Phone scammer targets residents, police staff

A police officer and police support staff are among the Alexandra residents contacted by a suspected phone scammer in recent weeks.

Central Otago police intelligence analyst, Senior Constable Liz Williams, of Alexandra, warned people against giving bank account or other personal details over the phone, in the wake of several complaints from members of the public about scam phone calls.

The calls were generally from a person with a distinctive Indian accent, who claimed to be from a holiday firm in Australia.

The man said the recipient of the call had won something and asked for bank account details so they could receive their "prize".

"When turned down, in two cases the male has phoned back again, and one recipient described him as `quite stroppy', when told `no thanks'," Snr Const Williams said.

Some of the calls had been traced to an overseas number.

There were several charges people could face for misusing a phone.

The best course of action was for the person being phoned to refuse to give any personal details and hang up if the caller was persistent, she said.

lynda.van.kempen@odt.co.nz