Scammers have found New Zealand - and we're ripe for the picking

Police and the ANZ bank say there's been a major increase in scams and fraud over the past year.

Detective senior sergeant Bridget Doell says we're seeing a rise in scams that have been operating throughout the world for some time.

She says it indicates scammers are finding easy prey here, and coming back for more.

ANZ senior fraud manager Natasha McFlinn says as companies tighten up their security against fraudsters, more criminals are trying to trick customers into handing over their details themselves.