Scam alert!

From parcel delivery and online shopping scams to fake holiday accommodation listings and bogus investment schemes, as we roll into 2023 you can rest assured that cyber scammers the world over will be concocting ingenious new ways to part us from our hard-earned cash and personal information.

Once the domain of Nigerian swindlers and romance racketeers, the online world is now a jostling marketplace for all manner of fraudsters, and as their ruses becoming increasingly complex and sophisticated, so too does the need to sharpen our defences.

“Absolutely anybody at the right time, in the right place and under the right stress conditions can be vulnerable to a scam,” says Netsafe chief online safety officer Sean Lyons. “There are so many varieties of scams, and despite the best efforts of numerous agencies and organisations, cyber fraud is on the rise. There’s a scam to fit everybody.”

Look out for scam calls via your mobile as well as online.

Netsafe’s annual report released late last year makes for grim reading. The 2021/2022 financial year broke records with just over 15,000 scam reports and more than $35 million lost.

“And that’s just what was reported to us – scams are also reported to CERT NZ, banks, Police and other Government agencies.”

Mind you, that timeframe included one of the biggest scams New Zealand has ever seen. The global Flubot parcel delivery text scam reared its ugly head in August 2021 and we’re still seeing its tail.

“We’ve thought for years that many of these scams were not devised by individuals but rather organised crime rings, with huge call centres and hundreds of people working around the clock in shifts. They’re big business.”

And they’re rapidly evolving. 

“Take romance scams for example. A few years ago, we’d be talking about meeting someone online, getting into a relationship, and then at some point a ‘disaster’ occurs and the scammer would ask for money. More commonly now, they’re using romance to build trust to get people onboard with investment scams. Like ‘hey, we’ve been in a relationship for nine months, let’s buy some cryptocurrency together’.”

Sean says trust is the common thread that runs through all scams, whether they’re from a supposed romantic flame, a telco company, major bank, or even someone pretending to be one of your kids.“Trust is what scammers play on and try to exploit. They rely on us not doing the checks we should because we trust them.”

So how do we keep ourselves safe? Listening to our intuition is a great place to start.

“First, stop and breathe. Scammers will apply pressure for you to make a decision or do a deal. Often that’s when alarm bells should ring. Taking the time to say ‘it doesn’t feel right, I need to do some due diligence’ is the only real defence mechanism we have from being suckered in. Talk it through with someone you trust or find a way to verify the information yourself by contacting the company independently. Can’t get the answers you need? That’s a massive red flag.”

Staying in online spaces you’re familiar with and where you're protected is also vital – if you started communicating with someone on Trade Me, don’t let them shift you onto a different platform or payment method.

“Often scammers try and move you out of places that give you protection and onto less traceable platforms. They might say something like ‘the banks in my country are terrible, please wire the money instead’. If you’re being shifted, ask yourself why.” 

Asking to be paid for goods with gift cards is another alarm bell. “If you’re buying a car and they want you to pay in iTunes vouchers obviously that would put you on high alert, but it can be on a much smaller scale that actually seems quite reasonable.”

For those of us who aren’t digital natives it can be scary – but there’s plenty of support on hand from organisations like Netsafe, and we’d be crazy not to take advantage of it.

“Sometimes there can be shame associated with falling for scams, but there shouldn’t be – they can happen to anyone. Before you hit the pay button, remember we have a contact centre full of people that are here to help, not judge.”

At the end of the day though it comes down to trusting your gut. Adds Sean, “If it doesn’t feel right, it’s probably not.” 

Safety tips

• Use unique, long passwords and change these regularly.
• Never give your passwords or PIN to anyone.
• If in doubt, check with your bank before giving personal details or making a payment. 

Read more from AA Directions magazine while you're here: 

• Read this issue's main feature: Lessons from the past
• Find out why you should join a cycling tour through Central Otago
• See what's being done about the terrible state of New Zealand's roads