A spate of scams between July and September this year has seen Kiwis lose almost $9 million.
In a statement CERT New Zealand said it's calling on everyone to use this as a warning and take steps to protect themselves online.
CERT NZ's report shows while incidents are up 3% on the previous quarter, financial loss is up 128%, making it the highest loss in a quarter, since records started in 2017.
CERT NZ director Rob Pope said that the spike in losses is concerning, but that hopefully it will encourage New Zealanders to be more secure online.
"While it's easy to be overwhelmed by the large total loss figures, our data shows that most people are losing between $100 and $500, which is a real sting in the pocket for most of us.
"We want New Zealanders to take notice of these numbers and use that as motivation to do some quick, simple actions that will stop them, and their whānau, from being the next targets."
CERT NZ said one of the reasons behind the losses is an increase in unauthorised money transfers, unauthorised access and scams involving buying, selling and donating goods.
These types of incidents are usually associated with high levels of loss. Other types of incidents, such as phishing, had corresponding declines.
"As we come into the holiday season, New Zealanders will be looking online for bargains and scammers know it," Pope said. "We're asking everyone to be cautious when they're shopping online or perusing online marketplaces and be suspicious of anything that seems too good to be true.
CERT NZ said financial loss from scams is up 128%, making it the highest loss in a quarter, since records started in 2017. (Source: 1News)
"People should also turn on two-factor authentication, as this is still the best way to stop baddies accessing your accounts. This includes social media accounts as well as banks."
The Cyber Security Insights report includes advice for New Zealanders to spot scams before they happen. CERT NZ hopes that people share these tips when they are visiting whānau and friends over summer.
Some key statistics from CERT NZ:
2069 incidents reported to CERT NZ from July 1 to September 30, 2022$8.9 million in direct financial loss reported - 314 people lost between $100 and $1000, and 12 people lost more than $100,000Of the $8.9m, $7.5m was lost to scams and fraud. Of that, $4.8m was lost to unauthorised money transferUnauthorised access reports increased 28% from 2021. These incidents had associated financial loss of $734,000 in the third quarter
CERT NZ said if people believe they have been the target of an online scam they should contact CERT NZ immediately and the bank if any money has been lost.
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