Whittaker's is warning chocolate lovers of online giveaways too sweet to be true, as scam pages impersonating the brand become more sophisticated.
The fake pages offer promotions as sweeteners to get personal information and payment from unsuspecting Kiwis.
Whittaker’s said it had reported the issue to Netsafe, police and the National Cyber Security Centre and was actively monitoring and reporting to Meta to request scam pages be taken down as soon as they are identified.
However, Whittaker's said fake pages continue to appear online andwere becoming more sophisticated – including using images of Whittaker's people.
People should be particularly cautious of any giveaway promotion asking people to enter credit card or other payment details, Whittaker’s chief marketing officer Soraya Cottin said.
"While Whittaker’s often run our own giveaways on our own social media channels, we would never ask for credit card details or payment for postage of giveaway prizes.
"The best place to keep an eye out for Whittaker’s Chocolate giveaways is on our own Whittaker’s Chocolate Lovers social media channels as you can be sure that they are genuine."
Anyone who entered their personal financial information with one of the fake giveaway promotions was asked to contact their bank immediately.
The company added that it was aware of other brands appearing to experience similar incidents.
"This is a timely reminder for all consumers to be wary of any giveaway promotion on third party pages that asks for any personal financial information."
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