If you follow our Ravensdown Facebook page, you may have noticed the page is not currently visible when searching for it.  

Yesterday, our administrator access to the Ravensdown Facebook page was revoked by an unknown and unauthorised third party. Shortly after our administrator access was revoked the Facebook page was taken offline.

After becoming aware of the incident, we immediately began an investigation to determine the cause and extent of any unauthorised access to our systems.

From our investigation to date, we can assure you that this incident is contained to Ravensdown’s Facebook page only.

We apologise for any concern this news may cause and would like to assure you that there is no broader impact to Ravensdown customer information or our IT environment.   

However, unfortunately there is now a heightened risk that the unauthorised and unknown third party may use our Facebook profile to make unsolicited contact with other Facebook users, in particular Ravensdown followers.

If you do receive a message on Facebook Messenger that appears to be from Ravensdown, please report the message to Facebook via their help centre: https://www.facebook.com/help/1380418588640631?ref=scam&helpref=faq_content

Our technology team is working to resolve this issue as soon as possible. In the meantime, we have included some information on how to remain vigilant to scams below.

Remember, Ravensdown will never ask you for your account details or passwords.

If you have any queries, please phone our Customer Centre on 0800 100 123.

Regards,

Gary Bowick

Chief Customer Officer

 

What precautionary steps can I take?

We urge you to remain vigilant against the risk of targeted phishing emails and social media messaging scams, which are often the most likely risk associated with social media account take overs.

Scam social media messages and phishing emails are becoming increasingly sophisticated. They usually are designed to create a sense of urgency to convince you to disclose sensitive information or to elicit funds from you. Typically, this will look like a ‘flash sale’ offering products at heavily discounted rates available for a short time only. The message may include a tiny URL link that directs you to a scam ‘look-alike’ website where your payment details and personal information are stolen.

There are some steps you can take to help protect yourself against these scams, it is important to:

• be aware of social media, email, telephone and text-based scams. Do not share your personal information with anyone unless you are confident about who you are sharing it with.
• if something looks too good to be true, like a flash sale offering heavily discounted products for a limited time only, it usually is.
• when on a webpage asking for your login credentials, take note of the web address or URL ('Uniform Resource Locator'). The URL is located in the address bar of your web browser and typically starts with https://.
• if you are suspicious of the URL, do not provide your login details or payment details. Contact the entity through the usual channels to ensure you are logging into the correct web page. Please note that we will never contact you to ask for your username or password.
• change your passwords regularly.
• where possible, make sure your passwords are twelve or more characters in length.
• avoid using the same password for all your online accounts
• consider a string of random words that you can stitch together as your password.
• keep your passwords fresh by changing them regularly.
• enable multi-factor authentication for your online accounts where possible, including your email, banking, and social media accounts.
• ensure you have up-to-date anti-virus software installed on any device you use to access your online account.
• review the New Zealand Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment's Scamwatch guidance on protecting yourself from scams here: https://www.consumerprotection.govt.nz/general-help/scamwatch/
• for further guidance about protecting your identity, you may wish to visit the New Zealand Government's ID Theft guidance page here: https://www.govt.nz/browse/law-crime-and-justice/identity-theft/.