This week I called someone genuine a scam caller. That’s a first. At least I did it nicely. My normal behaviour when I think someone is a scam caller is to let out an unearthly scream down the line which makes Chris jump if he is anywhere in the house. I feel better for screaming and I am not too bothered as to what the caller thinks.

One of the reasons I was wary of a scam call was a friend being unpleasantly scammed at the weekend. The friend told us their story and how they felt that horrible combination of foolishness, anger and disillusionment that results from being scammed. They saw a caravan for sale online, it looked like a good deal, though not ridiculously cheap. They need extra accommodation for a family member who is coming to stay for a month so they had been looking for appropriate vans or caravans. The caravan was listed on the Queenstown Trading Facebook page.

Our friend did the first part of their homework. They checked the caravan is registered. It is, to someone in Northland. The place to look at the caravan was a valid address in the south part of Queenstown, about 40 minutes’ drive away. Our friend rang and asked about the caravan. The person answering the phone said it was still available, but there was more than one person interested. So, if our friend wanted to be sure they could purchase the caravan if they liked it, they should transfer a deposit. The person on the phone provided a bank account number.

Our friend checked the bank account was valid. It was, and at the same bank our friend uses. The caravan looked really good; our friend went ahead and transferred the deposit. They arranged to go and see it the next day.

Our friend turned up to the address where the caravan was located. Except it wasn’t. There was no caravan at the address, which was an AirBnB accommodation with no one living in it permanently. The people staying there had no idea what our friend was talking about.

The penny started dropping. No caravan. And no phone reply from the phone number our friend had previously rung. And no ad on Queenstown Trading any longer. All lines of communication severed.

Our friend rang their bank and the police, both of whom have been very helpful. At least five people have been tricked recently by the same scam, so the police are interested. The bank was attentive, but limited in the information that they provided. Banks' responsibility, as it stands, is to protect the information of their customers, not give it out. Our friend isn’t hopeful they will ever see their money again. However, they are hopeful that the perpetrator might be tracked down so they don’t keep running the same scam.

That sets the scene – two days later I get a phone call telling me I have won a monthly prize draw from TSB Bank. I like TSB Bank, as a fully NZ-owned entity that has given me great service for the last thirty years (noting I also bank with multiple other banks to spread risk). My immediate reaction on someone telling me I had won a cash prize was to say, “I think you are a spam caller.” Judy from TSB Bank said, nicely, “I’d think that too, if I got a surprise phone call saying I had won money. Why don’t you look up the number for TSB online, call it, then ask to speak to me.”

I looked up TSB’s number and called. I said, “I’m ringing because I got a really strange phone call from someone saying they are from TSB and I have won a cash prize.”

“What was the person’s name,” they asked.

“Judy,” I said.

“Oh yes, I know Judy in the call centre, I’ll put you through.”

“Hi Judy, my name’s Jane.”

“Oh yes, Jane. I was just speaking with you.”

“Oops,” I said, “I told you I thought you were a scam caller.”

“Not a problem,” Judy said. “Much better to be safe. Now, can I ask you some questions to verify you are the person I should be talking with about the prize?”

Judy went through the normal TSB Bank verification process. Then she sent me a form to sign. I was still feeling pretty skeptical. I visualised scams in which TSB’s website had been hacked and a wrong phone number inserted. I checked all the links in the email footer by hovering over them and found nothing other than genuine links. I checked that such a prize draw takes place – it does and no winner had yet been announced for February. No information was requested other than my signature to confirm I am a genuine person banking with TSB and that they can use my name for publicity. TSB requires far more verification than a signature for any significant bank processes I initiate so I should be safe, even if it is a scam. I signed my life, or my bank account, or at least use of my name for publicity purposes away, and emailed the form back to Judy.

It’s a sad and tiring world where we have to be constantly on the alert for scams, isn’t it? The prevalence of scams, the ease with which they can be carried out, and their professionalism, make all of us vulnerable. We are particularly vulnerable when tired, or stressed, or distracted. And a scam attack might come at any time, from a multiplicity of avenues. Isn't that what we need an AI 'friend' for? To check our interactions online and on the phone and tell us if they think we are being scammed, in a Mr Spock-like way?

So far, my account hasn’t been hacked. Nor has the prize money turned up. I will be careful not to spend it in advance!