Vinomofo Wine Deals

[prozac]

Oh great. Now they have a security scare.

Hi prozac, I am writing to provide you with some important information about a recent cyber security incident at Vinomofo. Vinomofo experienced a cyber security incident where an unauthorised third party unlawfully accessed our database on a testing platform that is not linked to our live Vinomofo website. We immediately engaged leading cyber security and forensic specialists (including IDCARE, Australia’s national identity and cyber support service) to investigate the claim and took steps to further secure our IT environment and strengthen our systems. We also reported the matter to the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC). Our investigation established that customers’ and members’ information on our database on this testing platform was unlawfully accessed by a third party. However, our cyber security and forensic specialists have assessed that the risk to our customers and members by this information being accessed is low. Vinomofo does not hold identity or financial data such as passports, drivers’ licences or credit cards/bank details. While no passwords, identity documents or financial information were accessed, the database includes other information about customers and members. The information about you that was contained in the database that may have been accessed may include name, gender, date of birth, address, email address and phone number. Working with our IT experts, we have taken steps to further bolster the security of our technology systems to help prevent any similar incidents happening again. We are contacting you directly so you can take simple, precautionary steps to protect your information and avoid any potential scams. We advise that you remain alert to any increased scam activity – especially email, SMS or telephone phishing scams – with fraudulent communications disguised to look like they come from an organisation you trust. We recommend that you: Remember that good organisations do not contact you and ask you to “prove” who you are. If someone calls you unexpectedly claiming to be from an organisation, consider hanging up and calling them back on a known and trusted number. Look out for contact from scammers who may have your personal information. This may include suspicious emails, texts, phone calls or messages on social media. Protect yourself from scams. Never click on any links that look suspicious and never provide your passwords, or any personal or financial information. It is good practice to have up-to-date anti-virus software installed on any device you use to access your emails. Scamwatch also provides helpful guidance on how to spot a scam. Consider changing your email account passwords. Make sure you use strong passwords that you do not use for other accounts. Enabling multi-factor authentication is a good idea where possible. While your Vinomofo account password is still safe to use, it’s a good idea to regularly change your password. You may wish to update your password as a precautionary measure. You can find further information about online safety, cyber security and helpful tips to protect yourself at the Australian Cyber Security Centre or the ACCC’s Scamwatch website. If you have any outstanding concerns, we have partnered with IDCARE to provide specialist case management support. IDCARE’s service are at no cost to you. Their expert case managers can be booked online at a time that suits you during business hours (9am to 6pm AEDT). If you wish to engage IDCARE, please complete a Get Help form for individuals at idcare.org or contact 1800 595 160, quoting reference VMF22. We take the privacy and the protection of customer information very seriously and I apologise for any concern or inconvenience the incident has caused. We have taken this matter very seriously and we understand you may want to know more. You can access more information on our website at: www.vinomofo.com/cyber-incident-faqs/ If you have any questions, please contact [email protected]. Yours sincerely, Paul Edginton Vinomofo CEO

 

[Tannin]

From Cyber Incident FAQs | Vinomofo Australia comes this utter BS:

4. Who is included in the incident?

In the interests of the privacy of our customers and partners, and to reduce the risk of attempts by scammers to target them, we are not publicly releasing the total number of customers included in the incident.

 

[Whining&dining]

Icing on the cake in terms of recent disgruntlement

 

[misohoney]

Vm apology

 

[Hvr]

And here is the newspaper article:

Online wine seller Vinomofo suffers major data breach

The intruder accessed a database on a testing platform that included customers’ real names, addresses, dates of birth and contact details.

www.smh.com.au

 

[Tindersinder]

You wonder why Vinomofo needs its customers DOB, when a simple Yes or No that you are over 18 is needed. I have always provided false DOB in these circumstances.

 

[sagittariusdrake]

Vinomofo hacked!

"Hi DrRalph,



I am writing to provide you with some important information about a recent cyber security incident at Vinomofo.



Vinomofo experienced a cyber security incident where an unauthorised third party unlawfully accessed our database on a testing platform that is not linked to our live Vinomofo website.



We immediately engaged leading cyber security and forensic specialists (including IDCARE, Australia’s national identity and cyber support service) to investigate the claim and took steps to further secure our IT environment and strengthen our systems.



We also reported the matter to the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).



Our investigation established that customers’ and members’ information on our database on this testing platform was unlawfully accessed by a third party. However, our cyber security and forensic specialists have assessed that the risk to our customers and members by this information being accessed is low.



Vinomofo does not hold identity or financial data such as passports, drivers’ licences or credit cards/bank details.



While no passwords, identity documents or financial information were accessed, the database includes other information about customers and members.



The information about you that was contained in the database that may have been accessed may include name, gender, date of birth, address, email address and phone number.



Working with our IT experts, we have taken steps to further bolster the security of our technology systems to help prevent any similar incidents happening again.



We are contacting you directly so you can take simple, precautionary steps to protect your information and avoid any potential scams.



We advise that you remain alert to any increased scam activity – especially email, SMS or telephone phishing scams – with fraudulent communications disguised to look like they come from an organisation you trust.



We recommend that you:

• Remember that good organisations do not contact you and ask you to “prove” who you are. If someone calls you unexpectedly claiming to be from an organisation, consider hanging up and calling them back on a known and trusted number.
• Look out for contact from scammers who may have your personal information. This may include suspicious emails, texts, phone calls or messages on social media. Protect yourself from scams. Never click on any links that look suspicious and never provide your passwords, or any personal or financial information. It is good practice to have up-to-date anti-virus software installed on any device you use to access your emails. Scamwatch also provides helpful guidance on how to spot a scam.
• Consider changing your email account passwords. Make sure you use strong passwords that you do not use for other accounts. Enabling multi-factor authentication is a good idea where possible.

While your Vinomofo account password is still safe to use, it’s a good idea to regularly change your password. You may wish to update your password as a precautionary measure.



You can find further information about online safety, cyber security and helpful tips to protect yourself at the Australian Cyber Security Centre or the ACCC’s Scamwatch website.



If you have any outstanding concerns, we have partnered with IDCARE to provide specialist case management support. IDCARE’s service are at no cost to you. Their expert case managers can be booked online at a time that suits you during business hours (9am to 6pm AEDT). If you wish to engage IDCARE, please complete a Get Help form for individuals at idcare.org or contact 1800 595 160, quoting reference VMF22.



We take the privacy and the protection of customer information very seriously and I apologise for any concern or inconvenience the incident has caused.



We have taken this matter very seriously and we understand you may want to know more. You can access more information on our website at: www.vinomofo.com/cyber-incident-faqs/



If you have any questions, please contact [email protected].



Yours sincerely,



Paul Edginton

Vinomofo CEO "

That's more comprehensive information & advice than I've received from OptU$ over the last 3 weeks who leaked more sensitive data than VM.

 

[kevviek]

You wonder why Vinomofo needs its customers DOB, when a simple Yes or No that you are over 18 is needed. I have always provided false DOB in these circumstances.

same same. Assume nothing is secure. The only accurate thing they need from me is email and physical address. If anyone tries to use my VM DOB to verify identity, it will fail.

 

[Whining&dining]

“Vinomofo does not hold identity or financial data such as passports, drivers’ licences or credit cards/bank details,” it said in its online statement. “While the investigation established no passwords, identity documents or financial information were accessed, the database includes other information about customers and members.”
I'm probably wrong* but when you hit the "Buy Now Boom" button rather than the "Add to cart" button on their site doesn't VM use your stored credit card info to auto-fill the transaction? Too scared to try the theory out as I don't want to inadvertently make a purchase

*don't send in the attack dogs please

 

[prozac]

“Vinomofo does not hold identity or financial data such as passports, drivers’ licences or credit cards/bank details,” it said in its online statement. “While the investigation established no passwords, identity documents or financial information were accessed, the database includes other information about customers and members.”
I'm probably wrong* but when you hit the "Buy Now Boom" button rather than the "Add to cart" button on their site doesn't VM use your stored credit card info to auto-fill the transaction? Too scared to try the theory out as I don't want to inadvertently make a purchase

*don't send in the attack dogs please

Yes, it uses stored credit card/s. You get to choose which one you will use today.
Now I worry about what organisations like insurance or health providers who could buy the information to discover how much you are really drinking.

 

[Whining&dining]

I'm more worried about my spouse TBH

 

[tgh]

Apple stores all our credit card info and auto fills web forms if we ask, but countless places we buy from also seem to have the info….

All this identity theft is really beyond the average punter to protect and I opine that there may soon be a much tighter interface between individuals and corporations. The cost to orgs in terms of remediation, compensation and loss of face must inevitably drive a less user freindly but more secure transaction process.
Orwellian mayhaps.. but the under skin chip implant may not be as far away as many think.

 

[Whining&dining]

“Vinomofo does not hold identity or financial data such as passports, drivers’ licences or credit cards/bank details” surely that's a contradiction in terms of the comments above?

 

[agrias]

The fact that they might have leaked personal information via their testing platform suggest questionable security practice. As a rule of thumb, you don't use production-environment/real info during testing. It should always be scrambled or dummy data, especially if it involves personal info.

 

[ptreek]

Hello, I'm a long time lurker and first time poster.

I have read the recent complaints about Vinomofo and it got me thinking about how I use the site. For the record I'm a big fan of VM but have nothing to do with it other than as a customer and I also buy wines from various places including wine sites like VM, Wine Star, Nicks; from wine stores like Prince wine room in Sth Melbourne; from vineyard subscriptions (I have 5 at the moment); and from wine auctions such as Langtons. I also go to tasting most months. I have bought about 20 cases of wine from VM over the last year.

I thought I'd share my two cents worth about wine and how VM fits in for me:

1. All wine tasting is subjective no matter how developed or sophisticated your palette is. I go to tastings where there are 20 to 40 good quality wines months and I reckon generally I "like" at best half of them and there are only a few I really love. The ones I don't like aren't objectively bad wines - other people rave about them - I just don't appreciate them. I don't get why people expect that all wines they order untasted through VM or anywhere else will or should taste good to them. That's not how wine works. VM has a return policy but that's marketing more than a guarantee that you are going to like the wines you order.
2. Wine is hype. Sure there can be some correlation between price and the quality of the wine (grapes used, picking techniques etc) but at a certain price point it becomes very weak. If you follow wines you will be see how a long standing and well priced wine or vineyard get a great review by Halliday or Suckling and then their wines are in demand and the prices go up (and the value goes down). And while that is happening there is a neighbouring vineyard who also make great wines who get neglected and continue to sell good quality wines for good value. The same stuff happens on VM. They hype wines because they want to sell them.
3. Wine is like fashion in that some things are more popular than others at a particular time but there is always new things on the way. This applies to varietal types so, for example, rose sells like crazy at the moment but riesling remains shamefully unloved (though this is supposedly changing or so they have been saying for the last couple of decades). It applies to regions. And with seasons it applies to vintages. On the last thing I hear people say stupid things like x was a terrible vintage (because they read it in Hallidays or somewhere) as though all wines in all regions were terrible that year. It's never true but people cling onto this stuff.
4. VM's model is to sell wine at a discount to the retail price. I try to think why a vineyard would be flogging off the wine at a discount before considering whether to order it. Good reasons are that the new vintage is about to appear in the winery and they want to move the old stuff on so they don't compete; and the Chinese tariffs have devastated the export market.
5. I tend to only buy wines from VM where there is a plausible explanation for the discount. For example, if VM is selling off Yarra Valley rose or Tasmanian most thing I would not go near it as I can't think of why a vineyard would sell off Yarra Valley rose or Tasmanian wines at a big discount in the current market except if they want to bury the product because it ain't good. I also stay away from wines that do not have an established presence in the Oz market place. Some vineyards create a range under a label name for flogging off at a discount. It is around for a year or two and then replaced by a new label name and so on.
6. I do not buy wines from VM that fall into the current hyped category and try to look for wines where I can understand why they are being sold at a discount.
7. I always work out what the black market wine is. It ain't that hard normally. Check out the ratings for the vintage but also the ones around it and do searches to see what it has been selling for.
8. Most wines I buy on VM come from three Australian regions that I know quite well as I have toured them and go to tasting of those regional wines every year. Importantly they are not the premier wine regions in Oz so their wines tend to be a bit unhyped (and therefore better value) and there is a plausible reasons for why they are selling for a discount. An example of this for me is a region like the Claire Valley. Recently wineries like Kilakinoon got smashed by the Chinese tariffs and have been heavily discounting their wines through VM (and also their own website) to keep cash flow up and stock down. Great value to be had.

TLDR: there are no guarantees with any wine but you can improve your chances.

 

[prozac]

Hello, I'm a long time lurker and first time poster.

I have read the recent complaints about Vinomofo and it got me thinking about how I use the site. For the record I'm a big fan of VM but have nothing to do with it other than as a customer and I also buy wines from various places including wine sites like VM, Wine Star, Nicks; from wine stores like Prince wine room in Sth Melbourne; from vineyard subscriptions (I have 5 at the moment); and from wine auctions such as Langtons. I also go to tasting most months. I have bought about 20 cases of wine from VM over the last year.

I thought I'd share my two cents worth about wine and how VM fits in for me:

1. All wine tasting is subjective no matter how developed or sophisticated your palette is. I go to tastings where there are 20 to 40 good quality wines months and I reckon generally I "like" at best half of them and there are only a few I really love. The ones I don't like aren't objectively bad wines - other people rave about them - I just don't appreciate them. I don't get why people expect that all wines they order untasted through VM or anywhere else will or should taste good to them. That's not how wine works. VM has a return policy but that's marketing more than a guarantee that you are going to like the wines you order.
2. Wine is hype. Sure there can be some correlation between price and the quality of the wine (grapes used, picking techniques etc) but at a certain price point it becomes very weak. If you follow wines you will be see how a long standing and well priced wine or vineyard get a great review by Halliday or Suckling and then their wines are in demand and the prices go up (and the value goes down). And while that is happening there is a neighbouring vineyard who also make great wines who get neglected and continue to sell good quality wines for good value. The same stuff happens on VM. They hype wines because they want to sell them.
3. Wine is like fashion in that some things are more popular than others at a particular time but there is always new things on the way. This applies to varietal types so, for example, rose sells like crazy at the moment but riesling remains shamefully unloved (though this is supposedly changing or so they have been saying for the last couple of decades). It applies to regions. And with seasons it applies to vintages. On the last thing I hear people say stupid things like x was a terrible vintage (because they read it in Hallidays or somewhere) as though all wines in all regions were terrible that year. It's never true but people cling onto this stuff.
4. VM's model is to sell wine at a discount to the retail price. I try to think why a vineyard would be flogging off the wine at a discount before considering whether to order it. Good reasons are that the new vintage is about to appear in the winery and they want to move the old stuff on so they don't compete; and the Chinese tariffs have devastated the export market.
5. I tend to only buy wines from VM where there is a plausible explanation for the discount. For example, if VM is selling off Yarra Valley rose or Tasmanian most thing I would not go near it as I can't think of why a vineyard would sell off Yarra Valley rose or Tasmanian wines at a big discount in the current market except if they want to bury the product because it ain't good. I also stay away from wines that do not have an established presence in the Oz market place. Some vineyards create a range under a label name for flogging off at a discount. It is around for a year or two and then replaced by a new label name and so on.
6. I do not buy wines from VM that fall into the current hyped category and try to look for wines where I can understand why they are being sold at a discount.
7. I always work out what the black market wine is. It ain't that hard normally. Check out the ratings for the vintage but also the ones around it and do searches to see what it has been selling for.
8. Most wines I buy on VM come from three Australian regions that I know quite well as I have toured them and go to tasting of those regional wines every year. Importantly they are not the premier wine regions in Oz so their wines tend to be a bit unhyped (and therefore better value) and there is a plausible reasons for why they are selling for a discount. An example of this for me is a region like the Claire Valley. Recently wineries like Kilakinoon got smashed by the Chinese tariffs and have been heavily discounting their wines through VM (and also their own website) to keep cash flow up and stock down. Great value to be had.

TLDR: there are no guarantees with any wine but you can improve your chances.

Welcome to AFF @ptreek . Always good to hear other opinions. Sometimes too a wine in limited quantities can be vineyard selling the last of older stock making room for the incoming current vintage.

 

[misohoney]

I don't get why people expect that all wines they order untasted through VM or anywhere else will or should taste good to them.

The dissapointment tends to come from an inaccurate description (eg. A full wine when it is light and watery).

 

[redbigot]

I don't get why people expect that all wines they order untasted through VM or anywhere else will or should taste good to them. That's not how wine works.

Once you have worked out what the wine is and read the relevant reviews, if you've been drinking that type of wine for more than a few years then you should be able to decide if it's likely to suit your palate. I ALWAYS expect a wine I order to be something I am happy to drink. I'm sometimes disappointed, but not often.

I appreciate I'm maybe in a minority of VM buyers, but there are many who frequent this and other wine forums who have the tasting experience and understanding of what they like and which of various reviewers they generally agree with to be able to buy confidently.

Personal tastes can change over time, but for me that hasn't happened to any great degree since 1982 when I stopped drinking white wine, except for an occasional Champagne. I taste a lot of wine, and have done for many years, so most of the wine I buy in any quantity (6 or more) I have tried before I buy, apart from Vinomofo buys, but I generally buy wines there that I know and I have tried other vintages, one of the few advantages of getting old and still having a good memory.

The more you taste and the better your palate memory the more confident you can become in buying wines you may not have tasted before.

 

[ptreek]

Once you have worked out what the wine is and read the relevant reviews, if you've been drinking that type of wine for more than a few years then you should be able to decide if it's likely to suit your palate. I ALWAYS expect a wine I order to be something I am happy to drink. I'm sometimes disappointed, but not often.

I appreciate I'm maybe in a minority of VM buyers, but there are many who frequent this and other wine forums who have the tasting experience and understanding of what they like and which of various reviewers they generally agree with to be able to buy confidently.

Personal tastes can change over time, but for me that hasn't happened to any great degree since 1982 when I stopped drinking white wine, except for an occasional Champagne. I taste a lot of wine, and have done for many years, so most of the wine I buy in any quantity (6 or more) I have tried before I buy, apart from Vinomofo buys, but I generally buy wines there that I know and I have tried other vintages, one of the few advantages of getting old and still having a good memory.

The more you taste and the better your palate memory the more confident you can become in buying wines you may not have tasted before.

100% agree

 

[tgh]

Otoh…… …. life is an adventure and, imo, would be a tad boring if I just drank predictable stuff that I like.
Buying with my heart, I have some disappointments but also some triumphs… the joy of the chase...
A wine that hits the spot for my palate is especially enjoyable when it comes from an unexpected source.