"Hang up and do not call the number back," central bank urges
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand is alerting the public against scam calls purporting to be from RBNZ.
The central bank said it was aware of a number of instances where members of the public have received calls that appeared to be from an RBNZ number.
“This phone call is not from the Reserve Bank,” the bank said in a media release. “The Reserve Bank does not call individual members of the public, nor do we hold money for individual members of the public. We recommend not following any instructions from the caller. Instead, hang up and do not call the number back.”
To report an instance of this occurring, New Zealanders are encouraged to contact RBNZ by emailing: [email protected].
According to Cert NZ, there has been an increase in phishing scams using phone calls as well as text messages and emails, claiming to be from various organisations like banks, Inland Revenue, NZTA, postal services, computer security software, and others.
In some cases, scammers simply ask their target directly for money, while others manipulate or trick people into giving their personal or business details, which they can then use to access their finances, steal their identity, buy goods or services, or access their business networks or systems.
To learn more about scams, visit CERT NZ’s Scams and Fraud web page or FMA's Scam Basics webpage.
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