Indian nationals living in New Zealand are being targeted by a new wave of scam phone calls claiming to be from Immigration New Zealand.
The callers threaten deportation and demand payment to a Western Union account in India, said the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment.
The callers fraudulently claim to be calling from Immigration New Zealand and tell the person that there has been a problem with the processing of their visa and/or arrival card information.
Often the caller has some details of the person they are speaking to, such as name, date of birth, and/or address. The caller may also quote reference numbers, although these do not appear to match Immigration New Zealand client or application numbers.
The callers are quite persistent, aggressive, and sound authoritative. As the callers have personal details of the person they are speaking to, the recipient of the call often believes it is genuine.