More warnings as fake monk scam reports escalate

Auckland Council is urging individuals to refrain from engaging with people dressed as monks who are aggressively demanding money as a donation in exchange for trinkets or bracelets.

The warning comes after a rise in reports of people dressed as monks fundraising aggressively in Auckland and other parts of the country.

Lisa Cribbens, acting general manager of licensing and compliance at Auckland Council, urged people not to engage with such individuals and contact police if they encountered behaviour that was intimidating, deceptive or aggressive.

"People who are lawfully undertaking [fundraising] activities are required to hold either a fundraising licence or a street trading permit," Cribbens said.

"Our Community Safety Wardens regularly patrol central Auckland streets and other areas of Auckland and can issue notices to those not complying with council bylaws.

"Failure to comply may result in the seizure of items being used in connection with the activity."

Auckland Council had yet to receive any complaints relating to this activity, Cribbens said.

New reports of encounters with people dressed as monks asking for donations in Auckland emerged on Wednesday.

Julia Bainbridge told RNZ she was shopping with her sister-in-law at Westgate Shopping Centre on 6 June when they were approached by a man she described as being older than 50 and dressed as a monk.

Bainbridge said the man did not speak to the pair but walked up to them and handed them a gold blessing card that read, "Work smoothly, lifetime peace".

The man then took Bainbridge and her sister-in-law by the arm, placed bracelets on their wrists and bowed to them.

After they thanked him and tried to leave, Bainbridge said the man pulled out a notebook containing a list of people's names, each followed by a "$20" entry.

She felt compelled to add her name to the list and was prompted to give him a donation.

After giving the man $5, he repeatedly pointed at the $20 entries in the book, she said.

Bainbridge said she ended up giving the man $25 in total.

"I didn't want to do it, but we were just trying to get away from him," she said.

Bainbridge said she didn't feel comfortable refusing to give the man what he asked for because he was dressed as a monk and she didn't want to be rude.

"He just blesses you, and you just assume he's a monk because he's wearing a monk's outfit," she said.

Bainbridge did not report the incident to police because she had not initially suspected anything was wrong and only realised she might have been scammed after reading media reports about similar encounters yesterday.

Kyle Liu, an Auckland resident who lives in the CBD, said he witnessed a similar incident at Viaduct Harbour on 4 June.

Liu said he was relaxing on the dock when a man dressed as a monk approached another man sitting nearby.

Liu said the man asked the person sitting beside him for a donation in broken English, offering a bracelet in return.

Liu did not believe the man to be a genuine monk.

"I don't think a real monk would wander around asking people for money like that," he said.

The incidents have generated discussion on social media, with some users on Chinese social media app RedNote, saying they had seen people dressed as monks approaching members of the public in Hobsonville Point, Westgate and Pak'nSave car parks.

Some social media users believed the people seeking donations were not acting alone.

RNZ has also reported that Wellington shoppers have been left bemused, frustrated and angry by a group allegedly handing out religious-looking tokens before asking for money.

Some people took to social media to warn others about the behaviour, likening it to "fake monk" scams previously reported in Auckland in 2015 and overseas.

Police in Auckland are warning individuals in the city centre not to engage with people dressed as monks reportedly demanding cash for bracelets.

Relieving area commander for Auckland Central, Inspector Beth Houliston, said there was some suggestion intimidatory behaviour was also being directed at those in the CBD, though they had not had any reports.

"It's very important that anyone reports being approached in these circumstances to police as soon as you are able to," she said.

"If you are approached by someone dressed as a monk, and are being handed bracelets and demanded to hand over cash, please do not engage."