Transcript
Mary Aue, who runs the online community notice board Coconut Wireless in South Auckland says scams are rife and that can lead to stigma for those who have been conned.
'Unfortunately for our Pacific community we don't like to share about the fact that we got scammed. There is no shame about it, I just want to really, really highlight that. You're not in the wrong, it's the individual or the people that are actually targeting you. They're in the wrong. We just need to be a lot more smarter and I think we need to talk a lot more in terms of what scams are happening out there."
When it comes to the types of scams, she's heard them all.
From fake investments to dodgy shares, dubious cryptocurrency trading or pleas for money on Facebook - Ms Aue says sometimes people lose tens of thousands of dollars.
"An elderly person lost $NZ100,000 because someone in their community befriended this elderly person. So if you've got, please look after our elderly, making sure people who come in contact with them are people who really want to help, not help them who want to siphon their money, their hand-earned cash."
Ms Aue says the number of scams seems to be rising.
"I've seen a rise more so in terms of targeting our actual Pacific communities and that's a big concern because yes we want to invest in something but you have to understand what is investment and what is good investment. The worst scam I believe is our own people scamming our own."
Manukau ward councillor Alf Filipaina says it's disgusting that scammers are targeting the vulnerable.
"A lot of our families are trying to put food on the table and when they end up getting possibly convinced that 'look we've got a good offer for you, you do this, we'll send you this much money'. People are just saying 'jeez, there's an opportunity'."
Netsafe reports 33 million dollars was lost in online scams last year.
That figure was up by more than 10 million dollars on the previous year in 20-17 and Netsafe says it believes unreported losses would take those figures much higher.
The Financial Markets Authority says agencies working in this area have noticed recent increases in the number of scams.
Gillian Boyes, from the Authority, says while she doesn't have any data on losses in the Pasifika community, its close-knit nature can make people vulnerable.
"They get into a trusted network and they all talk to each other and there is a bit of social consensus going on and they all kind of feed on each other's excitement about an opportunity and I think that is what's happening in this case. That's certainly what we have seen some evidence of."
Gillian Boyes says people need to be wary if offers appear too good to be true.
"But of course if it is someone you trust and you know it's that warning sign isn't there so you have to look for the other warning signs instead. Things like it is not very clear exactly what it is you are investing in or you are promised very high returns."
Fraud Awareness Week, which is aiming to raise awareness of scam tactics, is running until Saturday.
Ms Boyes is encouraging the public to tune into advice and stay informed.
I Tāmaki Makaurau, ko Jessie Chiang tenei.
