Scam victims aged over 55 lose most

WELLINGTON: New government figures show threequarters of the amount lost by people to scammers in the last three months, was lost by people aged 55 and older.

The National Computer Emergency Response Team (Cert) released its quarterly report yesterday breaking down incidents it has received relating to scams and online fraud.

Based on reports where people had identified their age, $256,000 out of $340,000 was lost by people aged over 55.

The total amount lost by individual victims was $699,000.

‘‘The losses for those aged 55 and over represents 75% of the value of direct losses reported by individuals. This is consistent with the trend seen in quarter one of 2018,’’ the report said.

From April to June the department received 736 reports — 45% more than the previous quarter.

But while the number of reports had risen, the total amount being lost had dropped.

The amount lost by businesses and individuals was $2.2 million — down from $2.9 million at the start of the year.

Phishing — where a scammer tries to persuade the victim to digitally give them personal information, usually under the rouse of being a reputable organisation — accounted for 455 of the reports.

‘‘We continue to see phishing emails pretending to be Office 365 documents and emails offering fake tax refunds.’’

The report showed most victims lost less than $500.

Four victims lost $100,000 or more, making up 77% of the total amount.

Total financial losses spiked in the last three months of 2017 at $3.4 million and have been declining since. — RNZ