Just in time for fraud awareness week, a new phishing scam is sweeping through the mobile phones of New Zealand. Alex Braae reports. If you get a text purporting to be from UPS telling you a package is waiting for you, and they just need an unpaid customs charge, don’t click the link. It’s part … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Trump claims fraud with Biden holding slight edge, unemployment rate rise not as bad as feared, and Kim Dotcom extradition case to drag on further. If you switched the US election off early last night, you’ll probably have missed one of the most remarkable moments … Read more
The uncertainty of Covid-19 has resulted in an explosion of online and phone-based scams. Here’s what the experts recommend to identify and defend yourself against these insidious rackets. It begins with a phone call. A tech support expert from your bank is on the line, urgently informing you there’s been a security breach with your … Read more
NZ phone companies and the government are setting up a system that will identify scam callers within hours and, they hope, stop them in their tracks, the Spinoff can reveal. We’ve all received them. The calls from strange corners of the world at odd times of the day. After I made the mistake of answering … Read more
John Key insisted that the CEO of the bank had been treated in the same way a junior teller would be. Can anyone take that seriously, asks Cat MacLennan When I was a lawyer at Manukau, we used to sit in the lawyers’ room and marvel at the lenient sentences given to the rich, to … Read more
Think the dark times of the finance company collapses are well behind us? The regulatory environment that allowed the collapse of South Canterbury Finance exists to this day. Allan Hubbard’s failed investments included $30m lost on the Lord of the Rings trilogy and $10m in a Blenheim company that claimed to have found a cure … Read more
Different scams are dealt with by different agencies, leaving many consumers confused as to where to go. The Commission for Financial Capability’s Bronwyn Groot says it’s time to centralise how we report scams in New Zealand. News this week that the money lost through online scams had ballooned to $33 million in 2018 – triple … Read more
A group of Indian students who were kicked out of New Zealand say their lives are ruined, and that electioneering Labour MPs, including Jacinda Ardern, promised help but went silent after coming to power. This story was originally published on RNZ Few people celebrated Labour’s 2017 return to power more than a broke, unemployed IT … Read more
More than 20 people have been in touch with The Spinoff accusing Dommy Topia of fraudulent behaviour. And now it’s been revealed that Topia has been known to police for years. Dominic (Dommy) Topia – the man who’s been accused of swindling thousands of dollars from dozens of individuals around New Zealand – has been … Read more
Wherever there’s money to be made, the scammers and Ponzi schemes are never far behind. Mark Hattersley gives his three tips on staying vigilant while investing in cryptocurrency. Useless Ethereum Token (UET) launched in mid-2017 with the description “the world’s first 100% honest Ethereum ICO. No value, no security and no product. Just me spending your money … Read more
Martin Matthews has resigned as auditor general on the back of a report into his actions – and inaction – during the three years that Joanne Harrison was committing fraud at the MOT. But if the report was so damning, why can’t the public read it, asks Peter Newport, in an opinion piece following his … Read more
The ever-deepening storm centred on the Joanne Harrison fraud case just became a hurricane. Yesterday’s State Services Commission investigation report is likely to trigger a new chain of events that could extend well beyond embattled Auditor General Martin Matthews, writes Peter Newport The State Services Commission investigation, published yesterday, makes one thing very clear: Joanne … Read more
The story of government fraudster Joanne Harrison is one of almost unbelievable greed. But in many ways as shocking, writes Peter Newport, is how her boss, Martin Matthews, ignored the whistle-blowers – and allowed Harrison to exact her revenge. Update 1pm, 3 August 2017: Martin Matthews has resigned his position as Auditor General following the publication of … Read more