An internet scammer's been caught out after calling into the Newstalk ZB newsroom.

A man claiming to be from the "Windows Technical Department" called reporter Andrew McMartin and tried to gain access to a computer.

The scammer said he needed to gain remote access to the computer to fix the problem.

"If you just give me a few minutes, I will show you the problem."

However, when our reporter asked the man what country he was calling from, the man said "Auckland, sir."

Netsafe director Martin Cocker says scammers often claim to be from broadband companies, such as Spark.

"There's a series of websites that they'll take you to. Those websites are designed to give them remote access to your computer as if they were sitting in front of it.

"They can read into these files. They can download and store software. Some people are beginning to suffer pretty big financial losses as a result."

The scammer hung up when he was told he was being recorded.