Canterbury Civil Defence Emergency Management (CDEM) wants to remind Cantabrians that any legitimate phone calls made on behalf of CDEM would never request bank account, credit card or PIN details.

Canterbury CDEM Group Controller Neville Reilly said he was aware of at least one incident where a member of the public received a call from a person who claimed to be from CDEM seeking cash or credit card information.

“That caller offered to help get groceries, stating they would come to pick up cash or a credit card to go and do the shopping,” said Reilly.

“It’s very concerning to us to hear about a potential scam occurring in Canterbury. There are vulnerable people in our region who genuinely need welfare support and the last thing we want is for people to be worried when they receive a legitimate offer of help.”

CDEM has made Police aware and recommend that any suspected scam calls are reported by calling 105 or using the online form at https://www.police.govt.nz/105support

Canterbury welfare help line

A welfare help line, 0800 24 24 11, is operating Canterbury-wide to help vulnerable people with critical needs access support.

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