Warning over scratchie scam (+video)

Rotorua House of Travel director Pam Turner does not want people falling for the scratchie card scam. Photo / Ben Fraser

Rotorua travel agents are warning locals not to be fooled by the latest scam of "professional looking" scratchie travel cards claiming the owner has won US$165,000 ($251,000).

The scratchies are being mailed in a plain white envelope with Malaysian stamps. Two scratchies are included inside, along with a brochure with details about the fake travel company.

The scratchies include a phone number for "winners" to call to claim their prize. The terms and conditions state winners would be required to provide further personal information for "verification purposes".

Rotorua House of Travel director Pam Turner said scams often came in waves and this latest spate had resulted in a number of people calling her team about its authenticity.

"We've had several people coming in and calling about this scam. In one day, we had six people call up asking if the promotion was legitimate."

Ms Turner said it was good people had queried the scratchies. She hoped that, if more people knew it was a scam, nobody would fall for it.

"The scratchie cards and brochure are professional looking and I would hate for somebody to give out their personal details and fall into the trap. All it takes is a moment of vulnerability and these scammers get exactly what they want. The simple fact is, if it's too good to be true, it probably is."

The scam has operated under at least 60 different company names, according to the Department of Internal Affairs website.

Rotorua Flight Centre travel agent Amanda Aldridge said: "A man came in about a week ago inquiring about the scratchies. We had never heard of the company and nothing came up with a quick Google search, so we were pretty confident it was a scam."

A spokeswoman at Rotorua Harvey World Travel said "quite a few" customers had gone into their store asking if the scratchies were valid.

To see a list of scams circulating the country, go to the Department of Internal Affairs website, www.dia.govt.nz.

How to identify scams

• It is addressed to "My Dear" or something generic
• There are grammatical or spelling errors in the email or text message
• The email address is a public service domain like Gmail, Yahoo, Livemail
• A bank you do not have an account with contacts you
• You are urged to visit a website to update your account information or fill in a form with personal information
• You are advised to act fast to claim money or some other prize in a lottery or competition you never entered
• You inherit money or possessions from someone you have never heard of

- Department of Internal Affairs