Covid-19 Vaccine Scam

Fraudsters are taking advantage of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout through a cruel but convincing text in an attempt to steal people’s personal and financial details. The text contains a link that leads to a very believable but bogus NHS website with an application form to register to take the vaccine.

A member got in touch today when they received a text message purporting to be from the NHS. It confusingly stated that “we have identified that your are eligible to apply for your vaccine” and advised him to follow a link to get more information and ‘apply’:

This URL(in blue) takes you through to an extremely convincing fake NHS website that asks for your personal details, but the member became suspicious when it asked for his bank/card details in order to ‘check his identity’. It was then that he began spotting spelling mistakes on the site and in the SMS itself e.g. ‘your are’ which are classic signs of a phishing scam.

Remain vigilant of coronavirus scams

We know that criminals will use the confusion and urgency around the pandemic as a way to target potential victims. With the recent approval of multiple vaccines in the UK, these types of scam attempts are likely to continue as fraudsters look to take advantage of the rollout to so many people.

Cold calls regarding the vaccine are also beginning to take place – I’ve already had reports of scammers asking people to pay for it over the phone. If you receive one of these calls, hang up. If you think you may have handed over your card details to scammers, let your bank know what’s happened immediately.

David Rose

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