Auckland Council is warning residents to be vigilant after a customer fell victim to a scam from a person claiming to be from ‘Auckland Council Tele Sales’.
"Auckland Council will never ask for credit card or personal banking information by phone to pay rates,” Auckland Council’s Senior Investigation Advisor Maureen Glassey says.
“The council’s call centre staff do remind residents of overdue rates but staff will never ask for your personal banking details by phone.”
If you receive a suspicious call
“If anyone receives a call of this nature, we would urge them to record, if possible, the number it comes from and contact the police or their bank immediately,” says Ms Glassey.
The customer says she was phoned by someone who said they were from the council and asked to provide her credit card details to make a rates payment.
Ms Glassey says unfortunately the woman gave the caller her credit card details, which were then used to take two large sums of money from her account, totalling approximately $1400.
Check your statement
The name ‘Auckland Council Tele Sales’ has since appeared on the victim’s bank statement.
“In light of this scam, we are asking Auckland residents to be diligent and to check their credit card statements for a similar reference of this nature,” Ms Glassey says.
“We strongly advise that no one gives out their bank account details over the phone to anyone, regardless of where they say they are from.”
