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We've all heard about online scams and it's true that these can be dangerous. Here are some common scams to be aware of, and some ways you can keep yourself safe.
Online dating scammers may approach you in a number of ways – chat rooms, social networking sites, unsolicited emails or dating websites – all the same ways that genuine lonely hearts will approach you.
They'll build up a relationship of trust with you, then eventually ask for some type of financial help. Usually, they'll ask you to send money to pay for airfares for them to visit you or to help them out of a sticky situation while they’re travelling. They can also send you a fraudulent international cheque and ask you to cash it and send the money back to them. If you do this and the cheque dishonours, you'll be liable to pay for it.
A 'job' is listed on an employment website or emailed to you, requiring you to simply accept money transfers into your bank account, then forward the money on to a company based overseas. You'll get a percentage commission for doing this.
The money is almost always from another New Zealand bank account and is transferred to your account without the account holder's knowledge or permission. It's likely the account holder has been the victim of a phishing scam or had some type of malicious spyware installed on their computer.
By taking this job and receiving and transferring this stolen money, you may be held liable for the funds, and investigated by the police.
A common online trading scam involves criminals based overseas using fake traveller's cheques, bank drafts or foreign cheques to pay for an item that you are selling online. The cheque or draft is made out for much more than the agreed price, then they buyer will ask you to send the excess amount back to them.
It can take a long time for banks to confirm a cheque or draft is counterfeit – especially when it's come from overseas, so your bank will usually allow you access to the funds before they know if the item is counterfeit. If the payment is then dishonoured and you've returned the excess funds to the sender, you'll be held liable for the entire amount, plus you may have already sent the item to the buyer.