Immigration New Zealand warns visa applicants about phone scams.
Recent phone scams in which callers use New Zealand cell numbers to pretend to be from Immigration New Zealand (INZ) have prompted the agency to issue a warning. Visa holders and the general public have been advised to stay vigilant by INZ, which has stressed that these calls are not authentic.
INZ claims that the company will never call people to collect money. Scammers usually say there is a significant problem with a visa and encourage recipients to “press 1” or talk to an operator in an effort to instill anxiety or urgency. Callers have occasionally threatened legal action if instructions are not followed, demanded money, or asked for private information like bank account or passport numbers.
The public has been cautioned by INZ not to respond to such calls. When someone receives a strange call, they are advised to hang up right away, not divulge any personal or financial information, and use CERT NZ’s online reporting form to report the occurrence. For assistance, those in New Zealand can also call Netsafe at 0508 638 723.
Visa holders have been urged to get in touch with the INZ Service Centre directly if they get a scam call and want to check the status of their visa. Employees at INZ are able to verify visa information and respond to any queries regarding a person’s present visa status.
