Phone scam promises tax refund and government grants

Scammers are to duping people into revealing personal and financial details. Photo / Thinkstock

Phone scammers are promising tax refunds and "government grants" to dupe people into revealing personal and financial details.

A woman said a group calling itself NZ Government Grants phoned her on Thursday morning.

Two men and a woman posing as bureaucrats told the victim she'd been granted an amount between $6,000 and $10,000.

"I got sucked in good and proper," said Maxine, 69, from Auckland's North Shore. "They were very convincing."

Maxine asked her surname not be published because she feared harassment or retribution from the scammers.

Maxine said scammers told victims the Inland Revenue Department chose them because they had "a good record of paying their taxes on time".

The scammers promised a financial bonus, sometimes within two hours. Maxine was promised $7600.

She said the scammers claimed to already have bank account details and tax numbers "but require extra details to ascertain they are speaking to the correct people," Maxine said.

"They knew my full name. They obviously got that from the phone book."

Maxine was duped into handing over her driver's license number and bank account details. She said the "Government Grants" people had English names like Jason Morgan, Frank Martin and Susan. But they had Indian accents.

She grew suspicious as the scammers asked for previous addresses and details about electricity and phone bills.

Instead of handing over even more personal details, Maxine told the scammers "there was someone at the door" and asked for a phone number to call back on.

The number is 042807225.

A reporter called the number this morning, posing as an old man "Susan" earlier contacted about the Government Grants.

A man answered.

"Oh yes sir, tell me how can I help you?" he asked. "What is your full name? I'll just send a request back to Susan and he will, she will be calling you back in 15 minutes."

They didn't call back.

A woman who violently cleared her throat and called herself Amanda answered the reporter's follow-up call and promised to call back on Monday.

Called again repeatedly, accused of running a scam, and asked for comment, the people who answered went silent and hung up.

The phone number redirects to a South Asian phone network. When the call is unanswered, eventually a bilingual voicemail message in English and a North Indian language greets callers.

The Ministry of Consumer Affairs has received multiple complaints about the "Government Grants" scam involving a similar con and the same phone number.

Maxine warned people to never give out their personal details to unsolicited callers.

She admitted she was foolish to had out her bank details and said she was lucky to avoid losing money. She contacted her bank immediately to change her online banking details before the scammers could fleece her.

Maxine said her family scolded her and she would have to pay $38 for a new driver's license. "I couldn't believe that I had been silly enough to get involved."

Maxine believed scammers were targeting and stealing from other New Zealanders.

She said she would give the scammers a good hiding if she ever found them.