When to contact us and who else may be able to help

Check out Consumer Protection for scams known to be circulating in New Zealand and you can report a scam on their website. The FMA lists Scams that we know about. International Scams are listed by IOSCO.

Check the FMA's list of warnings and alerts

If the scam relates to an illegal investment offer or scheme you should contact the FMA.

Report any online incidents such as scams, frauds, privacy breaches or suspicious spam messages to NetSafe.

Report a scam

We recommend that you speak with a licenced financial adviser. All licenced financial advisers are listed on the FSPR.

General information about financial advice can be found on the our website or Sorted website.

You can check whether or not a company is registered in New Zealand at the Companies Office. You can also find basic details about a company such as; names of directors, addresses, registered shareholders and financial statements there.

By law, any business or person providing financial services to persons in New Zealand has to be registered and the company name or individual has to be listed on it if the Financial Service Providers (Registration and Dispute Resolution) Act 2008 applies to their business. Some examples include financial advice providers, finance companies, fund managers and foreign currency exchange dealers. Businesses or individuals are only able to be registered on the FSPR if they are actually providing financial services to persons in New Zealand.

The Financial Services Providers Register (FSPR) is an online register of the people, businesses, and organisations that offer financial services to persons in New Zealand.

Make a complaint to the company or individual using their complaint process – this should be described on their website or in documents they sent to you.

Contact the dispute resolution scheme they are a member of to help resolve your problem. This service is free. They can give advice on how to make an effective complaint and may be able to assist you.

If you have tried contacting them and used their dispute resolution scheme without success, you can make a complaint to us. We will not be able to help you get your money back if the company or individual is based overseas, however, we can provide you with publicly available information about them, such as where they are registered and who their directors are from the Companies Office.

If the business is located in New Zealand, we may have more ability to help, however, we cannot assist individual investors.

For matters about anti-competitive practices or complaints about misleading or deceptive conduct for financial products and services that occurred before 1 April 2014, you should contact the Commerce Commission.

The Banking Ombudsman investigates and resolves disputes between customers and their banks. They also deal with complaints about a range of non-bank financial service providers. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand is the prudential supervisor of banks and insurance companies.

Check the Reserve Bank of New Zealand website for a list of licensed insurance companies

The Insurance & Financial Services Ombudsman considers complaints about insurers and other financial service providers that are members of its scheme.

Contact Consumer Protection and the Commerce Commission about your rights when you use credit cards, store cards, buy goods or services on credit or get cash loans.

If you're worried about a loan with a finance company, you can contact Consumer Protection.

The FMA does not provide legal advice. For free advice contact the Citizens Advice Bureau or speak with a qualified legal adviser.

Contact the NZ Police.

The Serious Fraud Office will investigate if the fraud is serious or complex.

Contact the Real Estate Agents Authority about your rights when you buy and sell a property.

If you have an issue with an advertisement about a regulated security, contact the FMA.

All other queries should be directed to the Advertising Standards Authority.