Kiwis urged to be vigilant online

Raising awareness of online scams is the key focus for this year’s Fraud Awareness Week, Consumer Affairs Minister Craig Foss says.

“Online scams are increasingly sophisticated and can fool even the most tech-savvy among us,” Mr Foss says. 

“At any one time there are thousands of fraudsters online looking for victims using dating scams, fake job adverts, cloned Facebook profiles and bogus online trading sites.

“We all need to be extra vigilant when using the internet.  Do not give out personal information or send money to anyone you know solely online, no matter how genuine or persistent they seem.”

Last year New Zealanders lost over $4.8 million to scams. The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s (MBIE) Scamwatch website shows the majority of reported scams occur online, with losses growing year on year.

A cross-agency consumer fraud working group established in 2012 by MBIE, the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) and NetSafe continues to raise awareness and provide coordinated responses to new and evolving scams. The group also runs a joint Facebook page with real time scam alerts.

Fraud Awareness Week, 2-6 June, is run by MBIE in partnership with NetSafe, the Commerce Commission, DIA and the New Zealand Police. 

For more information visit  www.scamwatch.co.nz or www.facebook.com/fraudinfo