WELLINGTON, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- The New Zealand Reserve Bank is alerting the public to what appears to be an automated phone call scam randomly targeting members of the public, according to a statement on Friday.

The scam call, purportedly from the Reserve Bank, plays a pre-recorded message saying that the receiver has "an important customer message from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand." If the receiver stays on the call, a real person takes the call on the other end and proceeds to start talking in a foreign language.

This phone call is not from the Reserve Bank. The Reserve Bank does not call individual members of the public, the statement said.

"We recommend not following any instructions from the caller, and to hang up and not attempt to call the number back," it said. 

(Photo: VCG)