Police have warned of fraudsters and scammers sending fake text messages offering a COVID-19 vaccine. This is an attempt to steal personal and financial information.
These texts include a link to a very well put together phishing page that looks very convincingly like an NHS website page. On this page people are prompted to input bank details to register for a vaccine.
Similarly, to the above they are warning of cold callers asking people to book and pay for vaccines over the phone.
These are of course fake, and the vaccine has no charge. In these troubling times scammers are playing on the public’s sense of urgency to get vaccinated.
Derbyshire police have said: “The scam message reads ‘we have identified that you are eligible to apply for your vaccine’ and then prompts you to click on a link for further information or to ‘apply’ for the vaccine.”
“If you receive a text or email that asks you to click on a link or for you to provide information, such as your name, credit card or bank details, it’s a scam,” they added.
Although the police are now sending out warnings, reports of the above have been flooding in from the public over the Christmas period and these early weeks into the new year.
Criminals who have rolled out multiple scams over the pandemic are not going to stop, and now there is no way to stop them as they prey on the public’s fears of the pandemic and take advantage of people working from home on less secure networks.
Action Fraud who are the UK centre for fraud and cybercrime are advising the public to never give out personal details before verifying who they really are. Although these scam attempts may look genuine, official organisations such as banks or the NHS would never ask for credentials such as these.