Former finance company owner Mark Hotchin says he was personally "misled" by a group of con-artists.

Scammers are increasingly abandoning email and hitting the phones to swindle money from their victims.

Labour has called the Govt's revised $1.2b South Canterbury Finance bill a "disaster of epic proportions", saying Finance Minister Bill English "grossly mishandled" the situation and should resign as a result.

The government's finances have taken a $331 million hit, largely due to problems recovering money from failed South Canterbury Finance's tangled set of related party loans.

Tighter border security controls are on the way for Kiwi travellers after Immigration New Zealand signed an agreement with Canada. Immigration Minister Jonathan Coleman says it will mean faster processing times for genuine travellers.

A charity worker told a wealthy Auckland woman he was a cancer-cure guinea pig in a bid to scam millions of dollars from her.

Silvio Berlusconi, the Teflon Tycoon, will stop at little to avoid a prison sentence.

Prime Minister John Key was called a liar when he fronted a meeting in Timaru last night packed with vocal Allan Hubbard supporters. The PM was forced to defend the Govt's handling of South Canterbury Finance to a bositrous 500-strong crowd

The value of large frauds brought before the courts rose to $100 million in the second half of last year.

A benefit fraudster described as the "face of greed" has been sentenced to three years in jail.

The New Zealand wife of murder accused Malcolm Webster has been giving evidence at his trial in Scotland.

Let political miscreants go quietly into the night.