Covid Scam

[SamsarandaParticipant @samsaranda]

[SamsarandaParticipant @samsaranda]

I am sure that a lot of you will have had this scam email but for those who haven’t then beware. At 6.30 this morning my mobile pinged and the message read: You have been in close contact with someone who has recently tested positive for Omicron. Please order a test kit: https://your-pcr-order.com. At that time of the morning I am not at my best and not as alert as I should be. In our house we are ultra careful about infection with Covid as my wife’s health is not good so we avoid contact with others, but last Thursday I visited a local tyre garage and had a new set of tyres fitted but I was impressed at how Covid aware they were so thought it highly unlikely that contact was from there. Anyway I decided to follow the link, as instructed, to order a test I began filling in the questionnaire that was presented on screen, it had NHS logos on the pages which meant it seemed credible. I was ok till I got to the line which requested credit card number and last three digits, in order to pay £1.28 for postage, alarm bell then rang, this is a scam. Because it came early in the morning, when I was not at my best, it nearly succeeded but I remembered the warnings that I had seen that the NHS would never ask for credit card details as no payment would be requested. The Independent had highlighted this scam a while ago and advised that it had been taken down, apparently it has been resurrected so be aware. Dave W

[Tony Pratt 1Participant @tonypratt1]

I have had a few of these, another to add to the long scam list.

Tony

[EmgeeParticipant @emgee]

My daughter received the same scam email and acted in exactly the same way as you, it seems asking for credit card details is instantly recognised as a scam.

Emgee

[GeoffTParticipant @geofft]

I had the same last week but was immediately suspicious as Omicron and variant were both spelt wrong!

Geoff

[Nigel Graham 2Participant @nigelgraham2]

Have you reported it to the relevant authorities? You phone provider may have its own, there is also the "gov.uk" one.

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

you will also shortly receive the email to get your NHS certificate of vaccination……..

[Dave HalfordParticipant @davehalford22513]

Just been pinged by this one myself.

The link is not to a .gov website, which it would be.

[Tony JeffreeParticipant @tonyjeffree56510]

Posted by Dave Halford on 01/03/2022 15:12:26:

Just been pinged by this one myself.

The link is not to a .gov website, which it would be.

That's a dead giveaway – if it was from a credible source the suffix would be .gov

We've had a few of these – they go straight in the bit bucket.

[Fowlers FuryParticipant @fowlersfury]

Who Called Me?

(https://who-called.co.uk/)

I find this genuine website useful. People are reporting dubious & scam telephone numbers all the time.
(Only of course if the caller doesn't withhold their number).

Whether call or text msg, always worthwhile adding a scam caller's number to the enormous list !.

[Author]

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