CERT NZ says New Zealanders lost more money to cyber scams in the September quarter than in any quarter since the Government cyber security agency started tracking this data in 2017.
There were 2,069 incidents reported to CERT between July and September, with $8.9 million in direct financial losses reported. That total’s well ahead of the $6.6 million losses reported for the fourth quarter of 2021, the previous high, which stemmed from 3,977 incidents. Losses reported to CERT across the eight quarters before the September quarter totalled $36.1 million.
CERT says 314 people lost between $100 and $1000, with 12 people losing more than $10,000 in the September quarter. Some $7.5 million was lost to scams and fraud, with $4.8 million of this lost through unauthorised money transfers.
CERT says a key reason for the losses is an increase in unauthorised money transfers, unauthorised access and scams involving buying, selling and donating goods.
“The most common scam is related to buying, selling, or donating goods. Reports in this category are up 50% from the previous quarter. While the average loss isn’t high, it’s a constant threat and one that isn’t easy to combat beyond realising that sometimes a deal is too good to be true,” CERT says.
CERT received 375 reports about buying, selling and donating goods online in the September quarter. The majority of reports were about purchasing goods that either didn’t show up or an inferior product was…
