Cops hot on winter fraudsters

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Police are warning sneaky tourists heading to Queenstown during the ski season not to try insurance fraud.

A week ago a Sydney student was arrested at Queenstown Airport as she tried to board her flight home. She had a laptop that she'd reported as having been stolen. The 28-year-old was charged and fined $500.

Police say that was the tip of the iceberg. "It happens more often than you'd think during the peak seasons," says Sergeant Kate Pivorano.

Most fraudsters would turn up at the central Queenstown police station to claim their skis, snowboard, camera or laptop had been taken.

"People think they'll go home, make a claim and pay for their holiday," Pivorano said.

She said some would simply walk away from the station once they'd been advised they have to tell the truth and that there are serious consequences for not doing so. "We never see them again."

Then there are those who take police to where the supposed theft happened, only for police to discover the item there. "Amazingly that happens quite a lot."

She said she even once had a backpacker report the theft of a camera only for police to find it in the rucksack he was carrying.

"The airport acts as a choker. They're pretty transparent places and we work closely with other stations around the area but it's a waste of our time and resources."

Last winter six people were charged with making a false statement in Queenstown.

This season two people have been charged while one complaint is unresolved.