Clutha residents were urged to think twice before trusting unexpected phone calls and online messages at an Age Concern Otago Scam & Scones awareness seminar in Balclutha on Monday.

Presented by local ANZ Balclutha staff Susan Dent and Natalie Patterson at Age Concern’s Clyde St office, the event outlined common frauds, ways to protect personal information and where to seek help if something goes wrong.

The session opened with the announcement New Zealanders lost almost $200 million to scammers last year, and Mrs Dent said her local branch dealt with customers affected by scam attempts “every week”, with staff helping one or two victims most weeks.

She said the most common scams began with a phone call from someone claiming to represent a bank or other trusted and high-profile organisation.

Scammers typically tried to persuade people to reveal passwords or banking details, download software or apps, or log into internet banking, often guiding the victim in real time through the process.

Once access was gained, money could be transferred from accounts, sometimes amounting to thousands of dollars.

Mrs Patterson said many people recognised something was wrong before it was too late and contacted the bank promptly, but others were not as fortunate.

“It’s so disheartening … you worked and saved so hard to have that money in your bank account and a lot of the time there is no getting it back.”

The seminar aimed to give older residents practical advice on recognising scams, protecting themselves from fraud and acting quickly if they believed their accounts or personal information had been compromised.

The women said the simplest response to a suspicious caller was also the safest.

‘‘You don’t have to continue any conversation, Mrs Patterson said.

 “Just hang up and ring your bank yourself, straight away. There’s always an 0800 number.”