New housing fund scam reported in Eastern Oregon

EASTERN OREGON – Yet another scam is circulating in Eastern Oregon. The Fair Housing Council of Oregon reports that an agency in Eastern Oregon recently received a letter from an unidentified person, attempting to pose as a legitimate government housing agency. As seen in the letter, the scammer attempts to coax the victim into providing bank account information under the promise of additional funding. As described best in a notice from the Fair Housing Council of Oregon:

“This letter appears to be offering some sort of increase in funding or pay, it states that distribution of the funding will be done through electronic transfer and asks the person who received the letter to call and update their status…this is code for, ‘Give me your personal information so I can drain your bank account and/or get you to send me money, and possibly steal your identity.’”

As a reminder from the Fair Housing Council of Oregon, the Oregon Housing Authority (OHA) and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) along with other agencies DO NOT send electronic payments directly to consumers and instead work with landlords and banks.

If anyone receives this letter or a similar suspicious notice, DO NOT attempt to contact the sender through numbers or email addresses listed on the notice and DO NOT provide any personal information. If you are unsure of the legitimacy of a notice, directly contact the agency you believe it was sent from by using publicly available phone numbers/emails.

For additional resources, see the Oregon website for consumer protections at https://www.doj.state.or.us/consumer-protection/

Complaints and scams can be reported online at https://justice.oregon.gov/consumercomplaints/ or over via the Consumer Hotline at: 877-877-9392

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Elkhorn Media Group