A man described by Waihi police as a cyber-Casanova has been wooing women into allowing him to use their addresses to receive goods bought with stolen credit cards.
The "amorous Ghanaian man" befriends New Zealand women online and persuades them to forward parcels on to him at a PO Box addressin his nation's capital, Accra, says Detective Simon Everson of the Waihi CIB.
"Using the name Paul Blart, the man uses stolen overseas credit card numbers to purchase various items from New Zealand companies' websites, and gets them delivered to the women's addresses by courier."
After the man befriended a Waihi woman on the internet, police have secured 16 parcels containing electronic equipment such as laptops and digital cameras, says Mr Everson.
"We just want to warn people to be wary. If something sounds too good to be true, it normally is."
Police are aware of a second woman targeted, in Wanganui.
