Councils are urging people to be wary of new COVID-19-related
scams that see text messages sent out promising cash or stating
people owe money for breaching coronavirus regulations.
The Local Government Association, which represents councils
across England and Wales, has already warned of a scam that sees
fraudsters offer a fake vaccination booking for a fee. However,
councils have now started to report a different variation on
these text-based scams.
One of the newly identified scams sees a text message sent
saying people have breached the Government’s lockdown rules and
include a link where you can pay a fine; another falsely offers a
payment from HMRC to help support the individual during the
national lockdown; and a third aims to collect personal
information including name, date of birth and bank details, in
order to assist with a COVID-19 business grant
application.
The LGA is urging anyone who receives a text about
receiving or owing money due to COVID-19 to check for signs that
it is a fraudulent message:
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Councils and other agencies will not text people out of
the blue to ask for or offer to make a payment; if the request
is supposed to be from an organisation you don’t have an
existing relationship with look at it very carefully.
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Spelling or grammar errors, strange punctuation and lots
of capital letters can be signs that a message is
fraudulent.
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Some fake websites are convincing but check the URL
against those of the real gov.uk and NHS websites.
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Councils will never ask for bank card information or
security question answers such as mother’s maiden name during a
business grant application.
Cllr Nesil Caliskan, Chair of the LGA's Safer and Stronger
Communities Board, said:
“Unfortunately, these new scams are not the first we’ve
seen related to COVID-19 and they most likely won’t be the last.
Everyone must be vigilant and scrutinise any message claiming to
be from the Government, NHS, HMRC, Ofcom or their local
authority.
“These text messages can be very convincing, and it is easy
to fall for their promises during this difficult time where many
are under their own financial pressures, but there are tell-tale
signs they are not legitimate.
“If you receive a text message promising money, asking for
personal information or asking you to pay a fine, be sure to
delete it and report it as it may help someone avoid falling
victim in the future.”
If you receive a text message that you believe could be
fraudulent, note down the phone number it came from then delete
the message, before reporting to Action Fraud.
Case studies
North East Lincolnshire Council is
reminding people to remain mindful of the ‘popular’ scams
currently in circulation, including the previously reported
vaccination booking scam, along with these new text-based
scams.Be scam
aware - NELC | NELC (nelincs.gov.uk)
Oxford City Councilhas been made aware of
a new scam attempt aimed at businesses claiming COVID-19 grant
funding, and has reminded residents that the council will never
ask for bank card information or mother’s maiden name during the
application or processing of any COVID-19 related business
grant.Warning of
possible Covid grants scam | Oxford City Council
Notes to editors
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Any suspicious communications should be reported
immediately to Action Fraud.Action
Fraud
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More than a third (36 per cent) of UK adults had been
confronted with a scam during the first lockdown in 2020,
according to a survey by Citizens Advice.One in
three Brits targeted by a scammer so far during
lockdown.
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The gov.uk website has a helpful guide on protecting
yourself and your business from opportunistic scammers.Coronavirus (COVID-19): advice
on how to protect yourself and your business from fraud and
cyber crime - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
