Neighbourhood Watch

Coronavirus Scams

In the April 2020 issue of Meldreth Matters, as coronavirus was starting to take hold, we warned about scams which were taking advantage of the developing situation. Exactly two years later, as the effect of coronavirus on daily life is diminishing, there are still scams attempting to do the same thing. As an example, my wife recently received the following text message: NHS: You have been in contact with someone who has recently tested positive for Omicron. Please order a PCR test kit here: <internet address shown in text message but not repeated here>. There are several clues that indicate that the message is a scam:  A genuine message would show an official title as the sender, e.g. NHS tracing, not simply a mobile phone number.  The NHS does not routinely text contacts of those who have tested positive.  A genuine message would refer to Covid-19 or similar, not a variant name.  In circumstances such as these, PCR tests are available free of charge from https://www.gov.uk/get-coronavirus-test. Even if the message catches you off guard and worries you, which is what it is aiming to do, and you don't spot those clues, the advice is the same. Don’t click on the links or attachments in suspicious text messages or emails, and never respond to unsolicited messages and calls that ask for your personal or financial details. You can report suspicious text messages by forwarding them to 7726, and suspicious emails by forwarding them to report@phishing.gov.uk. If you have fallen victim to a scam, always report it to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or visit www.actionfraud.police.uk. If you're not sure whether something is a scam, you can talk to one of the trusted contacts in Meldreth: Graham (01763) 260358 Linda (01763) 261405 Peter (01763) 260323 Tim (01763) 262801 You can contact Neighbourhood Watch by telephoning Graham on the above number, or by emailing nhw.meldreth@btinternet.com. Meldreth Neighbourhood Watch