Financial Services Federation Urges Kiwis To Be Vigilant As Its Name Gets Used In A Scam

"We would never ask members of the public for money"

The Financial Services Federation (FSF) is urging Kiwis to be vigilant if contacted by anyone claiming to be from the FSF asking for money - it is a scam.

The Federation has been made aware of its name and/or logo being used fraudulently in attempts to obtain money or other private or financial information.

The FSF, which is the association for responsible finance and leasing companies operating in New Zealand, would under no circumstances ask members of the public for money.

"We would never ask members of the public for money, and we want to do what we can to help prevent people from being sucked in by these revolting individuals," says FSF Executive Director, Lyn McMorran.

"We all know that scammers can pose as government and bank representatives, and this is unfortunately a stark reminder that any organisation, especially in the financial services sector, is a target for their names and logos to be used to prey on people.

"How far reaching this is we do not know, however we have referred the matter to NZ Police and placed an alert banner on our website, to warn anyone who might be contacted and seek verification there.

"We urge people to be wary of all unsolicited contact from any organisation asking for money or information, especially with a sense of urgency, and to contact their bank as soon as possible if they suspect they have been scammed."

More information on how to protect yourself can be found here at CERT NZ's website: https://www.cert.govt.nz/individuals/common-threats/phishing/

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