Stalked after details stolen at casino
A woman has been harassed by a stranger who stole her contact tracing details during a trip to the SkyCity casino, prompting a police investigation.
The woman, who has asked not to be identified, visited the Hamilton casino during Covid-19 alert level 2.
The casino had strict regulations in place, so in order to enter she was required to become a member which meant she had to fill in a registration form and have her picture taken.
The details were also available to the Ministry of Health should contact tracing be required.
At alert level 2, almost all businesses were allowed to open provided they complied with public health guidance about physical distancing and contact tracing.
The woman, a pharmacy manager, said she understood the importance of handing over her details and didn’t think to question how they would be kept safe, given SkyCity is a large organisation.
She was required to provide her name, address, phone numbers, date of birth, and show her driver’s licence.
On May 30, a week after she visited the casino, the Bay of Plenty woman woke to a text message from a random number that said, ‘Good Morning’, with a kiss emoji.
She ignored the message, thinking the person had the wrong number, but days later, more texts and even phone calls, prompted the woman to reply.
In a text message seen by a man called Sonny introduced himself then went on to say ‘‘I saw u at the Hamilton casino couple of weeks ago (sic)’’.
He said he got her number from the SkyCity registration form.
The woman asked Sonny to stop texting her and not to call her again, but he ignored her plea.
He then told her he knew where she lived, and he would ‘‘see you in a couple weeks’’, prompting her to call police.
‘‘It’s really scary and creepy to think this guy has got my details and even my address.
‘‘He could turn up at any time. ‘‘I really expected more, I expected them to keep my details safe.
‘‘Why was the registration form not immediately inserted into the system and then shredded?’’
She contacted SkyCity last week, and staff said they spotted a person on CCTV who may have been the man who stole her details.
However, SkyCity was not sure whether he recorded them as he saw her writing them, or whether he stole the registration form.
‘‘The casino can’t find my details, but CCTV footage confirms I was there. They have all the details for the other four women I was with but not mine.’’
A SkyCity spokeswoman confirmed it was aware of the complaint.
‘‘We are reviewing CCTV footage of the incident that may assist police with their inquiries.
‘‘SkyCity is confident that the alleged offender is not a member of staff.’’
A police spokesperson has also confirmed officers were investigating the incident.
The woman said SkyCity offered to trespass the man once they found out who it was, but she said that was of no help to her now.
‘‘My last hope is that the police will find out who this guy is and speak with him.
‘‘I’ve blocked his number, but he has my address, which is frightening.’’
The Office of the Privacy Commissioner had not received any complaints of the same nature, however, it said it was usually contacted when a complaint could not be resolved privately.
Senior communications adviser Charles Mabbett said it hoped these kinds of privacy risks would now be a thing of the past because, under alert level 1, businesses no longer need to keep a contact tracing register for customers, unless they want to.
‘‘We are reviewing CCTV footage of the incident that may assist police with their inquiries’’.