Vaccination scam

Friday, 8 January 2021 14:42

People in Bradford are being warned about cyber criminals piggy-backing on the NHS roll out of the Covid-19 vaccination programme to try to steal from the vulnerable.

There have been reports of a new scam where a person receives a text message saying they need to book a vaccination appointment.

Clicking the link in the message takes the victim to a fake NHS form which asks for their bank details, and or credit/debit card number to prove their identity.

Anyone who receives the text message should delete it immediately. If you have already submitted the form with your credit card details included – you should contact your bank to enquire about changing your credit card number and a replacement card.

The National Health Service is free at the point of use and there is no charge or deposit required to be processed for the current vaccination programme.

Cllr Abdul Jabar, Bradford Council’s Executive Member for Neighbourhoods and Community Safety, said: “These scams follow a usual pattern. The same tactics have been used in the past to trick people into mistakenly believing they have an Amazon Gift Card to claim in the run-up to Christmas, or that their Netflix password has been compromised.

“What makes this latest scam so despicable is that it's specifically targeting elderly and vulnerable people.

“These are the groups most likely to be in line for the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccination and more likely to fall prey to these types of scams.

“They might not be as familiar with technology as younger people or might not have encountered this type of online scam before. That's something the cyber crooks are clearly hoping they can cash in on.”

Be assured, the NHS won’t ask for people’s credit/debit card number or banking information. If they are contacting you they will already have all the information they need.

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