People are being warned to be vigilant as government departments learn of phone and email scammers.
Several people have complained that they have been called by scammers posing as Internal Affairs staff asking them to pay a fee in return for reimbursement of bank fees.
The department had nothing to do with these callers and had reported the calls to police, deputy secretary Craig Armitage said.
"The callers are quite persistent and in some cases refer to the victim's date of birth and who they bank with," Mr Armitage said.
"Unfortunately some people have fallen victim and tell us they sent money to the scammers via their local post shop."
Inland Revenue is also warning of a hoax email which offers people a tax refund in exchange for credit card details.
A link in the email directs people to a fake webpage with an Inland Revenue logo where people are asked to enter personal details including their credit card details.
Anyone that falls for the scam risks having their credit card details stolen, Inland Revenue group manager for assistance Charles Ronaldson said.
Inland Revenue is asking people to ignore the email and to never click on any links within a suspicious email.
For those who may have already given away their bank details, the advice is to contact their bank or credit card provider.
To report suspicious emails that target Inland Revenue customers, people should email phishing@ird.govt.nz
