English national accused of scamming elderly across Wellington district

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Thousands of dollars are alleged to have been handed over in a scam concocted by a man accused of impersonating a cop and targeting the elderly and vulnerable, police say.

A 26-year-old English national has been arrested in relation to a string of alleged offences.

The offending is alleged to have taken place over the past 10 days across the wider Wellington district including Hutt Valley, Porirua, Ōtaki, and Wellington City.

Detective Senior Sergeant Tim Leitch said Wellington Criminal Investigations Branch (CIB) arrested the man.

“In light of the offending, New Zealand Police have one key message: We will never ask you for money under any circumstances.”

Victims of this activity have been duped into handing over thousands of dollars to these scammers, Leitch said.

“The scam starts with a cold call from a person claiming to be a police officer.

“They tell the victim of dishonest activity taking place at banks and gold exchanges and request their help to ‘catch’ the ‘dishonest employee’ working at these places.

“Believing they are helping catch a crook – victims are instructed to go to the bank or gold exchange to withdraw cash or purchase gold to assist the police in obtaining evidence against the employee.

“To top it off, once the victim has taken out the cash or gold, a person posing as a courier working for police uplifts it from their address.”

Wellington Police have so far received complaints from at least 17 victims who have been contacted by this criminal group, many of them have subsequently handed over cash or gold, Leitch said.

The value of the currency handed over by the victims totalled several hundred thousand dollars.

A search of the 26-year-old’s accommodation uncovered large amounts of cash and gold, believed to be the proceeds of the fraudulent activity.

He appeared in the Wellington District Court on eight charges of obtaining by deception, three for attempting to obtain by deception and one for resisting arrest.

Police believe this operation is coordinated and executed by offenders offshore who are directing the “couriers” on the ground in New Zealand to the addresses for pick-ups.

“It is highly likely that this scam will continue to operate despite the arrest yesterday,” Leitch said.

“People should be extremely vigilant and careful if they receive calls asking them to assist police in the way described.”

Police will never contact people and ask them to withdraw money, nor will they contact people seeking banking details, card numbers, Pins or passwords, Leitch said.

“Older members of our community are being targeted and police urge anyone with elderly or vulnerable relatives to make them aware of this scam activity.”

If anyone has recently been the victim of this scam or received calls they think may be from these scammers, they are encouraged to phone police on 105 and reference Operation Bourbon, file 240731/0649.