Is Portland Safe in January 2026?

Groups — sometimes traveling from city to city — station individuals at highway on/off ramps, parking garage exits, and busy pedestrian areas holding signs with fabricated stories (homeless veteran, sick child, stranded traveler). Willamette Week reporting has documented coordinated operations.

How to avoid: If you want to help, donate to vetted Portland-area nonprofits rather than giving cash on the street. Recognize that emotional signage is a common manipulation tool and that legitimate charitable organizations do not solicit this way.

Criminals attach skimming devices to ATMs at convenience stores and standalone machines in downtown and tourist-heavy corridors. Portland Police Bureau documented clusters of skimmers at multiple downtown 7-Eleven ATMs, with over 100 accounts compromised in a single investigation.

How to avoid: Use ATMs inside bank branches rather than standalone kiosks. Before inserting your card, grip the card slot and give it a firm wiggle — skimmers are attached with double-sided tape and will shift or pull off. Cover the keypad when entering your PIN.

A person approaches tourists near Pioneer Courthouse Square and the Pearl District with a clipboard and a cause such as deaf children or veterans. While the tourist signs or digs for cash, an accomplice picks pockets or bags. The charity has no legitimate registration.

How to avoid: Decline to sign any unsolicited clipboard petition or donate cash to street solicitors. Keep bags zipped and in front of you whenever someone approaches unexpectedly.

In Portland's Old Town Chinatown neighborhood, individuals approach tourists and offer to guide them to attractions, then pivot to attempting to sell counterfeit goods, fake prescription medications, or substances represented as something they are not. The scam often begins as helpfulness — offering directions or restaurant recommendations — before transitioning to pressure sales. Some encounters involve attempts to distract while an accomplice targets wallets or bags.

How to avoid: Decline assistance from strangers who approach you unprompted in Old Town. Keep bags secured in front of your body, especially near NW 3rd Avenue and Burnside. Remain aware of your surroundings and move toward populated, well-lit areas if approached. Do not accept items handed to you before a price is discussed.

Tourists who drive to Portland receive text messages claiming to be from the Oregon DMV or Oregon toll collection, threatening license suspension or fines for unpaid violations. Oregon ODOT has issued explicit public warnings about this campaign, which surged in 2024–2025.

How to avoid: Oregon DMV and ODOT do not collect payments or issue warnings by text message. Do not click links in unsolicited texts about violations. Navigate directly to oregon.gov or odot.oregon.gov. Report smishing to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov.