), do not respond, and do not click on any links or attachments found in that email. You could unknowingly download malicious software.

Never give out your personal and financial information. Do not share personal and financial information with strangers. Steer clear of communication and calls from strangers.

Those seeking employment might be tempted to accept positions as a driver or courier from these scammers. This is part of the scam, to use outsiders – referred to as “money mules” – to help facilitate the crime. Be very skeptical about these employment offers. Research a company thoroughly before agreeing to become involved in any “employment” of unusual activity.

DFR cautions Oregonians to remain cautious and informed. Contact local law enforcement to report this scam.

You can also contact DFR to report suspected fraud, inappropriate securities business practices, or to obtain consumer information. Free investor education and fraud prevention materials are available at dfr.oregon.gov or by calling one of DFR’s consumer advocates at 888-877-4894 (toll-free) or dfr.financialserviceshelp@dcbs.oregon.gov.

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About Oregon DFR: The Division of Financial Regulation protects consumers and regulates insurance, depository institutions, trust companies, securities, and consumer financial products and services. The division is part of the Department of Consumer and Business Services, Oregon’s largest consumer protection and business regulatory agency. Visit dfr.oregon.gov and dcbs.oregon.gov.

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Barney Lerten

(Update: More information, background from USGS spokesman)

BANDON, Ore. (KTVZ) — A 5.9-magnitude earthquake rumbled off the southern Oregon coast late Thursday night, and several people felt it onshore, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.

No tsunami alerts were issued, but by midday Friday, 25 people had reported feeling the quake. It occurred around 11:45 p.m. Thursday nearly 150 miles west of Bandon at a depth of 10 kilometers, or more than six miles, the USGS said.

The quake was followed by a 3.0-magnitude aftershock around 12:22 a.m. on Friday, nearly five miles farther west and at the same depth, and another 3.0 shake to the north shortly after 3 a.m.

The USGS says earthquakes of that magnitude are not uncommon off the Oregon coast, with more than 160 of magnitude 5 or greater in the past 25 years.

USGS spokesman Steven Sobieszczyk told KTVZ News the latest quake occurred along the southern margin of the Cascadia Subduction Zone, well north of an area known as the Mendocino triple junction. where three major tectonic boundaries meet:

The San Andreas Fault, where the Pacific Plate slides past the North American Plate (a transform boundary, ie. north/south moving),

The Cascadia Subduction Zone, where the Juan de Fuca and Gorda Plates dive beneath the North American Plate (a convergent boundary, ie. one plate moves beneath another), and

The Mendocino Fracture Zone, another transform boundary between the Pacific and Gorda Plates.

‘Mendocino Triple Junction’ (U.S. Geological Survey)

“This unique intersection of plate boundaries causes the Mendocino triple junction to slowly migrate northward over time,” Sobieszczyk told us. “As it moves, the San Andreas Fault extends farther north, while the southern end of the Cascadia Subduction Zone retreats. This ongoing shift leads to a reorganization of the plate boundaries in the region.

“The earthquakes and seismic activity we see in this area are a direct result of these complex and dynamic interactions between the plates and the movement of the triple junction itself,” Sobieszczyk explained.

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