Scam Alerts and Media Releases

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The Scam Alerts section contains information about scams that have been notified to the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, or have been publicised in the media.

Please note that this list does not cover all scams which are currently circulating.

Remember - scams target you, and you can both recognise a scam, and protect yourself and others from being scammed!

If it’s too good to be true, it probably is!

2008

24 December 2008

Email scam

Another email scam is circulating saying you've won $2.5 million. The Department of Internal Affairs and Interpol are trying to track the emails. If you have received one of them you are advised to delete it.

18 December 2008

Skimming scam in Hamilton at a automatic teller machine (ATM)

The latest technology did not prevent at least 400 bank customers from falling victim to a skimming scam at a money machine.

Customers using the ATM had their cards' electronic details copied by an electronic reader attached to the machine.

Pin numbers were later used to steal cash from their accounts.

It was the second major ATM skimming incident in the city this year.

The two men involved in that incident have since been arrested.

Skimmers needed both the card data and the personal identification number (PIN) to be effective.

The best way for customers to protect themselves was to cover the keypad with their hand when punching in their pin number and not to force their card through the green sleeve device on the machine.

21 November 2008

Airline ticket phishing scam

There have been reports that a new phishing scam is doing the rounds. Claiming to be from a fictitious (but plausible sounding) airline, an email (with attachment) thanks you for booking with them and asks you to click through to see your flight details and receipt for travel "debited from your credit card". The website you're taken to will ask for personal details and open your computer up to scammers who could access your financial identity and commit fraud.

The scam is a variant on the classic phishing scams which claim to be from a bank or credit card company. If you receive one of these emails the advice is to delete and don't respond.

More information

14 November 2008

Scammers using government email address

We have received a report that fraudsters are pretending to be from a New Zealand government department in an attempt to commit advance fee fraud.

The emails, claiming to be from an employee at Crown Minerals  (Ministry of Economic Development), say that if you help them transfer money from overseas you'll receive a cut.

This is a classic example of this type of scam and any email received should be deleted straight away.

More information

Looking for a new flatmate? Don't fall foul of fraudsters

Consumer Affairs contact centre has recently received a number of reports about scammers using websites which are designed to find new flatmates.

Don't hand over any personal details or money to scammers. Protect yourself by finding out more about this type of scam here.

More information

28 October 2008

(Word of Advice)
Stop the spam!

17 October 2008

'Holiday' Scams updates

Scammers targeting Kapiti Coast

Residents on the Kapiti Coast need to be aware not to give out their credit card details to scammers who are phoning offering super cheap holidays to Australia.

Police say an organised group is targeting residents in the region, offering $99 flights to Australia including accommodation and gift vouchers and asking for credit card information.

If a deal appears to be too good to be true, it probably is.

Credit card scam aims at elderly in the Taradale area

A series of "what's your credit card number?" phone calls have been made to elderly people in the Taradale area by fraudsters with American and Indian accents.

As soon as the caller was told the person did not have a credit card, the caller hung up.

They can sound plausible and can be quite persistent

The best advice is simply hang up on them - don't give out any information at all.

 3 October 2008

(Word of Advice)
Shopping securely online

30 September 2008

Email Scam targets Kiwibank

Kiwibank is aware that customers are being targeted by Internet scammers trying to get their account information. A fake email has been in circulation claiming $20,000 dollars has been deposited into a Kiwibank account. The link on the email leads to a mocked-up version of the Kiwibank homepage which looked real and where people are asked to enter their account and Pin numbers. This gives the scammers access to the account, from which they can quickly withdraw money. Kiwibank are working on  shutting down the bogus website.

Remember

• DO NOT reply to any emails requesting your Internet banking login details
• Delete it immediately
• DO NOT click on any link provided in the email. Kiwibank would never ask you to disclose your Internet Banking login details by email.

More information

22 September 2008

'Holiday' Scams update

See the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) Scamwatch site - Telemarketing calls promising 'free' holidays [external website]

15 September 2008

(Word of Advice)
Don’t be stung by inheritance scams

September 2008

0900 Fax back Scam has surfaced again

We issued a caution about these schemes last year but have recently received several reports that indicate that the faxes are being sent to New Zealand consumers and businesses again.  The schemes offer  "Government & Police Disposal Sale" . The caution relates to being aware that by responding to these faxes there is a large fixed fee (likely to be in Australian dollars, where the fax is sent from).

Australian consumer protection agencies have also issued warnings to the public about these schemes.

More information 

21 August 2008

Advertising scammers targeting North Island businesses

The scam involves businesses being contacted about advertising they never requested for publications which never reach the consumer. Some claim charities (such as child safety) will benefit but not only does the business not see any benefit for the advertising, the charity does not get a cent.

It is believed that the scammers are based in Auckland and they can use pressure sales tactics, such as telling the business owner the publication is about to close and an order number is needed urgently, or that they spoke to someone else in the business.

The scammers might actually produce a publication, but with a small print run of about 100 copies, rather than a larger print run of 30,000 which they claimed.

The advertising copy was lifted from publications such as the Yellow Pages or other genuine magazines.

The Commerce Commission identified more than 20 publishing companies selling advertising for more than 70 magazines. The names change as the fraudsters become aware of the Commission's attention.

More information

Lotto Phone Scam Lottery Warning

Police are warning the public not to give out personal details, over the phone after reports of a phone scam using the Lotto brand.

The scam involved a male phoning people to inform them they had won lotto tickets and he needed to obtain some of their personal details like their name, address, marital status, what hours they worked, and when they would be home to receive their tickets.

The caller did not sound like a New Zealander.

People are urged not give their personal details over the phone to someone not known to them.

5 August 2008

'Inheritance' scam costs NZ couple $30,000

A couple were tricked into giving $30,000 to Internet fraudsters and are unlikely to get their money back:

• they received an email from a person claiming to be a British solicitor, who said they had inherited 10 million pounds sterling - more than $25 million
• they had a distant male relative in Europe, and since this relative had no other living relations, the claim seemed credible
• they had phone conversations with people they thought were solicitors over the next two weeks, and received what they believed was a death notice and legal documents about their inheritance. The couple were told an account had been set up for them with an American bank, and that the money was in it
• they were given a phone number for the bank, to call and confirm their account number, security access number and Pin number, they did call to confirm this information
• they were then asked to deposit 55,000 pounds sterling into the account, to cover the legal costs the solicitor had already incurred
• they paid $30,000 into the account, and then tried to borrow more from their own bank. When the bank refused, they sought legal advice and were alerted to the scam.

The police were contacted by the couple after realising they had been victims of a scam. 

Interpol believed the couple had been in contact with people operating from Russia or Nigeria, and that similar scams caught people out all over the world every day.

People are urged to seek legal advice before responding to requests to give out personal details.

More information

25 July 2008

Email Scam

New Zealand Customs Service is aware of an email scam where members of the public are being informed that a parcel is awaiting Customs clearance. The email asks that a declaration form be filled in and returned so that the parcel can be released. New Zealanders are warned that these emails are not genuine. New Zealand Customs Service will usually contact the importer by letter unless the importer has requested they be contacted by email.

03 July 2008

Hitman Scam Update

Australian scammers are sending hoax text messages supposedly from a hitman who says he will kill you unless you pay up within two days.

The text message suggests: "Someone paid me to kill you. If you want me to spare you, I give you 2 days to pay 5000 dollars. If you inform the police or anybody, you will die, I am monitoring you."

The text alerts have so far been sent to phone users mostly in Queensland and West Australia.

30 June 2008

(Word of Advice)
Beware of ‘free’ holiday vouchers

10 June

'Holiday' Scams update

See the media release - Commerce Commission urges caution over holiday vouchers [external website]

20 May

Advertising scam doing the rounds

There has been some media coverage of a scam known as a ‘small business scam’ or a ‘pro-forma invoicing scam’ occurring in New Zealand, which involves invoicing for advertising that has either not been ordered, and in fact may not even exist. In particular, it has been reported that ads were being billed in the areas of health safety and road safety.

This type of scam is not new and has been around for some time.

Additional useful advice includes:

• request proof of purchase before payment
• check with your colleagues
• ask for evidence that the publishing company has been commissioned by an organisation to publish the magazine on their behalf, if that is the claim. Check with the organisation
• keep records of contacts and requests regarding advertising, including emails and phone calls
• inform the company in writing that the advertisement they are charging you for was not authorised and will not be paid for
• seek legal advice if threatened with legal action.

More information

30 April

The New Zealand Bankers’ Association issued a media release alerting consumers that bank customers in Northland and Auckland are being targeted by scammers for credit and debit card details.

This scam involves a person who says they are from a courier company with a delivery, for which a small payment is supposedly owed. Cash is not accepted and an EFTPOS transaction occurs. However, the portable EFTPOS device used by the scammers appears to be a skimming device capturing and recording card details. The information is very quickly used to obtain cash from Automatic Teller Machines in Australia.

People are warned to make sure they know the identity of a courier company making a delivery, and that they request official identification from the courier driver. If people are still suspicious, they should call the police.

7 April 2008

(Word of Advice)
Stay safe socialising online

4 April

‘Holiday’ scams update

There have been reports about companies promoting various holiday ‘deals’, including prizes and discount voucher schemes over the phone.

One group of companies was ordered to stop trading under the Fair Trading Act as a result of an injunction sought by the Commerce Commission in November 2007.

However, it appears that there may be similar off-shore based schemes targeting New Zealanders in much the same way.

People should always be wary about unsolicited offers or ‘prizes’, regardless of the way that they are packaged. Scammers are successful seducers and they know how to create packages that will appeal – and holidays have wide appeal.

People have also been asked to give personal identity details, in order to receive ‘prizes’, from people claiming to be from companies selling holidays over the phone.

People are reminded to be careful about giving out any identity details, as identity details potentially give scammers access to money or to credit in a victim’s name. People should protect their identity details in the same way that they protect their personal possessions or their wallet.

For more information see the Commerce Commission media release [external website].

10 March

(Word of Advice)
Promised easy money, great prizes, true love, or a scam? Part II

'Hitman' scam

A vicious new type of scam email has started to hit New Zealanders. Dubbed the “hitman scam” by overseas authorities, the email threatens to kill people unless they give in to demands and pay thousands of dollars to a cyber extortionist.

The email suggests that a ‘friend’ wants the recipient dead and has hired the writer to kill the recipient. If the recipient makes contact and pays the writer, then the contract will be postponed or cancelled. If the Police are informed, or the writer notices ‘something funny’, then the writer will “extend it to your family”.

There are various versions of the “hitman scam” email demanding between $1,000 to more than $100,000, and some versions ask for payment in pounds.

Versions of the email have been sent randomly to thousands of email addresses, in the United States and more recently in Australia. New Zealanders have also started to be targeted by versions of this scam.

Overseas police are urging people to ignore the email, saying it is an empty threat and their life is not in danger.

The advice being given in New Zealand, also, is not to respond. Responding invites further contact with the scammers and the possibility of escalating threats.

Anyone concerned that a threat to their life may be genuine, is advised to report it to their local Police.

New Zealanders can report this type of scam to SCAMwatch, so that others can be made aware of it.

3 March

Fraud Awareness Week 3-10 March 2008

(Media Release)
 Fight the scammers. Don’t respond.

Australasian Consumer Fraud Taskforce 2008 survey [external website]

The Australasian Consumer Fraud Taskforce is again running a survey to find out about any scams that consumers have received and how they have responded to them. Gathering this information will help to improve the detection and prevention of scams.

Consumers can fill out the Australasian Consumer Fraud Taskforce 2008 scams survey on the Australian Institute of Criminology website.

25 February 2008

(Word of Advice)
Promised easy money, great prizes, true love, or a scam? PART I

8 February

The Experience of E-Crime Findings from the New Zealand Crime and Safety Survey 2006 [external link]

Young people, Maori, women and those at the lower end of the socio-economic scale are most at risk from electronic crime such as identity theft, a new survey  from the Ministry of Justice shows.

Computer viruses, unintentionally viewing offensive internet web pages, and receiving harassing emails and mobile phone messages were also commonly reported by New Zealanders during the course of the survey.

The survey's authors said the results were subjective. Some offences reported could not be classified as "crimes" in the legal sense, and the survey did not collect information about how many times offences had occurred or details of the offences. However, the survey still offers up-to-date information about 11 e-crime problems and provides a preliminary measure of the extent of e-crime in New Zealand.

The survey found 2.8 percent - equating to 93,000 New Zealanders aged 15 or over - had experienced some form of identity theft. Those that had experienced identity theft tended to be in economically deprived situations, including the unemployed, those living in homes rented from local authorities or Housing New Zealand, and people from smaller ethnic groups.

Madame Soleil Psychic scam

I have a very important and urgent announcement for you.............

Madame Soleil was a famous French astrologer who had a radio show, appeared on television talk shows, and reputedly also advised former French President Francois Mitterrand.

But the clairvoyant Madame Soleil, who is currently writing to consumers offering 11 exceptional miracles, is not the real Madame Soleil as the real Madame Soleil died in 1996 at the age of 83.

More information

23rd January

Lottery Scam reported

A scam circulating by email has been reported to the Ministry of Consumer Affairs. The scam email claims to be from Master Card Corporation and congratulates a recipient on winning an International Mega Jackpot (supposedly linked to both Mastercard and Microsoft). A considerable sum of money is ready for pay out directly to the recipient. All the recipient needs to do to claim this money is forward personal details to a 'Claims Administrator' and then make contact to find out how to claim the winnings.

16 January 

Kevin Day aka David Rhodes

Kevin Day isn’t very original it seems.

You see the scheme he is trying to peddle to New Zealanders is nearly identical to another by David Rhodes.

He has a rags to riches story.

He offers the opportunity to make as much as $70,000.00 in 60 days.

He says all you have to do is send 200 letters and they have even worked out a cost budget for you breaking down the cost of the $10 you send to the first person on the list you receive, photocopying costs of $80, the cost of 200 business envelopes at $14.00, stamps at $100.

This will take you five hours they tell you and your profit could be as high as $77, 566 or $15,513.20 per hour of your time if just 3 per cent of people send $10 in cash to you.

More information

Phishing scam reported

The Dominion Post has reported that "grammatically challenged" scammers have targeted ANZ Bank customers with an email phishing scam, requesting customers to click on a web link and confirm information. The email scam contained grammatical errors and was sent from customercare@anz.com.nz.

ANZ representatives point out that it is ANZ policy to never seek information by email, particularly passwords. Consumers are reminded that they should be suspicious of any request to provide any information that is received by email.

More information

8 January

Psychic scam attempt reported

The Bay of Plenty Times reported a Psychic Scam attempt made on a Katikati man. The man received a letter from someone claiming to be a psychic named Maria Duval. Her letter included emotional testimonials from well satisfied customers, an impressive profile and a list of apparently successful predictions, ranging from searches that found missing people, to predicting big Lotto wins. The letter requested $30, and in exchange Maria Duval would use her psychic powers to help the Katikati man line up the numbers for the Lotto win that had always eluded him. The letter also guaranteed that the $30 payment would be returned if the man did not get the riches promised.

It was reported that people have fallen for this scam in New Zealand and overseas, and that Police and consumer agencies worldwide have issues warnings about this type of scam.

More information

5 January

Scam involving fake vouchers reported

The Manawatu Standard reported on a scam involving fake vouchers, which were being sold by a woman claiming links to a Maori Trust and showing documentation, supposedly signed by a judge.

The vouchers were being sold for $150 to consumers, and it was claimed that they could be redeemed for $2500 worth of electrical goods. It is not known how many consumers fell for this scam, or how widespread the scamming was.

The woman was arrested and appeared in Palmerston North Court charged with deception. It was reported that other charges were pending.

December 2007 / January 2008

Fraudulent franchise sales reported

In December 2007 and January 2008, the media has been covering events following the sale of non-existent ironing franchises to the unsuspecting. A number of people were scammed, and purchased bogus franchises for $25000 each.

The fraud has been linked to the Green Acres franchise, although the false sales were carried out by an independent franchisee, not an employee of the company or the company itself.

It has been reported that the Serious Fraud Office is currently investigating this fraud.

Scam Alert and Media Releases Archives

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Archived 'reported scam' list

2007 (prior to August 2007)