Three arrested in phone scam investigation

Phone scammers often claim to be tech experts. Photo / Getty Images

A police investigation in phone scams has led to three arrests.

Police from the Auckland City financial crime unit said there had been a surge in reports from victims who have lost large sums to phone scammers in recent months.

One 84-year-old victim noted as part of the investigation reported losing nearly $10,000 after receiving a call from an unknown person claiming to be from Spark.

The scammer claimed the victim's Spark account had been hacked, and then proceeded to gain access to the victim's computer by asking them to download an app that would allow for remote access.

The victim later noticed a large sum of money had been taken from their account.

Following enquiries with the bank, Police arrested and charged three men residing in Auckland in relation to alleged money laundering offending.

The men, aged 31, 28 and 26, will appear in the Auckland District Court this month.

Detective Senior Sergeant Bridget Doell says while the phone scammers operate offshore, they typically recruit people in New Zealand to transfer the money into offshore accounts.

"These people are working as money mules and they are generally paid a portion of the money for their role," Doell said.

"Money laundering is illegal and we want to warn those engaging in this criminal activity that they risk being prosecuted for their part in these scams.

Doell said investigations would continue and that further arrests were likely.

Kiwis are also being urged to be vigilant of requests to help individuals move money.

"If you are approached online by someone requesting to use your account to transfer funds, you are likely being recruited as a money mule," Doell said.

"Do not engage with them or give them your account details."

Doell urged the public to be wary of calls from scammers after seeing millions of dollars lost by Kiwis in the past few months alone.

"Never give your personal banking information out over the phone and do not allow the caller to access your computer remotely – regardless of what company the caller claims to be from," Doell said.

"If you think you may have been a victim of a scam, notify your bank immediately."

A similar investigation by the Auckland City Financial Crime Unit into phone scams last year, Operation Deadwood, resulted in 18 people charged with money laundering offences.