Spark reviewing security after man using fake passport sold faulty phones

A man bought phones using a fake foreign passport, then sold them, and they don't work.

Spark is reviewing its security after a man bought expensive phones using a fake foreign passport.

The handsets, which can no longer be used, were then sold to unsuspecting victims on the internet.

The incident has led to warnings about the use of online market places.

“You don't have protection by the Consumers Guarantee Act. That means if something goes wrong with the purchase you're not protected by consumer law,” Jessica Wilson of Consumer New Zealand told 1 NEWS.

One woman, who doesn't want to be identified, bought an iPhone XS max off Facebook last month.

She met the man and checked the phone was working before she handed over $1000, but later, when she tried to make a call, she ran into difficulties.

The phone had been blacklisted by Spark after it had been bought on a payment plan, by a person using a fake passport who then disappeared and avoided paying the monthly fees.

Spark says it was a highly sophisticated scheme and a number of devices were purchased across its stores last month.

However, it says it can't unlock the phone as it's now been identified as stolen.

Police are investigating but say it's not easy catching the criminals.

“The whole cyber world is a very complex world and investigating is very complex. But however we do when we can identify someone, we will run an investigation and we will prosecute when we can,” Senior Sergeant Richard Wilson told 1 NEWS.

Consumer New Zealand says as online purchases become more popular, schemes like this are on the rise.

“We're getting an increasing number of complaints about people unfortunately losing money because they've bought from someone in good faith, but it turns out that person wasn't kosher,” Ms Wilson of Consumer NZ said.

“It's not just phones, it's right across and social media platforms do carry risk, so we would say to use reputable platforms and retailers to purchase online,” Senior Sergeant Wilson said.

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