Scammers are taking advantage of Christian women on online dating sites.

Police are investigating 11 cases where five New Zealanders have been duped by a man, who they met through dating sites such as catholic-dating-dot-com and christian-dating-dot-com.

The man, who describes himself as a businessman or missionary and in many cases says he's from Germany, tricks the women into having goods delivered to their homes and sending the items overseas.

Police believe the online persona is a fake profile created by overseas criminals.