Passport details targeted in Immigration New Zealand scam website

WELLINGTON, New Zealand-The Immigration New Zealand (INZ) has identified nine Indian-origin “witch doctors” on the run after it came to light that they had duped vulnerable people, a media report said on Wednesday.

The phishing scam appears to be a direct copy of the homepage of the official INZ website, with a slight change in the domain name.

The website and the forms can look very convincing. It was designed to trick users into handing over their bank account numbers, IRD numbers and even passport details.

A scam website pretending to be that of Immigration New Zealand (INZ) has prompted a warning from the real government department.

Consumers are being advised to make sure they are using the correct site.

“INZ would strongly encourage people not to be taken in by anyone offering these types of services”, Devoy said.

Indian nationals were being targeted and told there had been an issue with their visa or arrival card information, it said.

The scammers want the money transferred into a Western Union account or they will face serious consequences including deportation.

Although the phone scam is mainly targeting Indian nationals, all customers should be aware that INZ never calls and demands payment over the phone.

“The phone calls are not from INZ, and people are being warned not to pay the money and instead report the call to police”.