More than a month after being scammed out of $24,000, the woman in her 80s was told by a police employee the scam was a well-known and far-reaching one conducted by a domestic crime organisation.
Police declined to comment on the case while the investigation was ongoing, but warned that the offenders and "organised crime groups" behind scams were "masters at deception".
In February, the victim told the Otago Daily Times that con artists pretending to be Spark employees had strung her along for seven hours before convincing her that her bank account had been compromised.
She made two $2000 transactions and two $9999.99 transactions, allegedly to a New Zealand crime group.
When her landline rang on a January afternoon, she answered, which she ordinarily did not do, she said.
"This fellow started chatting away to me and said he was from Spark ... He told me something was wrong with my phone," she said.
For seven hours, she remained on the phone with the man while he had her conduct arbitrary phone checks.
Near the seven-hour mark, the scammer circled in and told her that "there was a problem with her bank account" and that she urgently needed to transfer her money to another account.
She followed instructions.
"Altogether they had taken about $24,000 from me," the woman said.
Once she realised what had happened, she and her family called police, contacted the bank and let Spark know people were pretending to be from the company.
Efforts to get even part of the money back had been unsuccessful.
Southern District investigation support unit supervisor Rick Bourne said the investigation into the woman’s case was ongoing and, to protect their inquiries, he was unable to speak to this specific case.
"We can confirm that police are currently investigating several fraud cases involving victims across New Zealand, who have been the target of cold calls to their landline or mobile numbers," he said.
He said victims may not fully understand what they were being asked to do and the offenders "shamelessly use lies, persistence and pressure to get what they want".
Mr Bourne said one victim described the scammer as a master of deception, who came across calm and almost hypnotising.
"The easiest form of prevention is having conversations with your older relatives or friends and ask them to contact you if they’re unsure if a service or offer is legitimate.
"At the end of the day, if you aren’t sure, please ask someone you trust and if someone is pressuring you into a decision, hang up on them.
"There’s no embarrassment in trying to protect your money."
How to spot a scam
— An online scam is any deceptive scheme delivered through digital communications with the intent to steal money or personal information.
— New Zealanders lose millions of dollars to scams each year.
— Signs that you might be targeted by a scam include unexpected contact from a person or organisation, claims of technical issues, requests for payment or passwords, upfront reward payments and claims of urgency.
— If you suspect you are being targeted by a scam, you should pause and seek advice before responding to requests for money or information, perform online searches to verify details provided by the person contaction you, safeguard your information, contact your bank if you suspect a scam and report the incident to Netsafe.
— For support or more information, visit netsafe.org.nz, email help@netsafe.org.nz, text 4282 or call 0508 638 723 8am-8pm weekdays, 9am-5pm weekends.
