Norwegians Leave Gold in Forest as Some Fall for Scam

(Bloomberg) -- Swindlers have persuaded Norwegians into buying gold and leaving it in the forest as part of a growing investment fraud, according to the country's banking lobby.

"Several" bank clients have spent "large sums" to purchase gold and then left it out in nature, following promises that "others will keep it safe while the value rises," Finans Norge said in a statement Thursday, without specifying the amounts.

It said the scheme is one of three fraud methods that banks are "specifically warning against right now."

Last year, the losses of Norwegian lenders and their customers from financial fraud totaled 962 million kroner ($100 million), the lobby group said. At the same time, the banks prevented fraud attempts amounting to over 3.5 billion kroner.