Corporate Portal New Zealand scam

New Zealand small businesses are being targeted in a scam originating from a German company trying to encourage them to list with ‘Corporate Portal New Zealand’ site at  www.portal-nz.org. A letter indicates that a company’s details are incomplete and will be removed from the register unless they are updated and a fee of $1411 is paid.

The Scam

Small businesses in New Zealand receive a letter from ‘New Zealand – Companies’, giving an indication that it is on behalf of the New Zealand Companies Office. The letter however contains the address of a company in Hamburg, Germany along the bottom of the page.

The letters threaten to remove the company from the register due to their details being incomplete. Companies are advised to update their records on www.portal-nz.org and that there will be no charge for basic information.

However if the company wishes to add more details to the register, they are required to fill in an attached form, with a payment for $1411.

The letters contain a ‘deadline for submission’ of late July 2015.

Our advice

If you receive a letter such as this you should report it immediately by entering details on the orb website.

Protect your small business from scams

  • Limit the number of people in your business that has authority to make purchases or write orders.
  • Keep written records of all orders and purchases.
  • Reconcile all invoices against actual orders. Ask for proof of purchase and check with colleagues to make sure that you have received what you paid for.
  • If an invoice seems to reference an advertisement or directory entry you genuinely made, make sure that all of the details add up. False billing scammers may use your real advertising as the basis for their fake invoices, e.g. company name, address and bank details.
  • Deal only with people and companies you know and trust.
  • If you agree to buy from a new supplier, make sure you know exactly what they are offering, at what price, quality, terms and conditions.
  • Don't accept business proposals over the phone. Ask to see offers in writing before you accept them.
  • Seek advice when making a significant purchase. Don't take the seller's word about competing products or prices.
  • Be careful to read the fine print on any offer you receive. If the print is on a fax and is blurry, request a proper copy ... but only use a non-premium telephone or fax number.
  • Check any number you call or fax at a seller's request to make sure it is not a high-charging premium number. If in doubt, call your telephone service provider.
  • If you receive a letter, email or phone call from a ‘supplier’, asking you to update their bank details, be wary. It may be a scam. Phone your supplier to verify the request. Use a phone number from a trusted source, for example the Yellow or White Pages.
  • If you're planning on optimising your website, ask a web-savvy friend, or associate, to recommend a professional who can help.

 

This information has been copied from Consumer Protection, a division of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment in order for us to make you aware of the situation.  You can refer directly to their website by clicking here to see their original article, and view other scam alerts.