Fraudsters pretending to call from the Inland Revenue Department are conning people into believing they’ve received a tax refund. Callers use a persuasive argument and even name PM John Key in their smooth pitch.
Individuals are told to call a specific landline number and told to quote a claim number given to them to be able to claim tax refund worth thousands of dollars.
Once callers call the number and provide the claim number, they’re asked to deposit a sum of money into a nominated bank account through an international wire transfer. They’re then advised to collect a cheque for a sum for the `tax refund’ from their nominated bank once the transfer is complete.
Counties Manukau Police believe that the conmen are using a foreign account to collect the money and are encouraging people to report any suspicious calls they might get.