Recognising a scam

Investment scam

Investment scams have been occurring frequently recently. The Financial Markets Authority have a list of businesses or individuals you should be wary of if you're planning to invest. If you're unsure whether you're talking to a scammer or a legitimate organisation, hang up and call the organisation using their official number.

Cold call scam

We’re seeing an increase in phone scams targeting customers, claiming to be from us. These calls can come from 0800, local or overseas numbers and ask you for your banking login details or passwords. We’ll never ask for your passwords, PIN numbers, or credit card expiry dates/CSV information over the phone. We’ll always verify your identity in other ways to ensure your personal information and accounts are kept safe.

Phishing / smishing scam

If you receive a text message that you think could be a scam, forward the text to 7726. You can also call us on 0800 113 355, or send us a secure message within internet banking or the mobile app.

Remote access scam

Be wary of anyone asking you for remote access into your mobile phone or computer. Phone scammers can pose as a bank or telecommunications company and attempt to hack your bank details or account.

The most common type of spam email or text message targeting New Zealand banks are phishing or suspicious emails or text messages. It could be an email or a text message with a link that asks you to disclose any of your banking information or to install software which is designed to steal your banking information or remotely control your devices. Find out more

Scammers can use online buy and sell pages, including Facebook Marketplace, to deceive buyers and sellers. Some tricks these sellers use are listing items that are counterfeit, that they don't have to sell or have no intention of sending. Buyers may show a fake screenshot, or a video of a fake interaction to 'prove' payment. The Citizens Advice Bureau outline your consumer rights when buying and selling goods on Facebook Marketplace.

There are legitimate sellers using Facebook business pages and Marketplace to sell goods. Before you purchase, research the seller to determine if they seem legitimate. Check their profile for friends, community engagement, photos, and any personal information they might have included on their page.

Tips to avoid online seller scams

• Don’t rely on screenshots or videos purporting that the payment has been made. Log in to internet banking to make sure the money is in your account before sending or making the goods available for pick up.
• Double check deals that are too good to be true.
• Check the listing details. Does the description sound accurate and are there photos of the actual item? Some sellers add a piece of paper next to the item they are selling with their name and date, you could also ask them to do this.
• Ask questions of the seller and check their profile details. If buying from an individual whose profile appears new or incomplete, this could be a sign that the account has been set up to scam.
• If buying from a page, check their reviews to see if previous customers have had problems.
• If it's a private sale, is it possible to see the item before handing over any money?
• Look out for blue or grey ‘ticks’ on the page which are given to pages or profiles verified by Facebook.
• Use regulated websites who have measures in place to protect buyers and sellers.

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.

You should be wary of pursuing online romantic relationships, where you could fall into a trap of becoming a money mule. The scammer may ask you for your bank account details so you can receive a large amount of funds into your account, or move money through your account in return for a profit. This is money laundering and it can have severe consequences for you.

Tips to avoid internet dating scams

• Use extreme caution when asked to send money to someone you've met online.
• Stop communication with someone you met online or who contacted you out of the blue if they ask you to open a new bank account or use an existing one to receive funds.
• Be wary if they only give you a post office address and a phone number which they never answer and doesn't have voicemail.
• Look for discrepancies with the information they're telling you.

A scammer claiming to be a stock broker or portfolio manager calls and offers financial or investment advice. They claim the investment opportunity they're offering, which is usually in overseas companies, is low-risk, but offers fast and high returns. These scams are often sophisticated to the point they'll have created fake websites and other material to back up their claims. They'll be persistent and may keep calling you back.

NOTE: It’s illegal to sell financial products through a cold call in New Zealand. If you’re contacted in this way, it’s likely to be a scam.

Another investing scam is when you're contacted by email or a message in a forum to encourage you to buy shares in a company the scammer is predicting will increase in value. They'll stress the need to act quickly or miss out and the message will seem like an inside tip. The scammer is trying to boost the price of share, so they can sell shares they already own and make a big profit. The share price will then go down dramatically, leaving you with shares that are virtually worthless.

Tips to avoid investment scams

• Politely say 'no thanks' and hang up the phone - they're likely to be persistent, so you may need to do this a few times.
• It might be tempting to engage them in conversation to try and 'trick' them or argue with them - don't do this as they may put you on a 'harass' list.
• If you're unsure whether you're talking to a scammer or a legitimate organisation, hang up and call the organisation using their official helpline number. Don't use the contact number or websites they've provided to you.
• If you're still unsure, get in touch with us on 0800 113 355.

This is a tricky one, as it's usually an invoice or request for payment that you were expecting and the invoice appears to come from the business that it’s supposed to. The only visible difference is the bank account number on the invoice that has been altered or a follow up email is sent with a request to change the account number.

Scammers may access a business’ email account, they’ll read the emails for a couple of weeks to see when large payments are due. The scammer then sends an email from the business’ email address asking the customer to pay into a different bank account as they have recently changed banks.

Tips to avoid altered invoice scams

• Call the business that sent the invoice on their official phone number. Use the number saved in your phone or on their official site (not the number listed on the invoice) to check that it is a legitimate invoice and that the bank account number on the invoice is correct.
• Always confirm if goods or services have been requested and received by others in your business or household before paying an invoice.
• Limit the number of people in your business who are authorised to make orders or pay invoices.
• Immediately cut contact with the scammers.

Digital currencies, including the well publicised Bitcoin and others such as Ethereum, have been around since 2008 and although these are popular investment options, the currencies aren't regulated in New Zealand. The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) website has a good overview of cryptocurrencies.

Cryptocurrencies and anyone trading in digtal currencies are often the target of attacks, online fraud and scams. In recent years there have been attacks on cryptocurrency exchanges, the places where currencies are stored, leading to investors losing significant sums. More recently scams are circulating on social media sites, offering unrealistic investment returns. Some of these scams claim to be endorsed by well-known New Zealanders or are run as pyramid type schemes where investors are encouraged to bring others on board the scheme.

CERT NZ have some further details about cryptocurrency security and The Spinoff show you how to spot a cryptocurrency scam.

Tips to avoid cryptocurrency scams

• Be aware of the risks.
• Know what you’re getting into when purchasing cryptocurrency.
• Do your research into the platforms you're using to purchase or trade digital currencies.
• Use extreme caution when interacting with any digital ads offering cryptocurrency investments.

Picture this, you want to get tickets to that sold-out show. You can't find tickets anywhere but you come across a site that has a limited number available to purchase. The timer is counting down, you panic and click 'buy now'.

Be wary of buying tickets through third party resellers, such as Viagogo. The Commerce Commission have received multiple complaints from buyers who have purchased through reseller sites only to find that the tickets were fraudulent and not valid for the event. That 'hottest ticket in town' may suddenly become a big flop when you get to the door and your ticket doesn't scan.

Tips to avoid ticket reseller scams

• When buying event tickets, purchase through the official ticket seller where possible.
• There are legitimate ticket resellers, but these will often be associated to the official seller.