A scam using hacked email address books has re-emerged in Hawkes Bay and some unwitting recipients of the "we need help" messages have parted with up to $1500.
"It has caught a few people out," Napier Police Crime Prevention Officer Paul Miller said.
"It has been around for a while and crops up from time to time - somehow they [scammers] have been able to obtain someone's email address book and send emails out from that person's address."
The emails ask for financial help and because the person, and the address, are familiar to the receiver they appear to be legitimate.
The sender claims to have been robbed while on a trip overseas and makes an urgent request for money to sort out a replacement passport. The email claims their passport was taken in the robbery along with their cash and credit cards.