Simon is not a good guy. He sounds like he is over the phone, with his slightly posh English accent and his relaxed and reassuring tone, but he's not. He's likely in his early 30s, from a middle-class home, I'd imagine, and he almost certainly has worked in the finance sector at some point, because he has the practised patter of someone who knows the territory pretty well.
He's telling me about interest rates for term deposits and they're pretty good. Not so good to arouse immediate suspicion but good enough to get people's attention. Good, but not obviously too good to be true.
I can imagine what he's like in his real life: arrogant, unkind, callous, but not in an immediately apparent way. He'll go out for drinks with his similarly unpleasant friends and they'll make a lot of noise and no doubt drink flashy champagne and treat the waiters badly.
He probably fancies himself as a player, but he's not. He's just a bad man who steals people's money.
Simon is obviously not his real name. He's impersonating a real person from the actual bank he claims to be from. We found scammer Simon by googling "Term deposits New Zealand", and the website he's connected to came up in the first five search results. He's likely scammed dozens of people in New Zealand in the past year.
I spoke with a woman who lost $100,000 to Simon. She's smart and she worked hard to try to verify he was legit, and still she got scammed. It was her life savings.
How much has Simon made from Kiwis alone? Probably millions. Yep, that's right: millions.
STEAL OUR STUFF
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة July 8 - 14, 2023 من New Zealand Listener.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة July 8 - 14, 2023 من New Zealand Listener.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
First-world problem
Harrowing tales of migrants attempting to enter the US highlight the political failure to fully tackle the problem.
Applying intelligence to AI
I call it the 'Terminator Effect', based on the premise that thinking machines took over the world.
Nazism rears its head
Smirky Höcke, with his penchant for waving with a suspiciously straight elbow and an open palm, won't get to be boss of either state.
Staying ahead of the game
Will the brave new world of bipartisanship that seems to be on offer with an Infrastructure Commission come to fruition?
Grasping the nettle
Broccoli is horrible. It smells, when being cooked, like cat pee.
Hangry? Eat breakfast
People who don't break their fast first thing in the morning report the least life satisfaction.
Chemical reaction
Nitrates in processed meats are well known to cause harm, but consumed from plant sources, their effect is quite different.
Me and my guitar
Australian guitarist Karin Schaupp sticks to the familiar for her Dunedin concerts.
Time is on my side
Age does not weary some of our much-loved musicians but what keeps them on the road?
The kids are not alright
Nuanced account details how China's blessed generation has been replaced by one consumed by fear and hopelessness.