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Home / New Zealand

Covid 19 coronavirus: Woman contacted by stranger after details stolen from contact tracing form

NZ Herald
9 Jun, 2020 09:30 PM3 mins to read

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From today, people in managed self-isolation and quarantine won't be able to apply for exemptions to attend funerals and tangi.

"Good morning" - and a kiss emoji - was the first text and the initial sign that something odd was going on.

The woman who received that text would later get another, and another after that, before phone calls would prompt her to finally reply to the stranger.

"I saw u at the Hamilton casino couple of weeks ago (sic)," the stranger replied.

The incident involves a Bay of Plenty woman who visited the SkyCity Hamilton casino, on Victoria St, with a small group of friends during alert level 2.

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She told Stuff she received a text just over a week ago - on Saturday, May 30 - from a random phone number saying: "Good morning" with a kiss emoji.

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After ignoring the first text, she continued to get more texts and then phone calls, she told the publication.

He then text her that he had seen her at the Hamilton casino about two weeks before that.

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'It's really creepy'

It was only when she asked how the texter - who identified himself as "Sonny" - got her number, that she realised the extent of the situation.

He replied to her: "Oh - the form you were filling ..."

The woman revealed that because of strict Covid-19 contact tracing rules, she was required to become a member in order to get into the casino.

That meant filling out a registration form - that meant giving her name, phone numbers, date of birth and address. Her photo was also taken for the database.

"It's really scary and creepy to think this guy has got my details and even my address," she told Stuff.

The woman was with a group of friends who visited the SkyCity Hamilton casino (above) during alert level 2. Image / Google
The woman was with a group of friends who visited the SkyCity Hamilton casino (above) during alert level 2. Image / Google

Police told the Herald that they had received a report in relation to the incident and that inquiries were, as of this morning, still ongoing.

In response, SkyCity said it was aware of the customer's complaint after providing personal details when visiting SkyCity Hamilton last month.

"On this occasion the customer did not complete the sign-up process and the form was disposed of in a secure manner. Our understanding is that the alleged offender took a photograph of her details whilst she was filling in the form.

"We are reviewing surveillance footage of the incident and have offered our assistance to police."

However, it is understood that a form the woman filled out could not be found in the system and it is thought whoever took it was not an employee.

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The woman said SkyCity had confirmed that CCTV footage showed she was at the casino with four other women at the time.

The details for all four of those women remained at the casino.

The case comes after a similar situation reported last month - when an Auckland woman who visited a Subway restaurant on the North Shore received a text, email and Facebook friend request from the man who had just served her.

"I felt pretty gross. He made me feel really uncomfortable."

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