Sergeant Blair Wilkinson, of Oamaru police, said the resident, who reported the incident on Friday, was contacted on their cellphone by someone claiming to be from their bank. The scammer asked for the person’s landline, and rang them on that at the same time.
"They’ve had both their phone lines jammed up, and then while they’ve been doing that, they have been withdrawing money out of their account. The bank’s been unable to contact them to verify it," Sgt Wilkinson said.
The resident lost a "significant amount", and he urged people to be cautious of people claiming to be from their bank.
"Don’t be afraid to ask for some verification from the bank and certainly the bank won’t be trying to talk to you on both your landline and your cellphone at the same time.
"If somebody tries to get you doing that — end the call."
