A Dunedin woman is warning people to be wary of telephone scammers who claim to be from the Department of Internal Affairs.
The woman, who declined to be named, said she was contacted by an "Asian-sounding" man via a poor telephone line yesterday morning.
Claiming to be from the Department of Internal Affairs, the man said he was calling about some extra charges and confirmed the woman's name, address and telephone number.
"He was talking about all these extra charges and that they shouldn't have happened."
She became suspicious when the man started talking about her bank, and when she asked him to name her bank he named the wrong one.
"I just hung up straight away."
Late last month, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs issued a warning about telephone scammers posing as Department of Internal Affairs officials.
In some cases, callers have been told Internal Affairs is holding bank fee money, and it can be released by payment of a fee.
Some people have fallen victim to the ruse, sending money to the scammers via the local post shop.
Consumer Affairs is urging people to report these calls to the police.
