Immigration New Zealand has been made aware of a new wave of scam phone calls from individuals purporting to be Immigration Officers. The scam brought to Immigration New Zealand today so far appears to have targeted students/recent graduates of Indian descent, however other nationalities may also be affected.
Callers pose as Immigration New Zealand staff and demand payment from the applicants for various reasons (incorrectly filled out arrival card/form etc). They are told that they must pay the fine to avoid deportation or imprisonment. Additionally they are told not to disconnect the call or they will be arrested/deported etc. Usually these types of scams demand payment through Western Union.
As we all know, the best thing to do when you receive a scam call is to hang up.
Many students will be reluctant to hang up or disconnect a call from a person claiming to be an Immigration Officer. So the advice is as follows: if a student is called from someone who is claiming to be from INZ, and that person starts asking for money or threatening the student, the best thing the student can do is to: ask for the name of the person calling, ask which branch/office of INZ they work for, and then disconnect the call. They should then call our toll free number on 0508 558 885 and talk to staff about the call they just received.
Please be advised that the latest round of these scams. Please advise your friends and classmates that there is a current scam and ask them to be aware of this. We do not want any students swindled out of money.
- Message from Immigration New Zealand -