A new scam is targeting Norwegians, and it sounds so successful that I can see it spreading to forested regions worldwide. Why forested? Because it involves following a stranger’s instructions to leave your gold in a forest, in the faint hope that someone will guard it while its value rises.
It’s utter nonsense, an utter delight to read about, and I’m sure utterly demoralizing to fall for.
A Bizarre New Scam Has Norwegians Burying Gold in the Woods for Thieves to Collect
As Bloomberg reported, Norway’s banking lobby, Finans Norge, issued an urgent warning after multiple bank clients converted their cash into physical gold, then ventured into the woods and buried it underground, effectively burying their riches pirate-style.
Neither nature nor some mysterious security force ensured the gold remained untouched. To no one’s surprise, thieves would come along and pocket the loot.
Gry Nergård, director of anti-fraud operations at Finans Norge, noted that these woodsy treasure drops first cropped up in the spring around Oslo and Bergen. Now, the lobby is frantically pleading with citizens to stop handing their savings accounts to strangers through a treasure hunt.
Finans Norge hasn’t disclosed the exact amount of missing forest-bullion, but if they have to make this kind of public announcement, you can assume it is not an insignificant number, and that a not insignificant number of people have fallen for what appears to be the work of a tech-savvy leprechaun.
The post Scammers Are Convincing People to Bury Their Gold in the Woods, and It’s Actually Working appeared first on VICE.
