Police are warning the public to be alert as scams have surged recently, with some victims losing hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Whakatāne Police Sergeant Chris Howard said police had received reports in the past month of scammers draining large sums directly from people’s bank accounts.

The largest recent case involved “near a quarter of a million dollars”, which Mr Howard described as “people’s hard-earned money”.

“Scammers will often say, ‘there’s been an unauthorised transaction in your account and we’ve just noticed it. Can you please log on to your account online?’

“The bank’s never going to call you about this. They’re never going to ask you for access codes or passwords.

“If you’re in doubt, just say, ‘I’ll ring you back.’ When you ring your bank’s registered number, they’ll say, ‘No, this is a scam.’”

Once money is transferred, recovery is difficult.

Mr Howard said about 90 percent of such scams were run from overseas, often using New Zealand “money mule” accounts, with funds moved quickly before police are notified.

“Generally, by the time we get notified, the money’s gone,” he said.

Police are also seeing widespread losses through Facebook Marketplace scams, with dozens of complaints each week from people paying for goods they haven’t yet picked up, and then they don’t exist.

“Pay for it when you pick up the goods,” Mr Howard said.

“If the people don’t want to let you do that, then it’s not worth it.”

Anyone who suspects they have been scammed should contact their bank immediately and, if unsure, ask family members for help.