NetSafe issues quake scam warning

As we touched on yesterday in this story, scammers have jumped on the Christchurch earthquake as an opportunity to try and rip people off.

NetSafe has issued the following warning about reports of scammers.

"The emails, sent from 'James McCoy' and claiming to be from 'Donate4Charity NZ" use a legitimate UK-based charity organisation's name and website address.

"The emails call for people to receive donated funds into their bank account from overseas for a 10% cut. This is a scam.

Signs that it's a scam

• The email comes from a generic email address (e.g. gmail.com)
• The content contains poor grammar and spelling
• Offers a 10% cut for receiving funds

"Please delete these emails straight away, do not reply, and report them to us at Scamwatch.

NetSafe has also given advice about donating:

If you are contacted by a charity you have never heard of before, do some research before saying 'yes'.
Do not be pressured or intimidated or made to feel guilty. Genuine charities would regard such tactics as bad for their reputations.
Be cautious about 'soundalikes'. Those being organisations that play on legitimate charity names, such as "Oxfan".