Whilst the nation works together to fight against the pandemic and keep ourselves and our loved ones safe, the last thing we all need are scammers who are abusing our natural vulnerability at this time.
According to Action Fraud, £4.6million has been lost to Coronavirus scams since the start of lockdown. Clever con artists have pretended to be banks, pension companies and even local shopping assistants to collect personal and bank details – via telephone, email, text and at the door.
The next wave of concern is now for TEST & TRACE – the new NHS safety procedure to alert you if you have been in contact with a person infected with Covid-19. The call from the NHS will ask for your full name, date of birth and postcode as well as offer advice and provide an ID for you to log in to the official Coronavirus tracing website.
If NHS Test and Trace calls you by phone, the service will be using a single phone number 0300 0135 000.
The only website the service will ask you to visit is
Contact tracers will NEVER:
• Ask you to dial a premium rate number to speak to them (for example, those starting 09 or 087)
• Ask you to make any form of payment
• Ask for any details about your bank account
• Ask for your social media identities or login details, or those of your contacts
• Ask you for any passwords or PINs, or ask you to set up any passwords or PINs over the phone
• Ask you to purchase a product
• Ask you to download any software to your device or ask you to hand over control of your PC, smartphone or tablet
• Ask you to access any website that does not belong to the Government or NHS
If you are suspicious of any calls, texts or emails, please do not respond or open any links. You can contact ACTION FRAUD to report a scam (see link below).
STAY SAFE and TAKE CARE from The Bobby Scheme Team.