Scammers are serving up a tasty offer for restaurants and Police are warning this comes with a sour aftertaste.
Slimy offshore scam centres have begun rolling out a booking scam on Auckland-based restaurants. So far Chinese restaurants have been targeted, but this could easily spread further with the festive period approaching.
The Auckland City Financial Crime Unit have received several reports in recent weeks.
How does it work?
Detective Senior Sergeant Craig Bolton says the specific scam works with a call to make a large group booking.
“An offshore scam centre is calling restaurants pretending to be based in New Zealand and seeking to make a large booking for a function,” he says.
“The catch is that the booking is on the condition that the restaurant pre-pay for a large order of abalone (pāua) from a supplier in China.”
Once the pre-payment is made to a bank account, the scammers will send back a fake confirmation of a bank transfer reimbursing the restaurant.
Detective Senior Sergeant Bolton says one restaurant pre-paid $15,000, which has since been lost offshore.
What can you do to stop it?
Police warn restaurants to be vigilant when being approached out of the blue in this manner.
“It’s coming to a busy time of year, so a phone call looking to secure a booking for a large function could seem appetising,” Detective Senior Sergeant Bolton says.
“You need to be extremely cautious if you’re being asked to pre-pay or transfer a large amount of money to a bank account.”
Police advise business owners not to engage.
“Restaurants and venues should have safeguards in place to protect themselves financially with event bookings,” Detective Senior Sergeant Bolton says.
“If bookings require pre-payment or transferring of large amounts of money, we will always advise conducting this arrangement in person.”
If you have information to assist Police enquiries, or have been an unfortunate victim to this scam, please report this online to Police or call 105.
