Once scammed - then scammed again by people posing as helpful online agents.

Banking Ombudsman Nicola Sladden today warned of a surge in “recovery room” scams targeting bank customers.

Sladden said recovery room scammers posed as online agencies offering to help victims recover their funds.

But the charlatans charged an upfront “fee” to help.

“The most insidious thing about these scams is they prey on people who have already suffered heavy financial losses and are desperate to recoup those losses,” Sladden said.

Sladden said in one recent case, a customer engaged a recovery room agency after he lost $350,000 in an investment scam - only to lose another $45,000 to the agency.

“It pressured him into making the payment, saying it was a prerequisite to starting the retrieval process,” she added.

Despite the agency website offering a total money-back guarantee and claiming success in more than 95 per cent of cases, the customer saw none of his cash again.

“We’ve seen more and more of these cases in recent months,” Sladden said.

“Invariably, victims lose even more money - and involving such agencies sometimes prejudices their ability to recover their funds.”

Recovery room scammers operate in shady online recesses and claim to be experts in helping scam victims recover their funds.

“They claim to work with customers to build a strong case to force the return of funds from the merchant or original scammer,” the ombudsman added.

But Sladden said the so-called experts did not properly understand banking practices or consumer rights under New Zealand law.

 “Recovery room scammers typically send customers a standardised letter to pass on to their bank arguing why they should be reimbursed for their losses.”

But Sladden said the recovery room scammers’ arguments were deeply flawed in fact or law.

“They assert, for example, that a regulator must physically inspect a merchant’s premises before the merchant can accept a payment.”

Or the fake assistants might claim refer to international standards that do not apply in New Zealand.

“These arguments serve only to confuse the situation and result in delays or misunderstandings that can hinder banks’ efforts to recover payments.”

Sladden said customers should approach their bank directly for help.

She said the Banking Ombudsman Scheme could provider independent advice and help to scam victims.

But Sladden also urged banks to do better to support scam victims and inform them of other support available, such as from police, Victim Support, or the identity theft and cyber support service IDCare.