Don’t Be A Victim Of An Online Scam This Festive Season
This holiday season, New Zealand Police are encouraging people to be aware of online scams and fraud.
The holiday period can already be a time of stress, the last thing you want during an already stressful time is to lose large sums of money to a scam.
MBIE has identified nearly $200 million of New Zealanders money has been lost to scams in the last year.
Scammers don’t differentiate
and are targeting everyone across New Zealand. Common scams
include:
• Phishing: Phishing is a type of email scam,
where the sender pretends to be a trustworthy organisation
to try and get your personal information, like internet
banking login details.
• Social media: Social media
scams happen when someone tries to get money from you
through social media, often pretending to be someone you
know. They may also be someone buying or selling something
on a social media marketplace.
• Invoice: Invoice scams
affect both individuals and businesses. Scammers will send
fake invoices requesting payment for goods or services that
you didn't ask for or receive.
• Calls: Scam phone
calls are less common but do still happen. Scammers call
pretending to be from a well-known company, requesting
remote access to your PC or device, to gain access to
private information on your device, like your financial
information.
• Money and investment: Scammers will
attempt to get you to part with money or valuable
information under the false assumption that you’ll receive
financial or personal gain in return.
• Romance:
Romance scammers create fake online profiles to try to take
advantage of someone looking for a relationship online using
dating sites and apps or social media to build a
relationship with you. Once they’ve gained your trust,
they will start to ask you for money, gifts or personal
details.
• Text message: Text message scams, or
'smishing scams', are messages sent out by scammers who are
looking to get access to personal information, financial
details, phone, or money.
• Money Mules: A money mule
is someone who transfers illegally acquired money on behalf
of someone else. They help launder the proceeds derived from
online scams and fraud by allowing their personal bank
account to receive money before the money mule transfers the
money.
Sometimes scams and fraud are not obvious so it’s important to be cautious whenever anyone, particularly online, is asking you to give them money.
If you think you are getting scammed or laundering money, stop all contact with the scammer, do not make any more payments, contact your bank and report it to Police.
Police urge anyone who sees something they think might be attractive or a great deal to research the ‘deal’, speak to friends and family, check with the Financial Markets Authority, and be vigilant about anything out of the ordinary.
If you believe you a victim of fraud, contact report it to Police at 105.police.govt.nz
Resources are available to those
who believe they are a victim of this type of offending. A
good place to start is:
• Consumer protection
identifies how to recognise, avoid and act against scams:
Scamwatch | Consumer Protection
• The Financial Markets
Authority provides helpful advice on how to avoid falling
victim to online investments scams. Home | Financial Markets
Authority (fma.govt.nz)
• CERT NZ helps you with
reporting a cyber security incident and provides support to
individuals and businesses Home | CERT NZ
Some people
are more vulnerable than others to online scams,
particularly older people who may struggle with technology
or those with English as a second language. Keep an eye on
your friends and family and help them to understand what
scams look like, so they don’t fall
victim.