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A Porirua woman gave $10,000 to a Nigerian scammer after she met him on an online dating site, say police.
Wellington police metro crime unit's Detective Senior Sergeant Darrin Thomson said Nigerian scammers were targeting online dating agencies to extort money from people.
The Porirua woman lost $10,000 to a scammer who told her that he was a widower, and employed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation in Lagos.
In one scam he emailed her a business letter showing US$200,000 ($290,740) he had deposited in a United States bank account.
He told the woman he needed a British bank account in order to release his money in the US.
The woman paid $3000 to open an account in London, transferring the funds to Nigeria, said Mr Thomson.
She was then told that the man's daughter was ill and he urgently needed money to pay for medical fees.
She then transferred more money to Nigeria.
Mr Thomson said police believe the same scammer was responsible for extorting almost $70,000 from an Auckland woman - using a similar story.
He said New Zealanders, especially those using online dating sites, should be "very, very wary" about sending money to Nigeria and disclosing personal bank details.
"They identify lonely, vulnerable people and then request money from them with false promises of marriage, or the release of vast sums of money at a later date," he said.
Australian figures show Nigerian scammers defraud A$36 ($44.69) million a year from Australian internet users.
Queensland police contacted 139 people who sent money to Nigeria - 135 were victims of fraud.
Mr Thomson said the New Zealand situation was similar to Australia.
- NZPA
