Authorities have delivered another blow to a text scam operation running in the country.

As part of Operation Cargo, Waitematā Police and the Department of Internal Affairs carried out enforcement action against a pair operating out of west Auckland.

Last week, a warrant was carried out at a Henderson address.

Detective Senior Sergeant Ryan Bunting, from Waitematā’s District Fraud Team, says the operation had allegedly been sending spam messages from the address.

“In this case our enquiries identified they had allegedly been utilising the ‘hi Mum’, banking and Netflix scams to try and con unsuspecting victims,” he says.

“These text scams use any number of ruses to draw people in.

“No matter what method, the result is always heartache and loss for those who fall victim to it.”

Police continue to work closely with a range of partner agencies to target this sort of offending and shut down operations.

“We know this sort of scam is arranged by transnational organised crime groups, who utilise local actors to carry out their deeds.”

A search warrant resulted in a range of SIM cards and phones allegedly used in the offending.

Police also located a sawn-off shotgun and Ruger 270 bolt action rifle, along with ammunition.

“Two men located at the address were arrested and are before the Waitākere District Court on various charges,” Detective Senior Sergeant Bunting says.

Two men, aged 20 and 51, have been jointly charged with two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm and one count of unlawful possession of ammunition.

The 20-year-old possession of equipment capable of facilitating crimes, under the Crimes Act.

Detective Senior Sergeant Bunting says enquiries into this operation remain ongoing, and further arrests cannot be ruled out.

Joe Teo, Manager Digital Messaging, DIA, says that collaboration is key to detecting, disrupting, and preventing the spread of harmful digital messages.

“The Department of Internal Affairs is committed to working with our partners at NZ Police, the NZ Telecommunications Forum and the banking sector to combat the spread of scam messages.

“This operation demonstrated how by working together we can successfully protect New Zealanders from criminals who seek to steal their private information and money.

“The discovery of firearms during the search warrant shows that these are serious offenders who are targeting New Zealanders, and they need to be held to the full account of the law."

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