Public Notice – Email Phishing Alert

Barossa Co-op advises that, recently, an unauthorised third-party was temporarily able to gain access to the external mail platform used for electronic communications. Barossa Co-op took immediate steps to block access by the third-party and secured the system.

There is no evidence to suggest that personal information was downloaded or extracted. However, the unauthorised party was able to access the system. Out of an abundance of caution Barossa Co-op wishes to advise about the information that may have been accessed and the support available.

Personal Information that may have been accessed (some or all of the following)

Full name
Email address
Phone number
Address
Date of birth

Sensitive information NOT affected

The email platform did not store sensitive or financial information. The following data was not involved in this incident:

Credit card or banking details
Tax File Number (TFN)
Passport or driver licence details
Any other government issued identity information

Steps to take

Barossa Co-op suggests that appropriate steps are taken to protect account details. This includes changing passwords regularly, not re-using passwords and activating multi-factor authentication on all online accounts (where available).

Be alert for any phishing attempts that may come to you by phone, SMS, post, and/or email and to exercise caution when opening or responding to texts, emails, or phone calls from unknown or suspicious numbers.

Remember that Barossa Co-op nor any of its businesses including Barossa Fresh, Barossa Mitre 10, Barossa Betta, Intersport Barossa, Toyworld Barossa, The Design Studio, Barossa Lifestyle, Barossa Workwear and Barossa Central, will never contact you asking for your passwords or sensitive information. If you receive a request from an individual purporting to represent Barossa Co-op, or any of its businesses asking you to provide account or password details, please refrain from providing such information and alert us of the attempt.

Understand Government’s advice

The Australian Government has published information on the steps you can take to safeguard your data. You can view this on their website at cyber.gov.au.
If a person contacts you threatening to release your data unless payment is made, please report this immediately to ReportCyber via their website.
To report a scam, please do so via the ScamWatch website.
For further support on what to do if you are a victim of identity fraud, visit https://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/your-privacy-rights/data-breaches/Identity-fraud.

Further information

Visit Barossa Co-op website www.barossa.coop or enquire via the form link https://barossa.coop/contact-us/