Scams
Taking care can help you avoid scams. If you think you’ve been scammed, report it straight away.
Common scams
There are lots of ways people try to scam you out of your money. The scams might be online — through email, the internet and social media — or the scammers might come to your door or contact you by mail, phone or text.
What to do if you’ve been scammed
If you think or know that you’ve been scammed, report it to your bank and to NetSafe’s website.
Freephone: 0508 638 723 (NZ only)
NetSafe will get back to you with advice and may also pass your report to another agency, such as the police or Consumer Protection.
You can report a cyber security issue through CERT NZ.
Protect yourself from scams
Putting a few security measures in place can help to protect you from scammers.
On your phone and computer:
- use different, hard to guess passwords, such as a mix of numbers, letters, upper and lower case
- put a PIN on your phone
- do not reply to unsolicited emails or texts, or click on links in them
- use security software on your computer and keep it up to date
- do not open spam emails — report them to complaint@spam.govt.nz and then delete them
- hang up on cold callers offering investment opportunities.
You can check that people and businesses offering financial services are registered and have the correct licences.
Financial Service Providers Register
Find out about current scams
You can help protect yourself by finding out about current scams.
Follow scam alerts on Facebook
Consumer Protection scam alerts
Who to contact for more help
If you need more help or have questions about the information or services on this page, contact one of the following agencies.
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Ministry of Justice
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Consumer Protection
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New Zealand Police
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Financial Markets Authority
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Utility links and page information
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