Phone hoax a bad call

Photo / APN

Police have criticised Vodafone New Zealand for a fake store break-in to promote a new mobile phone.

The company used its official Twitter account to "reveal" the theft of a shipment of its new Sony Ericsson PlayStation phones this week.

The story was picked up by international media, including the Australian newspaper, before Vodafone confirmed the theft was a hoax.

A police spokesman said it was "not very responsible" and had the potential to cause "unnecessary alarm".

But Vodafone spokesman Matthew East said the company had informed police and the Auckland Council they would be filming a mock break-in at a central Auckland store.

East said: "We didn't create a mass panic. It would be a bit different if we had called in a bomb scare."

He said the Vodafone marketing team wanted to create a "buzz" around the release of the phone, the first with a built-in PlayStation Portable gaming device.

"I got a couple of calls from the Australian media. That's the danger of writing something without checking it. They have taken Twitter and Facebook seriously."

Reporter Chris Griffith, who wrote the story, declined to comment.

Vodafone posted a message on Twitter on Wednesday saying: "Our fraud team are investigating the stolen Xperia PLAY phones and have released footage of the break-in Can you help?"

They posted a link to a YouTube clip of what appeared to be people breaking into a store.