Around a month ago on a weekend in Auckland, Sarita (name changed) received a call from an NZ Immigration number from a person claiming to be David. The number seemed legitimate, so she answered. The caller provided personal information about her, such as her place of work and number of dependents, before asking for more sensitive details like her date of entry and exit from New Zealand.
He claimed that an inquiry from the Indian government was triggered because she had entered the wrong date of birth on a declaration form. He said there was surveillance in place due to illegal migration issues, and because of the discrepancy in her form, her case had been flagged by the Indian government. He urged her to cooperate.
Sarita explained it could have been a typo error, but he insisted that the Indian police had tried to reach her family in India, with no success. He said that the NZ government had now initiated an investigation, and my family and me were supposedly under house arrest. He said if they didn’t cooperate, they would be forced to leave the country within four hours, and a letter would be sent to her employer to terminate her contract. Additionally, she would be blacklisted, making it impossible to travel or work.
He went on to instruct them to turn off all mobile phones in the house. they were suspicious, so they kept one phone on, but he threatened that they weren’t cooperating and that they were being monitored by satellites through Interpol. He said he was trying to help them and had started another inquiry that would last six hours, with a CBI officer assigned to the case. He provided his ID as well as the ID of the supposed CBI officer from India.
He claimed that the first step of the verification process had already begun and that Indian police would visit our family in India for verification with my parents and neighbours. By now, the call had lasted over two hours. In the second step, he demanded money to support the inquiry and promised a refund if we were found to be clean. The call abruptly disconnected, but before it did, he warned us that not paying would work against us.
He then gave her a Western Union account number and instructed me to create an account and transfer the funds. At this point, we were almost ready to make the payment, feeling scared but still sceptical. Thankfully, after contacting the police and confirming that it was a scam, we hung up and turned off the phone.
The harrowing experience lasted for over three hours, leaving an unbearable emotional toll on her family. She shared her story to warn others about the length scammers can go to. These individuals are extremely convincing and have access to a lot of personal information. So please be cautious and be aware. – (published as narrated)-TIN Bureau
