AMI Insurance says people should be wary of a telephone scam where people claiming to be from the company ask for sums of $10,000 to $25,000 to be invested at an interest rate of 13 per cent.
The callers refer to the company they are representing as "AMI" initially but when pressed said the company was "Australia Marketing Investments", "AMI Australia" or "Australian or Australasian Mutual Investments", said AMI Insurance chief executive John Balmforth.
AMI Insurance did not sell investment products and anyone receiving such an unsolicited call should hang up and notify AMI, he said.
To date 26 cases have been reported but the number of unreported cases was likely to be much larger.
"The rate of scam calling seems to have increased sharply in the last week and this gives us great concern that a concerted attack on New Zealand consumers is underway. If possible, we want to nip it in the bud," Mr Balmforth said.
Police, the Securities Commission and Ministry of Consumer Affairs have all been notified of the scam and provided with the details. The prospect of catching the offenders looks slim as the calls are sourced from outside New Zealand, he said.
- NZPA
AMI Insurance warns of investment scams
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.