Couple lose $15k in scam
A scam artist, claiming to be from Spark, has left a Taupo¯ couple $15,000 out of pocket.
Lois, speaking on behalf of the couple, said it all started two weeks ago when an apparent Spark representative called to tell her their data usage had ‘skyrocketed with a lot of illegal activity’.
The ‘rep’ claimed the illegal activity was happening in Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Poland – along with other areas.
‘‘He showed me ‘evidence’. Pages and pages of illegal activity,’’ Lois said.
‘‘He said they have a team of cyber crime detectives working on this all the time and they could help if we wanted them to.’’
Lois, who didn’t want her surname used because she was embarrassed they’d fallen for the scam, said the man claiming to be a detective then spoke to them and asked all the right questions like: who had she loaned her computer to? Who played games on the computer and does she do online shopping?
‘‘They were very convincing questions I felt.’’
In the process of this, Lois gave the detective remote access to her computer where he went on to download various programmes including Skype.
The detective then said the government gives them money to fight cyber crime and that they would put $15,000 into Lois’ account to withdraw and send away to pay for the illegal activity.
‘‘They said to look at my account and we will see $15,000 go in. I had a look and saw the $15,000.’’
But what Lois didn’t realise at the time was that money had been taken from all her accounts to make up the $15,000.
She was then told to go withdraw the $15,000, take it to Kiwibank and send it to Poland where they have set up a sting. ‘‘Like a fool, I did just that.’’
The next day, Lois’ husband rung ANZ head office where he was told they had been caught in a scam.
Senior Sergeant for the Taupo¯ area, Phil Edwards, confirmed Lois had reported the scam.
In August, New Zealand Police warned people to be wary of a scammer purporting to be from Spark who was seeking access to victims’ computers and bank accounts.
‘‘We’ve been made aware of a recent incident where a person received a call from someone claiming to be from Spark, saying their computer had been accessed illegally or used for criminal purposes,’’ Detective Sergeant Damian Rapira-Davies, NZ Police Cybercrime Unit, said at the time.
The caller then said they were transferring the person to Organised and Financial Crime Agency (OFCANZ).
The ‘‘OFCANZ employee’’ then gave the person instructions on how to allow them access to their computer and sought access to the person’s bank accounts.
This is a variation on previous scams seen by Police, where the scammers claim to be from a widely recognised organisation in order to gain the victim’s trust, Detective Sergeant Rapira-Davies says.
Now, Lois and her husband are wanting to warn others, especially with Christmas just around the corner.