A CORONAVIRUS data collection scam has irked an Albury trader, who says border businesses already have enough on their plate.
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A flyer on NSW government letterhead and bearing a QR code is understood to have been circulated to Albury eateries recently.
Get Tossed Salad Bar owner Cheryl Cornish said a delivery person handed over the suspicious flyer to one of her employees at her Dean Street premises on Monday afternoon.
Ms Cornish said the poor grammar and lack of identification from the distributor suggested it was part of a scam.
"We've got enough to deal with at the moment without people trying to scam personal information through businesses in this way," she said.
"We have sent it off to trusted authorities for closer inspection."
Ms Cornish said hospitality businesses now needed to record details of customers dining-in at their premises as part of their COVIDSafe management plans.
She said she had used point of sales data collection and QR code technology to collect and safely store contact information for 28 days under NSW public health orders since mid-July.
"We need to make it easy for our customers if they want to dine in," Ms Cornish said.
"We're all struggling to make sure we comply with these regulations.
"It's disappointing when an enterprising digital marketing person or persons are distributing these flyers to local cafes."
IN OTHER CORONAVIRUS NEWS:
Albury Northside Chamber of Commerce general manager Carrick Gill-Vallance urged businesses to rely on online government advice for COVIDSafe management plans.
He said the flyer being circulated in Albury looked like a reasonable replica but the grammar and vagueries gave it away.
"If anyone is soliciting information to businesses they should try to check the credentials of the people or ask them to supply them," he said.
"The best approach is to rely on the government advice provided online (for COVIDSafe business management plans)."
Ms Cornish said Albury businesses were already struggling with the border closure 3.0 and stage three restrictions in regional Victoria.
She said though she had revamped her store throughout the coronavirus pandemic to streamline the takeaway service, tighter border restrictions were starting to take their toll.
"We've noticed a downturn since the tighter restrictions," she said.
"Even getting supplies has been affected this time around, adding another layer of complexity to the border closure."
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