New Zealanders lost just under $200 million to scams over the past year.  

That's according to 11 of the country's largest financial institutions.  

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment has released the figure for Fraud Awareness Week.  

Spokesperson Ian Caplin told Kate Hawkesby they want to make people more aware of authorised scams – where people agree to a payment. 

“The scammers are getting very sophisticated and they are making things like sort of hoax sites.” 

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