New Zealanders lost $33 million to online scams and fraud last year - triple the amount stolen in 2017.
Figures released today in a report by online safety organisation Netsafe show there were 13,000 instances of online scams and fraud reported last year, up from 8100 cases totalling $10.1m in losses in 2017.
Netsafe chief executive Martin Cocker said the staggering number of reports and an extra $22.9m in financial losses show that online scams continue to be a pervasive issue for New Zealand and a new approach to protecting New Zealanders was needed.
"We're now seeing waves of successful scams hitting the country, with the fake sextortion scam being the most recent. We know the lengths that scammers are taking to deceive New Zealanders."