Scammers are targeting the public in Scotland with fake emails urging them to pay to register for the Covid-19 jab.
The NHS has this week urged people not to sign up for invitations to have the coronavirus vaccination.
Instead people are advised to send details of any suspicious emails they receive to a national scam reporting service.
The scam email includes a link to register for the vaccine, but no registration for the real vaccination is required.
The fake site also asks for bank details either to verify identification or to make a payment.
Gordon Young, Head of Counter Fraud Services at NHS Scotland, said: “During the Covid-19 pandemic, NHSScotland has been under increasing pressure and this includes the NHS and its staff being the target of new frauds.
These frauds are also aimed at members of the public. It is totally unacceptable that at a time of a national health crisis, unscrupulous individuals would attempt to take advantage of the health service and the public.”
As the Covid-19 vaccination is being rolled out across Scotland, NHSScotland Counter Fraud Services have seen a spike in associated scams, including asking people to pay to book their vaccinations. It is vitally important that members of the public know that the NHS will never:
- Ask for, or accept, cash for vaccines
- Ask for your banking details or identity documents
- Email you to arrange your COVID-19 vaccination
- Turn up at your residence unannounced
If you receive an email like this, you can forward it to report@phishing.gov.uk and also report to Crimestoppers dedicated COVID fraud team on the below link:
Not a drop wasted: digital cask filling can save the whisky industry millions
Scotland’s food and drink sector is central to the country’s economy. Bringing in around £14 billion every year, it employs more than 115,000 people and accounts for one in five manufacturing…
The value of engineering in the curriculum
If you were to look back at the greatest discoveries in science and technology over the past 30 years, you would soon notice that engineering is a key catalyst for…
Glasgow Council leads the way in digital learning
In 2017, we at Glasgow City Council took the opportunity to overhaul our digital approach to education and redefine learning, keeping in mind the core aim of reducing the impact…
Why data is the new oil
In 2006, British mathematician Clive Humby coined the phrase, “Data is the new oil”. This analogy has been proven correct as data now powers entire industries and holds tremendous value…
Global Entrepreneurship Week offers chance to reset aspirations amid new innovation landscape
With the advent of Global Entrepreneurship Week, it is an opportunity for us to celebrate the innovators, the grassroots risk takers who drive the economy, and those who invest in…
Aberdeenshire leads the way in work-based learning
There has long been debate about the distinction to be drawn between vocational and academic learning. However, in Aberdeenshire Council the focus is on what is best for our learners;…
5G connectivity can ’empower people to restore our planet’
Six years on from the Paris Climate Accords and the world is still getting warmer. We are now seeing first-hand the impact of climate change – the floods and fires…
Cracking the code to offline computational thinking
In our digitally connected world, it can be argued that coding and especially computational thinking have become essential parts of a new ‘computing literacy’ to support traditional literacy. These computational…
