A Dunedin person was among South Islanders encouraged by a cold-calling international scammer to log on to a website then used to remotely control their computers.
The scammer pretended he was from a reputable technology company, suggesting the victim's computer was infected with a virus and encouraging them to log on to a website for more help.
The victim was given a six-digit code to log on to the website.
Simply entering the code gave the scammer full access to the victim's computer, Internal Affairs senior investigator Toni Demetriou said yesterday.
The incident came to light after Internal Affairs warned a scammer tried unsuccessfully to convince a Christchurch woman to access the website.
Several South Island callers yesterday told investigators they had been targeted.
"Quite a lot" of people had received the calls, and police were investigating.
However, investigators already suspected the calls were being made from overseas, Mr Demetriou said.
The caller was "quite convincing".
During one call, he handed the conversation across to a supervisor in an attempt to make the call sound more professional.
Callers gave various explanations for the calls, such as they were phoning from a security and anti-virus vendor, and suggesting the computer was infected by a virus and needed repairs.
Victims were then directed to a website, where they typed in a code which gave the scammer access to the victim's computer.
From there, just about anything could happen.
Viruses, malware, and keystroke-logging software could be installed to harvest log-ins and passwords or credit card details.
Mr Demetriou said unauthorised access to a computer system was a Crimes Act offence, and using it for spamming activities was also an offence under the Unsolicited Electronic Messages Act.
Anyone worried their computer might be infected should have it inspected and repaired by a computer servicing company.
They should also contact Internal Affairs or report what happened on Netsafe's "Online Reporting Button" at: www.theORB.org.nz, Mr Demetriou said.
