Facebook’s te reo scam
A student says she was ‘‘freaked out’’ when international fraudsters chatted to her online in te reo Ma¯ori before trying to scam her out of thousands of dollars.
Paretao Tipoki-Hansen received a private message from someone who had replicated her aunt’s Facebook page. They private-messaged TipokiHansen, 19, claiming to tell her about a foundation which helped the elderly, disabled and unemployed.
Tipoki-Hansen had always spoken te reo with her aunt, and so she engaged with the fraudsters in her indigenous language.
She realised it was a scam when they told her she was eligible to apply for $150 million from the foundation and directed her to call a Los Angelesbased telephone number for more details.
‘‘This freaked me out that they were using our language in this way,’’ the Otago University student said. ‘‘I felt vulnerable because it was a violation of our culture.’’
She immediately warned her aunt that her Facebook page and been replicated and someone was trying to extort money from her family and friends.
In hindsight, she says the Ma¯ori used by the scammers was ‘‘average’’ and suspects they were using a translation program, like Google Translate, to keep up with the conversation.
Martin Cocker, CEO of online safety organisation Netsafe, said the use of modern technology, such as online translation software, shows the fraudsters’ commitment to build trust.
‘‘For systems to be improved so people can communicate with each other is a huge positive. But it also enables scammers to use that same technology to their advantage and that’s a negative.’’
Cocker said Ma¯ori elders who use the internet were vulnerable because they are more likely to let their guard down if they are communicating with someone who they think can speak their language. Ngahiwi Apanui, chief executive of the Ma¯ori Language Commission, said that just like the Ma¯ori language, the elders, or kauma¯tua, needed protection.
‘‘The best advice is to rely on wha¯nau before responding to anyone asking for your information or for money.’’
In the meantime, Apanui has a couple of terse responses to scammers using te reo.
‘‘Upokoko¯hua’’ means ‘‘You are a mongrel’’ and ‘‘Rapua he mahi pono’’ means ‘‘Find an honest job’’.