How a Wellington woman was scammed out of $20,000

Netsafe advises that if you think a scammer is calling to politely say "no thanks" and hang up. Picture / 123rf.

A Wellington woman says she feels sick after falling victim to a scam that's left her thousands of dollars out of pocket.

Pam, who did not wish her last name to be used, told Heather du Plessis-Allan on Newstalk ZB she received a call this week from a man posing as someone who worked for Spark.

Pam, who is 80, said he asked if her computer was running slow and she said it was.

He told Pam "there was a virus in it and he would fix it for me", she said.

"They've rung before and usually ... I know ... and for some reason I just got sucked into it."

Pam said the scammer kept her on the phone "virtually all day", but her grandson came over and told her she was being scammed.

"He rang the bank straight away but it was too late, they'd got $20,000," Pam said.

"When you get to nearly 81, that is almost impossible to make up."

This afternoon she told the Herald she also thought $10,000 had been taken from her credit card.

The scammer got Pam to tell him her passwords for different accounts like Trade Me and asked about her online shopping history to access her banking details.

Her bank has been able to recover $3500, but she has been told there's little hope to get any more back.

Pam thought that her bank - who she'd been a customer with for 55 years - should have more protections in place to prevent this sort of scam.

Netsafe has published advice about how to deal with cold calls, which will typically be unexpected and about tech support, tax refunds or an apparently late invoice.

Netsafe advises people who think a scammer is calling to:

• Politely say "no thanks" and hang up the phone.

• Do not engage in conversation or try to trick a scammer.

• Hang up and call the organisation where the person is claiming to be from if you're suspicious.