Scammers impersonating the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) are targeting local internet users with demands for personal information.
The scammers allegedly accused computer users of accessing "illegal websites" before making demands.
"It sounded like a cold-calling scam," said Lee Chisholm, Netsafe operations manager.
She understood the scammers asked for money or remote access to computers, and probably targeted victims at random.
Ms Chisholm said people still frequently lost money to scammers, with $13.4 million reported to Netsafe alone last year, but real losses were probably far higher.