Metlinks thanks the public
Metlink is thanking Wellington commuters for their cooperation following the Government announcement that physical distancing is no longer required on public transport.
"We would like to thank everyone for their hard work complying with these measures on board our services for the last few weeks. This has been made possible by the your continued support for wearing face coverings on board public transport, which has made our services safer for both passengers and staff."
The Government still expects all New Zealanders to wear face coverings on public transport with exemptions only for school services, children under 12 years old, and passengers with disability and health concerns. Passengers should continue to follow the Government’s level 2 advice which includes logging their journeys using QR codes and the COVID-19 app, practicing good personal hygiene by washing and sanitising their hands before and after travelling, sneezing and coughing into their elbows and avoiding public transport completely if they are sick. Passengers can keep up to date with the Government’s latest alert level 2 measures on public transport through Metlink's social media, website and app.
Scam Alert: Fake information regarding December Bonuses from MSD
The Ministry of Social Development is reporting that fake information is circulating about new ‘December bonuses’ or ‘benefit increases’
If you get suspicious communication, please contact Netsafe.
Update to Neighbourly members on data breach 06/01/2025 8am
Yesterday in the High Court at Auckland, Neighbourly was successful in being granted an injunction against any unauthorised use of the data taken in a recent breach.
As we alerted you on January 1 and confirmed on January 3, our systems were accessed illegally and members’ information, including names, email addresses, GPS coordinates from the address you provided to us, forum posts and direct member communications were among the data that was accessed.
We acted immediately upon hearing of a potential breach: we temporarily disabled the site, notified members and authorities and worked with our external security consultants to understand if and how it had occurred. We then confirmed the breach with members, safely restored the site to service and began the process of seeking the injunction. Yesterday’s decision by Justice Johnstone prohibits the use of the data by any unauthorised person, and requires them to permanently delete it, or any information obtained from it.
This does not mean that vigilance against scammers is not still required: there is a large industry globally that seeks to use stolen information for identity fraud or to dupe people into providing details of their financial affairs for theft. Again, to keep yourself safe from scammers it is critical that you:
- Don’t click links in emails. Instead, type the web address directly into your browser. This helps ensure you’re visiting a real site, not a fake one
- Enable two-factor authentication where available as this adds an extra layer of security to your data
- Stay alert for phishing emails. Be cautious of unexpected emails asking for personal information, especially ones that create a sense of urgency.
Again, we want to apologise to you for this illegal access to the Neighbourly database and to assure you that we have carefully worked through how this occurred. We have safely secured the site and its services for use and ensured we have robust processes in place so this cannot happen again.
We are continuing to work with the relevant authorities, including the National Cyber Security Centre, on any further steps we need to take.
If you have any further questions please contact us via our customer support team at helpdesk@neighbourly.co.nz.
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