Police and ANZ say there has been a big increase in scamming in the past year. Here’s what a scam call sounds like. Video / Leon Menzies
Scammers hoping to trick people into a $115-a-month subscription service - or drain their accounts - have created fake NZ Herald websites promising free Samsung phones.
The clone sites, believed to be Russian, have just one article about a fire at a Samsung warehouse so the company needs to giveaway a large number of phones.
A screenshot of the clone NZ Herald website.
There are also numerous fake NZ Herald Facebook profiles - one of which has more than 2,000 likes.
The Herald has reported the site, Facebook profiles and scam website.
Some articles on the scam site about the fake Samsung fire is supposedly written by correspondent Jack Gramenz - though Gramenz is actually an Australian comedian.
It claims that because of the warehouse fire, Samsung is unable to sell a number of its Galaxy S10s with damaged packaging so has launched a campaign to give them away for free.
The article links to another site that asks users to input their personal and credit card information but small-print at the top of the page reveals they're actually signing up to a $115-a-month subscription.
Other versions of the page have differing subscription costs, including $109 and $110-a-month.
A screenshot of the fake Samsung phone competition.
Netsafe chief executive Martin Cocker has said that once the scammers got your details, you were at their mercy as they could just as easily drain your account as sign you up to a subscription that was "nearly impossible to cancel".
If you've fallen for the scam, Cocker said to contact your bank immediately and they'll likely cancel your card and issue you a new one.
But that might not be the last of it.
"You need to recognise that you've handed over a lot of personal details and so scammers are likely to use those personal details to get past your scepticism," Cocker said.
This means you could be added to a "sucker list" where your details are sold on.
Victims should expect to be targeted with scams that are even more personal, detailed and convincing, so should be extra cautious for the next few years, Cocker warned.
These sorts of scams are becoming increasingly common - Netsafe receives about 50 reports a day.
Other trusted brands and personalities had also been used by scammers to try to fleece people through using their reputations, Cocker said.
A screenshot of the fake NZ Herald Facebook page.
If anyone has fallen for the scam, they should first contact their bank or credit card provider, then report it to other agencies, including Netsafe and CERT NZ.
A police spokeswoman said people should also report it to their local police.
