Police have shared a recording of an overseas scammer being caught out after calling a police station in New Zealand, in an effort to highlight the dangers of scam phone calls.
The video was posted to remind people to be careful as police mark Fraud Awareness Week.
The phone call came in to a police station here some years ago, and appeared to be from a scammer trying to gain access to people's computers.
In the call, the scammer tries to get the cop to go to a website where they can allow outside access into a computer, but the officer wasn't having a bar of it.
After humouring the scammer for the while, the cop called him out.
"Is this a scam, is this a hoax phone call?" the officer asks.
"If it would be a scam or a hacking call, we wouldn't have called you, we would have directly taken access to your computer, hacked you computer, and would've done anything with your computer, it would really be a scam or something like that," they replied.
The scammer gives assurances to the cop it's not a scam, and asks them why they think it's a scam.
"Do you know you've rung the New Zealand Police?" the cop asks.
The scammer dejectedly answers, "yeah..." before abusing the cop and hanging up.
Police said millions of dollars are lost to scammers each year during phone calls like that one.
"Many people who have been scammed, are too proud to make a complaint, as they may feel embarrassed or silly that they got sucked-in.
"And due to people's pride, a significant number of these scams are grossly under-reported so there's no real way of knowing.
"It's believed millions are lost each year and never reported."
Police encourage anyone who thinks they have been the victim of a fraud of scam to call police and report it on 105.
POLICE TIPS FOR RECOGNISING AND AVOIDING SCAMS
A genuine bank or organisation will never contact you to ask for your PIN, password or to move money to another account.
Never click on a link in an unexpected email or text – you could be giving access to your personal and financial details.
Always question uninvited approaches in case it is a scam. Instead, contact the company directly using a known email or phone number.
Don’t assume an email or phone call is authentic – just because someone knows your basic details (name and address, or mother’s maiden name) it doesn’t mean they are genuine.
Don’t be rushed into making a decision or financial transaction on the spot – a genuine bank or trusted organisation would never do this.
Listen to your instincts – if something feels wrong then it generally is.
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