Bay of Plenty retailers are being warned of a sophisticated Eftpos card skimming scam that involves an individual posing as a courier driver who delivers a package, but demands a small payment for delivery.

The victim pays with their Eftpos card using what they believe is an Eftpos machine given by the driver but is actually a card skimming device.

A Kerikeri shop owner was targeted by the scam on December 24 and subsequently had a large sum of money involving several thousand dollars withdrawn from their account using what appears to have been a duplicate copy of their Eftpos card.

Three similar incidents were reported in Whangarei on Wednesday. The scam was first reported in the Northland area in 2008.

Sergeant Wendy Hall of Kerikeri Police says the scam appears to have been sophisticated and carefully planned:

'It looks like the offender had previously visited and identified this shop,” says Wendy.

'The offender had the appearance of a professional delivery driver and gave no reason for the complainant to question the validity of the package at the time.

'It is likely this scam has been used elsewhere in New Zealand and I urge any one to exercise extreme caution if they receive a similar approach.

'If you have any suspicions then do not make any payment and contact police.”

The offender is described as male, caucasian, tall, skinny build, approximately 50 years old, with a beard. He was wearing a green baseball cap and green shirt with the company logo "NZ Transport Ltd".

Anyone with information is encouraged to phone the police, or phone Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.