Woman’s $8000 scam nightmare
A Wellington woman has revealed details of another ‘‘nightmare’’ phone scam, in which she was told her husband would be deported if she didn’t pay $8000 in cash.
Aruna Gupta, from the northern suburb of Johnsonville, was called by someone alleging they were from Inland Revenue Department (IRD), who said her husband Pawan was in jail because a form hadn’t been filled out correctly.
If she withdrew $8000 from a nearby cash machine, the couple – who have been New Zealand residents for 15 years – would be allowed to stay, she was told.
But she didn’t drive, so the caller organised a taxi for her. Just moments before she got in, her husband called by chance, and it was clear he was simply at work.
‘‘I thought, ‘Oh my God, what is happening?’ It was so frightening, it was a nightmare.’’
The incident happened more than a year ago but she has decided to speak out about it after reading fellow Wellingtonian Jagdish Prasad’s admission of being the target of both a scam and harassment from the same people.
‘‘The caller was very aggressive, he kept asking questions. He knew my name straight from the beginning,’’ she said.
Despite her pleas to speak to her husband, the caller repeatedly told her to get her passport and credit card ready for the taxi’s arrival.
‘‘He told me I wasn’t allowed to leave my house, or open my door for anyone, until the taxi turned up.
‘‘My mind was not working, I just did they what they said. I told them my address, I was scared, they kept pressuring me. And then five minutes later, a taxi arrived. It was a [Wellington] Combined.’’
She said she reported the incident to police. Police, however, said they did not have any record of a complaint being made.
Wellington Combined Taxis was approached for comment.
Netsafe, an independent organisation focused on online safety, received more than 7000 reports of scams in 2016. While it does not know how many people scammers targeted, it said more than $11.7 million of scam losses were reported in the past year.
‘‘Different scams target different groups. For example, scammers will often use immigration scams to target groups who they believe may be immigrants.
‘‘It’s important to be aware of common scams and to educate others. It’s still important to report scams to Netsafe, or the police, so we’re able to track scam trends and provide support and education.’’