International students from India continue to be the soft targets for fraudsters who skim them of money citing ‘immigration lapses.’
A typical case runs along these lines: A student receives a phone call from a person claiming to be an Immigration New Zealand (INZ) official. He tells the student that the latter had not filled the arrival form properly and hence is likely to face court action. The caller tells the student not to connect but “go immediately to the nearest Western Union branch and deposit $950 to a designated amount.’
Outrageous demand
The suspect then asks the victim to deposit a further sum of $1000 as ‘closing fee.’
In most cases, the victim complies with the initial demand of $950 but refuses to deposit further amounts pleading inability.
Detective Senior Sergeant Nina Pendersen said that INZ never makes such calls and that international students should be aware of such frauds.
“As published in Indian Newslink, we advise students not to give into such unscrupulous persons making outrageous demand. They should not entertain such calls but report to the nearest Police Station,” she said.
