Woman loses $3000 in scam

Police are reminding people to be wary of overseas money scams after a Dunedin woman lost about $3000 through a social media connection.

The 48-year-old woman befriended an American man on Facebook, and paid $US2000 ($NZ3000) online to a supposed Malaysian courier company to release a package said to be sent by the man.

The man told the woman the package contained $US300,000.

The victim realised something was amiss when she received another email, supposedly from the courier company, saying it needed more money to release the parcel.

She then reported the incident to Dunedin police.

Acting Sergeant Rene Aarsen said people needed to be vigilant when dealing with overseas money transactions and needed to seek advice from their bank.

If something seemed too good to be true, it probably was, he said.

He commended the woman for reporting the incident.

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