A Dunedin police officer is warning of a telephone scam involving callers claiming to work for Spark NZ.
Police say the scammers are making cold calls saying they work for the telecommunication company, and then requesting people's bank account details.
Recent phone calls have originated from Australia (0061) and the United Kingdom (0044).
Dunedin Senior Sergeant Graeme Evans said anyone suspecting a scam call should not engage with anyone over the phone, and hang up immediately.
Police had been advised of an increase in scammers pretending to be from well-known companies such as Spark, other telecommunication companies or banks to trick or intimidate people into handing over personal information, or allowing access to their personal computers.
A Spark spokesperson said the company would never call customers out of the blue to ask for bank account, credit cards or internet banking details, or to request access to personal computers or laptops.
Anyone who believes they are a victim of a scam should immediately report it to their bank, and then to their local police.
- Spark can be advised by emailing scamhelp@spark.co.nz .
- Further information about scams can be found at https://www.spark.co.nz/scamalerts
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Nothing new here - unless Dunedin is a decade behind. These Indians ring me once a week at dinner time & have done so for the last decade. Its fun to play along with them. Tell them you work for Spark yourself and theres no such thing as "an internet dept". That shocks them. They will then ask who your boss is at Spark. Currently it is Simon Moutter (until July). Say "Simon" and ask THEM what his surname is. I keep his name by my phone. Tell them you know Simon well, in fact had lunch with him today. If they don't go, then say "you're working on a police computer at the mo. Can they help you fix it". At this stage they hang up on you. They are great fun and give me great entertainment.
BTW when answering the phone- always say "Hello" and never give your name. If someones ask who you are say "YOU called, who do YOU want to speak to?"
If someone asks your name and then sells a product say "well actually he's not here, I was answering on his behalf".
My mate up north pretends they are fixing his computer - then he says "OMG what have you done to my screen, I now have nude women on the screen taking off their Sarees!" They apologise.