Scams

Speaking on Talofa FM, Police Superintendent Tuaena Lomano Paulo urged the public to be vigilant against scams.

Tuaena noted the recent case of two men who pleaded guilty to falsely recruiting for seasonal workers overseas.

He said others claim they can import vehicles, leaving clients waiting months before they realise they have been misled.

Mary Aue, who runs online community noticeboard Coconut Wireless in South Auckland, said scams were rife and could lead to stigma for those who had been conned.

"Unfortunately for our Pacific community, we don't like to share about the fact we've been scammed," she said.

"There is no shame about [it], I just want to really highlight that. You're not in the wrong, it's the individual or the people who are targeting you - they're in the wrong. We just need to be a lot smarter and I think we need to talk a lot more about the scams that are happening out there."

Maiava Atalina Ainu'u-Enari has revealed examples of recent scams to the Samoa Observer, whereby individuals and a company were tricked into parting with large amounts of money.

In one case, a woman thought she had found true love on the internet and carried out a lengthy courtship on Facebook, email and later on the telephone.

She parted with US$13,000 to pay for her liaison to come to Samoa, but she never saw him or her money again.

In another scam, a bank received email instructions from a company to remit funds overseas as payment for construction supplies.