Hundreds of complaints about new scams
19 November 2020
Te Tari Taiwhenua Department of Internal Affairs has received hundreds of complaints over the last 24 hours about large-scale phishing scams the public should be aware of.
The scams involve people being sent a text message with a link to a website that can be used to gain the recipient’s financial information. Engaging with these messages results in significant financial loss. If you are a victim of these scams, please contact your bank and lodge a complaint with the Police.
One of the most common scams will see the sender attempt to gain the recipient’s trust by impersonating United Parcel Service (UPS).
The recipient is sent a message notifying them that UPS attempted to deliver a parcel however due to unpaid ‘customs charges’ the package was unable to be delivered. The recipient will be directed to click a link and follow the directions outlined on the webpage.
The webpage will prompt the recipient to confirm redelivery of the parcel and advise them a $2-$3 fee that needs to be paid. The recipient will instead be directed to a ‘special offer’ page in the same styling as amazon.com, offering the latest smartphone at a heavily discounted price and prompting the recipient to provide personal and financial information.
If the recipient provides their details, the scammer will use their credentials to log in and steal money from the target’s account, or on-sell the credentials to others. Similar text scams have been sent impersonating the Lotto.
If you receive a text you were not expecting or a text message from an unknown sender, do not click any hyperlinks included in the message. Simply report the text spam for free on your phone by forwarding the spam text message to 7726.
ends
Media Desk
Te Tari Taiwhenua Department of Internal Affairs
Mobile: +64 27 535 8639 | email: media@dia.govt.nz
How to report a spam message
Email Spam: If the email has no attachments then you can complete a short online form on our website. If the email has attachments or may be malicious you can simply forward it us.
Text Spam: You can report text spam for free on your phone by forwarding the spam text message to 7726. The Department will contact you with details on how to complete a report.
Help and Guidance
Department of Internal Affairs: If you want more information about what to do if you receive spam please check out our factsheet. For more information about how to avoid being exposed to spam and online scams you can visit our webpage here.
Netsafe: If you want more information about harassment and abuse under the Harmful Digital Communications Act and all types of scams you can visit https://www.netsafe.org.nz/
Consumer Protection: For more information about how to minimize the impact of spam and scams visit Consumer Protection on www.consumerprotection.govt.nz
