New Zealanders are being robbed of millions every year warns financial ombudsman service Financial Services Complaints.
Convincing scams involving fake apps, professional-looking websites and persuasive communication are fooling unsuspecting people every every year.
In a statement, Financial Services Complaints chief executive and financial ombudsman Susan Taylor said scammers used sophisticated methods to recreate legitimate tools such as websites.
A recent complaint involved a retiree falling victim to a company falsely claiming to offer cryptocurrency trading services, resulting in a loss of almost $250,000.
The victim, thinking he was signing up to an online platform for trading cryptocurrency, was scammed into transferring funds from his bank account to a money transfer service.
The scam likely involved scammers installing a remote access app on the his phone, under the guise of sharing investment information.
The app allowed access to the victim’s device to initiate transfers of funds and reply to their emails confirming payments.
When the victim thought he was confirming regulatory declarations, he was actually authorising transfers to a financial service provider in the Middle East.
If scammers gain access to notifications, messages and other information on a person's device, they can access their credentials and two-factor authentication codes.
Ms Taylor advised checking out people or businesses before transferring money, never being rushed into payments and being very cautious about downloading anything or allowing remote access. — Allied Media
