Indian nationals living in New Zealand are being targeted by callers posing as immigration officials demanding money, prompting authorities to warn Indians not to fall into their trap.
The scammers have been using numbers which show up as the Immigration Contact Centre, but with a slight variation in the digits.
The callers claim to be calling from Immigration New Zealand (INZ) and tell the person there has been a problem with the processing of their visa or arrival card information and demand a sum of money.
The scammers want the money transferred into a Western Union account or they will face serious consequences including deportation.
"The phone calls are not from INZ, and people are being warned not to pay the money and instead report the call to police. We will never demand payment over the phone," 3News channel quoted INZ as saying.
The callers were aggressive and authoritative, said the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment, and often had details about the person they were speaking to, which made the call seem genuine.
Over a lakh Indian-origin people are residing in New Zealand.
