The Embassy of the People's Republic of China in New Zealand reminded Chinese citizens to guard against telecom fraud, according to a statement released on its WeChat account on Monday.
Some Chinese students and other Chinese citizens reported that they had suffered losses from telecom fraud by people pretending to be staff from Chinese consulates and police after telling them there was a problem with a parcel sent from overseas.
The embassy released a similar warning about the escalation of telecom fraud in April 2018.
During the call, the fraudster claims to be an official from the Chinese consulate in Auckland, saying that there was a file to be collected by the victim. The victim was required to provide information such as name, date of birth and credit card information, the Chinese Herald reported.
Despite the previous warning, many Chinese citizens were conned out of money, which prompted the embassy to re-issue the alert and urged Chinese citizens to exercise caution when receiving such a call.
They should double check the caller's identity and their information.
The embassy said that it never gives notifications about parcels, letters or domestic lawsuits by telephone, or transfers phone calls to a third party.
The statement also reminds people that they will not require a bank transfer or bank information when it comes to payment.
The statement also suggests people to call the embassy or the consulate to verify the matter and call the New Zealand police or entrust relatives or friends to call Chinese police if they think they are a victim of fraud.
