A Christchurch woman has pleaded guilty to multiple counts of fraud, after being involved in a scam that targeted elderly women who lived alone. From September 2015 to January 2016, a group of offenders obtained more than $270,000 from at least 30 victims. The women, aged between 74 and 95, were called and told there was a problem with their power or telephone account and that they owed money. The caller would say it needed to be resolved or else the victim’s power or phone would be cut off. They’d convince the women to hand over their PIN number for their bank card and someone would come and uplift their card. A female would then visit the victim’s address to collect the card.
