People living in Gedling borough have been warned about a text message scam asking people to “sign up” for the coronavirus vaccine.
The fake text message claims to be from the NHS and tells people in the borough they are eligible to apply for the COVID-19 vaccine.
The message reads: “NHS: We have identified that your are eligible to apply for your vaccine” and advises recipients to follow a link to an “application form” for more information and to “apply.”
This link goes to a convincing fake NHS website that asks for personal details.
The website then asks for his bank and card details in order to “confirm identity.”
Consumer website Which? uncovered the scam and also found that the fake site was only registered a week ago — ‘another reason to be suspicious’, the said.
With the recent approval of COVID-19 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,” Which? warned.
Which? has also had reports of cold calling scams regarding the vaccine, with scammers asking people to pay for it over the phone.
Arnold resident Jim Noble also flagged the hoax text to Gedling Eye.
“It’s quite convincing,’ he said.
“I’ve had genuine texts from my GP surgery and the NHS before so texts aren’t a surprise. I remember seeing on your website that public health bosses were telling everyone vulnerable would be first and I’m not one of those, so I was suspicious.
On Twitter, consumer expert Claer Barrett explained how the latest text scam that is doing the rounds this week, works.
“The link leads to this fake, yet convincing, website to fool you into entering card details. A big clue this is fake? – spelling errors. Plus, you don’t need to pay. The NHS is free at the point of use, and over-80s are the priority group for vaccines. If in doubt, call your GP,” she said.
“Scammers know we’re in a fragile mental state, and that these kinds of ‘urgent – you must act now’ messages will catch us off-guard.
“In all cases, breathe and take a step back. If it’s an unprompted link on a text, asking for lots of personal details and your credit card number, it’s almost certainly a scam. If you’re not sure, phone a friend,” she added.
