Malaysian fake scratch-card scam that has fleeced Kiwis of millions reappears

Photo / Fair Go

A scam which saw Kiwis lose hundreds of thousands of dollars in 2013 is back, NZ postal workers are reporting.

Police that year said 55 people lost $1.7 million to scammers in Malaysia who send scratchies parcelled with glossy travel brochures, but the Postal Workers Union says that's just the tip of the iceberg.

The travel brochures contain two fake scratchies, with one showing a $US200,000 win.

The name of the "tour operators" change constantly. Photo / Supplied

It's a long-running scam from Malaysia that has been the subject of warnings for many years but the scammers regularly change the name of the promotion and the business behind it.

The latest reincarnations attempts to gain personal information from the supposed "winners" who will then be asked to pay fees upfront before receiving their "prize".

"These things come in a white envelope, half the size of an A4.

"It's got a very colourful brochure and two colourful scratchies on it. But you'll notice, there's no return address and your name printed on it is family name first and then your first name ... most often the correct address."

Previous examples of the brochures. Photo / commerce.wa.gov.au

"How many people were scammed and never came forward, we don't know," says president John Maynard.

"We're aware of one person that was scammed of $64,000."

Other victims include a retired police officer and a woman "with multiple university degrees" who lost $18,000.

In 2016, nearly 18,000 of the letters were intercepted. They were not being intercepted this year.