Jacinda Ardern has hit out at "rotten to the core" scammers who are pretending to be her online in an attempt to swindle money out of followers.
The scammers have set up Facebook pages under the Prime Minister's name, using grainy images of Ardern as the profile picture, and some are listed as personal blogs, the Daily Mail reported.
On one page, the scammers set up a Facebook Live video which showed Ardern speaking about the COVID-19 pandemic with text on top asking viewers to 'guess the animal behind the picture to be in with winning $5000'.
During a press conference on Monday, Ardern confirmed she was aware of the scams.
"We have raised it, any time we have seen these fake accounts, directly with Facebook. We have had a number of these accounts removed I understand as a result," she said.
"But my message to New Zealanders would be firstly, generally, look for a blue tick or some kind of authentication that the actual account you are following is real and genuine."
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A blue tick generally appears next to the verified social media accounts of well-known people, including Ardern.
But not everyone is aware of the fake Ardern Facebook pages. The Daily Mail reported that some oblivious people have posted on a scam page including one who asked for 'Ardern' to take action on child poverty.
When asked if she had a message for the scammers, Ardern replied: "There's not really any words I can use that are polite."
"I think people who prey online in this way, who use false messages to deceive people, are rotten to the core."
She also assured Kiwis that she can not ask for money on social media.
"I cannot actually ask, on behalf of charities or organisations online, based on the Cabinet Manual, for you to hand over money. So if you see that online or on Facebook Lives, that that is not real."
