Bay loses $70k in one year to online scams and fraud

Netsafe chief technology officer Sean Lyons encourages people to share their experience of scammers. Photo / Supplied

I remember checking my email one day and feeling that low thud in my stomach: Panic.

There was one message that stood out; Your payment to PayPal.

"What payment? When?!" I shouted at my screen.

Heart thumping, I opened the message and read the first line.

Apparently I had made a payment of $120 on some mysterious item to PayPalg.

"....PayPalg?" I thought. My heart stopped racing. I calmed down.

Clearly the excitement got to the scammers, who managed to get the correct spelling in the subject line, but forgot to use the spell check tool in the body of the email.

Of course I'm not the only target of these grammatically impaired fraudsters. A number of Hawke's Bay residents say they've also been the target of alleged scammers.

Hastings resident Sarah Taylor said she received a call from a person claiming they were from Spark.

"I wasn't with Spark and he said 'oh I mean Vodafone'- still wrong," she said.

Napier resident Leanne Cotter-Arlidge said she had been receiving phone calls from scammers for years.

"It's a competition for my teenage son to string them along for as long as he can. We just hand the phone to him," she said.

Hastings resident Denise Middleton has also been contacted by scammers. Photo / Supplied

Hastings resident Denise Middleton said she had received a number of calls from people also claiming they were from Spark.

"I get phone calls from those that used to call themselves 'Microsoft', now calling themselves 'Spark Technical Dept'. It's so annoying," she said.

Many residents are switched on when receiving calls or fraudulent emails, but others don't escape so easily.

Netsafe said that Hawke's Bay lost $70,474 in 2017, due to online scams and fraud.

Chief technology officer Sean Lyons said both phone and internet scamming is becoming more of a regular occurrence and people need to share their experiences.

"If people share their experiences, then it helps the person who has fallen victim to this sort of thing, and it can happen to anyone young or old.

"It's good to remind people that they're not on their own and they're not stupid. Many people can fall for these scams and it reaffirms for us all that anyone of any age, no matter where they're from.

"Even the most aware and the most 'on guard' people can and will fall for these things."

Like many businesses, Lyons says that scammers are forever adapting and changing their methods.

"If you're curious or suspect – especially if email comes in and you weren't expecting it - it's on you at that point.

"If you get some sort of question or offer and it doesn't feel right, then get in touch, talk to someone that you trust, share it or talk to someone with experience.

"Even better, get in touch with the company itself, even if you have a hint of doubt about the messages or calls you've been getting."