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Notice Fraud: March 2021

March 11, 2021

During the lockdown fraudsters have been looking to take advantage of us. Here’s what to watch out for:

COVID vaccine scam:

Several reports have been received of people being contacted by fraudsters offering the COVID vaccine. The report shows text messages being sent providing a link for people to apply for their COVID vaccine, some of which require payment.

These text messages and links are not sent from, or linked to, the NHS. When you are eligible for the vaccine you will be contacted by your GP. NHS and other frontline staff will be contacted directly by your employer.

Two-Factor authorisation – 2FA:

Two-Factor authorisation is the process of requiring secondary authorisation to make a key change such as password or bank details.

Banks and other organisations will send a code to an email address or telephone to ensure the genuine user is aware of the change, but fraudsters have identified ways in which to beat this process.

Fraudsters have been contacting victims purporting to be from the bank/organisation, they state that to verify the call and pass through the security process they will send a 2FA code to the victim. At the same time, they go through the password reset/bank change process, which automatically sends the code through. They then ask the victim to read the code back to verify their identity, which they can input to the system and bypass the control.

You are reminded to never give out your password or a 2FA code over email or the telephone.

COVID fraud hotline:

A new initiative has been launched between the government and the independent charity Crimestoppers. One hundred and fifty COVID support schemes have been introduced by the government to help those struggling financially due to the pandemic, but with all schemes a minority of individuals have been abusing these by claiming support illegally.

If you have any concerns, the COVID Fraud Hotline is open 24/7, 365 days a year on 0800 587 5030, Alternatively, you can contact your local counter fraud specialist directly for advice and guidance.

Be sure to check out the March 2021 fraud notice by clicking here.

Your local counter fraud specialist team can be contacted using the details below:

Sophie Coster, Senior Consultant, Lead Local Counter Fraud Specialist:

Bradley Vaughan, Managing Consultant, Counter Fraud Client Manager: