A new scam has come to our attention aimed at stealing personal and financial information. This text, phone call and email scam is preying on people's worries over the coronavirus by offering a Covid-19 vaccine. The scam then either provides a fake link to collect personal information or asks for bank details to prove your address and register for the vaccine. This is a scam – there is no charge for the Covid-19 vaccine so at no point will bank details be required. You should also never give out your personal details before verifying that the organisation or person requesting this information is genuine.
The NHS will let you know when it's your turn to have the vaccine and you'll get a letter, phone call, email or text inviting you for an appointment. Find out more about how the Covid-19 vaccine is being offered to those most at risk and will then be rolled out to wider groups.
Report it – protect yourself and others
The communications in this latest scam are very convincing and appear to be from the NHS. If you do receive a communication of any kind, referring to Covid-19, that asks you to click on a link to provide personal or financial information, or if you are ever unsure on the legitimacy of the sender, report it to Action Fraud so it can be investigated.
More information
For the latest information on cybercrimes and for guidance on how to protect yourself, visit the governments National Cyber Security Centre’s website. There are also other things that you can do to prevent cyber-attacks - check out the IT information pages on the BU website for more general guidance.
If you'd like to talk to someone about any online safety issues you can call the IT Service Desk on 01202 965515 or freephone 08081 962332.
