Netsafe advises that if you think a scammer is calling to politely say "no thanks" and hang up. Picture / 123rf.
Netsafe advises that if you think a scammer is calling to politely say "no thanks" and hang up. Picture / 123rf.
A Wellington woman says she feels sick after falling victim to a scam that's left her thousands of dollars out of pocket.
Pam, who did not wish her last name to be used, told Heather du Plessis-Allan on Newstalk ZB she received a call this week from a man posingas someone who worked for Spark.
Pam, who is 80, said he asked if her computer was running slow and she said it was.
He told Pam "there was a virus in it and he would fix it for me", she said.
"They've rung before and usually ... I know ... and for some reason I just got sucked into it."
This afternoon she told the Herald she also thought $10,000 had been taken from her credit card.
The scammer got Pam to tell him her passwords for different accounts like Trade Me and asked about her online shopping history to access her banking details.
Her bank has been able to recover $3500, but she has been told there's little hope to get any more back.
Pam thought that her bank - who she'd been a customer with for 55 years - should have more protections in place to prevent this sort of scam.
Netsafe has published advice about how to deal with cold calls, which will typically be unexpected and about tech support, tax refunds or an apparently late invoice.