Email and text scams - Stay Cyber-Safe: A Reminder to Stop, Think, and Act

Every day brings news of fresh cyber scams. Maybe you've heard of the one from Waka Kotahi, urging you to renew your vehicle registration urgently, or the ANZ bank's Fraud team, asking you to log in and transfer money for safety. These are just two examples of common scams.

We know that it's risky to click on links in strange emails or texts, but it's hard to remember this when we're busy or distracted.

“Cyber criminals design their text and email scam campaigns to get their targets to act quickly,” says Sonny Taite, National Chief Information Security Officer.

“Their emails or texts may feel important or urgent. They hope we'll click without thinking. One wrong click could let hackers into our systems. This could put our personal information and our patients' data at risk."

So how can we stay safe? Here's a tip: When you get a message, first make sure it's from someone you know. One way to check an email is to hover your mouse over the address. If it looks strange it might be a scam.

The cyber security team at Te Whatu Ora has put together a quick video to demonstrate and advise on what to do if you receive a scam text or email.