Police are urging people to remain vigilant to COVID-19 con-artists after vile vaccination scammers have conned more than £3,500 from West Midlands residents.
Although the vaccination program is being rolled out at pace across the country there are still fraudsters looking to take advantage of people’s desperation to get the job as soon as possible.
Police have had 26 reports of people being tricked into handing over cash after receiving a fake vaccine invitation since the turn of the year. It comes after they were contacted by a phone call, email, or text message.
Officers are reminding people to ignore the approaches of coronavirus scammers as the vaccine is only available through the NHS.
Inputting your bank details into an illegitimate website risks exposing your account to fraudsters and clicking on email links could contain malware that will infect their device.
Chloe Guy, from our economic crime unit, said: “Although the vaccination program is being rolled out at a rapid pace there are still some con-artists looking to exploit people’s desire to be vaccinated.
“If you receive an email, text message, or phone call purporting to be from the NHS and you are asked to provide financial details or pay for the vaccine, this is a scam.
“You can be contacted by the NHS, a GP surgery, or pharmacy local to you, to receive your vaccine. Remember, the vaccine is free of charge. At no point will you be asked to pay.”