Immigration calling for money?: ‘Hang up!’ say officials

Migrants in Auckland have been told to hang up if they are called by touts offering deals or making deportation threats over the phone.

The deals include an offer of iPhone vouchers or the threat of deportation if a fee is not paid to an account named by the caller.

Sweta Pattnaik had received such calls several times.

Her caller posed as an immigration officer, she said, and that makes the issue concerning for many people.

“Coincidentally, my work visa was about to expire when I got call in April,” she said.

Miss Pattnaik had been using her friend’s phone number and the caller seemed to know that, as he had her all details.

She said the call originated from a number similar to the contact number listed on the Immigration New Zealand website.

“I got worried, as the call seemed genuine.”

Preeti Patel, who migrated from India and is now a New Zealand citizen, had been called twice by scammers.

She said a complaint to the police was not followed up.

“We realised soon that it was a fake call. We informed our relatives to be careful.”

The police acknowledged the scam via a media statement in June and said they only become involved if a criminal act had taken place.

But Mark Hollingsworth, a consumer protection manager with Immigration New Zealand said call numbers had increased, with more than 300 reports at last count.

He said this scam had presented itself in various formats for quite some time.

The callers have identified themselves coming from a range of authorities or government departments, he said.

Previously the scammers said they were calling from Inland Revenue or New Zealand Police. Some also referred to government agencies which did not exist, said Mr Hollingsworth.

The department’s advice to people being called was to hang up and report those threatening legal action or deportation if they did not receive money.

He said it was a challenge to stop scam calls.

“Scammers try to stay one step ahead of investigating agencies, changing which organisation they say they are from, changing their phone number, and targeting different groups.”

Advice from Immigration NZ when dealing with suspicious callers:

• Keep up to date with the latest known scams and know the ‘red flags’ that can indicate a scam at Consumer Protection’s website.
• Scams change all the time and scammers target all ages and ethnicities.
• If you get an unsolicited call and the caller requests personal information, be cautious - it may be a scam.
• Banks, corporate businesses and government departments such as Immigration New Zealand and Inland Revenue never email, call or SMS customers asking for money.
• If you think you have been scammed, report it via the Scamwatch section of Consumer Protection’s website.