Government warns the public of scamming risk over holidays

The DIA received hundreds of complaints about large-scale phishing scams. Photo / Supplied

Scammers are back on the prowl, the Government has warned, with online shoppers being targeted heading into the summer break.

The Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) has received hundreds of complaints about large-scale phishing scams, involving messages about accessing financial information.

Members of the public have received text messages with a link to a website that is used to gain the recipient’s financial information.

One common method of scamming, according to the DIA, has been through senders attempting to entice the recipient to click on a link to confirm their “stuck delivery”.

Members of the public have received text messages with a link to a website that is used to gain the recipient’s financial information. Photo / DIA

In this method, they’re then directed to a payment order form and charged $2-$3 to proceed further.

If the user enters their details, the scammers use their credentials to log in and steal money from the target’s account, or on-sell the credentials to others.

Engaging in such messages has led people to “significant” financial loss.

The DIA has told the public to contact their bank if they’ve been a victim of these scams, as well as to lodge a complaint with the police.

“Keep yourself and whānau safe online over the holidays,” a statement from the DIA read.

“If you receive a text you were not expecting or a text message from an unknown sender, do not click any hyperlinks included in the message.”

The public has instead been told to report the text spam for free on their phones, by forwarding their message to 7726.