Cheque refund scam

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A Whangarei woman is warning others to watch out for scammers after she was telephoned twice and asked for a fee to claim a cheque.

The woman received two calls - within 15 minutes of each other - from two people who claimed they were calling from the Ministry of Justice.

"The first caller said I was owed a cheque for $4800 from a bank fees overcharge in the past but the cheque will be delivered to me after I paid $199 to a lawyer in Delhi," she said.

"A Mark Smith was supposed to deliver the cheque. The caller spoke in an Indian accent but the second caller sounded American."

She was given a number to call which did not correspond with the ministry's contact list. A ministry staff advised her it was a scam. To report scams visit consumeraffairs.govt.nz.