Kiwi loses near $30k in con
Retired teacher eager to share story as warning to others
Kiwis are being urged to be more vigilant after an Auckland man was conned out of nearly $30,000 in an elaborate international phone scam. Spark customer John Calkin, a retired teacher, fell victim to the sophisticated scam and is sharing his story as a warning to others.
Calkin says he regularly shuts down attempted scammers — which he says are usually easily recognised — but this one was very different.
“This was such a sophisticated scam compared to any of the others I had encountered.”
Calkin says the phoney caller, “Eric from the Spark technical team”, knew information about him, including where he lived, and that he had previously had Ultra Fibre installed in December. The man even gave Calkin his phone number and technician registration number as proof of authenticity.
“I was quite sure he was from Spark,” Calkin said.
“It was enough to make me start to lower my guard. He knew so much about me, and where I lived”.
The scammer told Calkin that there was a problem with his modem’s internet connection and that he needed to run some tests on his broadband speed.
After doing so, the scammer warned Calkin of some irregularities.
“There appears to be some kind of security weakness in your internet connection,” Calkin said the technician told him.
Calkin says he was told he must secure his finances and was asked to go to the web address TeamViewer13.
While TeamViewer13 is a legitimate site used by businesses for remote support purposes, Netsafe chief executive Martin Cocker warned it was also popular with scammers.
“[TeamViewer is] a remote access platform designed to enable a technician or person in another location to control your computer,” Cocker said. “Once [ scammers have] connected to your computer using that site they essentially have full access to your computer as if they were sitting at it.”
It was from here that the scammer used the TeamViewer website to gain control of Calkin’s computer, eventually leading to the theft of three sums of money — $9850, $9970 and $9988 — from his bank account.
Two withdrawals were taken from the same investment where Calkin had put money aside for a new car.
When Calkin contacted Spark and explained what happened, he was told it was part of a sophisticated international scam.
Of the ordeal, Calkin said, “I’m quite embarrassed about it. I feel I was significantly conned and I’ve let my family down and I feel a certain element of shame.”
Calkin wanted to warn Kiwis to ask, and check the caller’s details.
“Say to the person . . . before I proceed, can you give me the number for your head office. If they won’t give you a number then don’t proceed, and if they do give you a number, hang up and ring it.”
Luckily for Calkin, after contacting his bank he was able to recover close to $20,000. Unfortunately he will not likely see the rest of the money as he was told it had gone overseas and was out of the bank’s jurisdiction.
Scams, via email or phone, are a continuing problem for New Zealanders. Last year Kiwis lost $10 million in online scams alone.
Asked how Kiwis can guard against falling victim to a scam, Cocker said: “Be sceptical about every approach that’s made to you, whether it’s online or via the telephone and not follow the process that [scammers] step you through.
“A legitimate business doesn’t need to do that, a legitimate business can say ‘ that’s fine you can hang up and call us back.”’
Lydia Tebbutt, communications adviser for Spark New Zealand, noted that fraudsters often monitor corporate activity, so it can be difficult for customers to tell the difference between what’s genuine and fake.
For Spark customers, Tebbutt says: “The [key] thing to remember is Spark will never call customers out of the blue to ask for personal details like bank account, credit card, or internet banking details or to request access to a personal computer or laptop.
“If you receive an unexpected call from someone claiming to be from Spark who asks for something of this nature, end the call immediately.”