Elderly, immigrants and businesses targeted

In recent times there has been a bit of discussion in relation to different scams that are being run via telephone calls to potential victims.

So I thought it may be time to write about it again.

We haven’t had any reports made to us in Franklin however I remind you just to be careful if you receive phone calls from people purporting to be someone they are not.

One of the more recent scams is one where a person receives a call from someone pretending to be an administrator for a company, immigration and or the IRD.

The targets being the elderly, recent immigrants and business.

During the phone call pressure is applied to the person by using some form of leverage such as a family member or unpaid fines in order to have the person walk to a store and purchase some form of gift card as payment.

While they are on the phone the gift cards are used.

If you receive phone calls or letters demanding payment in unusual ways it is unlikely to be legitimate.

With the phone call, hang up and call back through a number provided online on the organisation’s website or phonebook.

It is possible that the scammers can call through what appears to be a legitimate phone number, but it has been rerouted through another country such as India or Malaysia.

Be wary of any unknown person who calls and asks for money. Never give credit card details over the phone and call police if you’re suspicious of someone who has called or visited you. Anyone who has been a victim of this scam or is contacted by a scammer should contact Police.

Recently also we had a report where an elderly lady was walking home carrying some groceries and was approached in the street. She was offered a ride home. The female passenger put quite a lot of pressure on her playing on her age and the heavy groceries.

The lady was clever though and declined the lift because it didn’t feel right to her and kept walking.

Someone who knew her witnessed the exchange and stopped and took her home. A good result and a great lesson for us.

If it doesn’t feel right then keep walking and if pressure is applied then walk to the nearest store and seek help.