Immigration New Zealand website scam - customers urged to take care

Border control at Auckland International Airport. Photo / Doug Sherring

A scam website has popped up and looks identical to the official Immigration New Zealand website.

Immigration New Zealand (INZ) has urged customers to take special care that they are using the correct site since they were made aware of the scam.

The website that has a slight change in the domain name appears to be the same website as the official one.

Customers are directed to the fake website and asked to enter personal details that is part of a phishing scam.

The real website has the following link - www.immigration.govt.nz - whereas the scam website replaces a full stop with a dash and is www.immigration-govt.nz.

The phishing scam can trick people into handing over personal details including passport details.

INZ said in a statement it was investigating steps it can take to have the site removed.

Meanwhile, INZ has also been notified of an increase in scam phone calls to mainly Indian nationals living in New Zealand.

These callers tell the person that there has been a problem with their visa or arrival card information and demand that they pay money into a Western Union account or face serious consequences, such as deportation.

Calls have been made using numbers showing as the Immigration Contact Centre (09 914 4100) but with a slight number variation.

INZ says it never calls to ask for money over the phone.