What is spam?
Spam, also known as a nuisance message, refers to an email, SMS text or other electronic message sent by a business that doesn’t follow the rules set out by the law and that people don’t want to receive.
The term spam can also sometimes sometimes be used for scam SMS, email or other digital messages that contain phishing or malware links in them. These are harmful messages that are designed to cause harm to the person receiving them.
Videos
The below video provides information for students and educators on how to protect yourself against spam and scams.
The below video shows how to report a scam text message to 7726 using an Apple device.
The below video shows how to report a scam text message to 7726 using an Android device.
Posters and factsheets
How to report spam
Text spam
- Report the text spam for free by forwarding the spam message to Te Tari Taiwhenua Department of Internal Affairs at 7726.
- You can also watch the videos below that provide a step-by-step guide on how to report spam or scam messages to 7726:
Email spam
- Report email spam by filling in the online form on the Te Tari Taiwhenua Department of Internal Affairs website or forward the email to complaint@spam.govt.nz.