Scam phone calls

[Karen Phillips]

Not sure how many people have see this news posted by Immigration New Zealand on their website in the last 24 hours. Be careful!

Scam phone calls claiming to be from Immigration New Zealand
Wednesday, 30 October 2013 We have become aware that some people in New Zealand have been phoned from callers who fraudulently claim to be calling from Immigration New Zealand.
These callers tell the person that there has been a problem with their visa or arrival card information and demand that they pay money into a Western Union account or face serious consequences, such as deportation. These calls are not from Immigration New Zealand.



These calls seem to be targeting people from India. Often the caller has some details of the person they are speaking to, such as the name, date of birth and/or address. They may also quote reference numbers, although these do not appear to match Immigration New Zealand client or application numbers.



If you receive one of these calls, do not pay the money the caller has demanded. We advise you to contact the New Zealand Police to report the call.

[JandM]

Thanks for posting this, Karen.

What a low and horrible trick.

[khaled]

Thanks Karen for sharing.

[iluvmykiwi]

Scary stuff! Thanks for posting!

[jacquitan18]

thanks for posting. this is an eye opener for everyone

[Otaku]

Fun time...just had such a call. The number displayed on my mobile was 09 9144100 (INZ Auckland Helpline). The caller knew my last name and city of residence (Auckland). The caller identified himself as 'Ryan Johnson' and sounded like a teenager. He wanted to know when was the last time I had traveled to India. I trolled him by asking to confirm his details such as direct deskphone number and email address. He got agitated and started spewing some gibberish about 'not allowed' to divulge asked information. But without prior knowledge of this scam, it would have been pretty convincing. Be aware!

[JandM]

Great that Karen posted the warning! Did you tell the police?

[Otaku]

No. Does it help? I found it amusing, to be honest.

[JandM]

From your phone records, they might get a further lead to help them catch whoever's doing it. The next call might go to somebody who falls for the scam because they haven't heard about it.

[Otaku]

Reported it. Police station asked me to report it to ScamWatch.