ALERT!!! SCAM Email requesting you apply for a COVID Digital Passport is being received by members

[Jm954]

There is a fake COVID-19 digital passport scam being circulated via email to people in the UK but it could happen worldwide.

It says: Apply Now For Digital Passports To Avoid Restrictions

This opportunistic scam encourages people to register for their documentation by clicking a link to visit a webpage, which then encourages them to pay a small "admin fee".

By filling out the form, the scammers are then given access to private details such as the victim's name and banking details.

DO NOT CLICK ON LINK IN EMAIL, THIS IS A SCAM.

[PaulaS Volunteer]

Thanks for the warning, Jackie.

[mrsjsmith]

Thank you Jackie,

I am so tired of never ending scams ! Amazon, BT.......etc. Totally upsetting and I have even called my bank to double check it was a scam.

Colette

[DebKat999 in reply to mrsjsmith]

I've had to make those calls too Colette...Amazon, PayPal, on and on. It's really bad recently. It's so important to have this warning from Jackie and it's so awful that people are using Covid to try and take advantage of others this way.

Debbie

[mrsjsmith in reply to DebKat999]

Debs between the Internet about to be cut off and the tax people sending the police around to arrest me I am less than happy 🙄Colette

[DebKat999 in reply to mrsjsmith]

You too Colette? What a strange coincidence that is, the tax people are going to arrest me any minute now too! 🙄

Debbie

[mrsjsmith in reply to DebKat999]

Perhaps we had better pay up then. 🙄

Colette

[Psmithuk in reply to mrsjsmith]

Not a chance (they'd have to find me first!).Years ago, my husband worked a late shift and returned home around 2.00am. We live in a very rural area, so when he was followed home he didn’t stop til he got to the house - whereupon a policeman got out, asked him lots of questions, and when he was satisfied said in a sheepish voice ‘how do I get back to the main road?'

😆

Cx

[DebKat999 in reply to mrsjsmith]

😄 I suppose we have to....

[Psmithuk]

Thank you very much for telling us about this, Jackie.Cx

[Peggy4]

Hate these scams. Thanks for the heads up JackiePeggy

[Ghounds]

Thanks Jackie. I've had several scam texts over the last few months. Goodness knows how they got my mobile number!

[neurodervish in reply to Ghounds]

You're asking the right question: how do they get your mobile number.

Most of the time, spammers automatically call phones in numerical sequence.

However, if your mobile # is published anywhere online, that's the first place the bots grab it. Often times our numbers are automatically published (property tax listings, domain name registrations, etc.). If you Google your mobile number, you'll get an idea of where your number is exposed and may be able take steps to have it removed wherever possible. I'll be honest, it feels like whack-a-mole. I find it easier to assume everything is spam.

[Ghounds in reply to neurodervish]

I don't see how it can be online...I have no social media. I wonder if maybe the two online selling sites I have used whilst shielding have somehow leaked it.

I don't trust the internet I'm afraid and use it as little as possible.

[neurodervish in reply to Ghounds]

I feel your pain. I Googled my mobile # last week and am still hyperventilating! I wonder if my wireless carrier has sold it, or if some insurance co did. I haven't published it anywhere, but it was EVERYWHERE. And you're right about the folly of posting a phone # on social media--that's really asking for it! Here in the US there are very few privacy laws. Aaarrrrgh!

Maybe you'll get lucky and your # won't come up on Google. Maybe its just coming up in the numeric robo-call sequence. Be sure to reject those calls or they'll know they've got a live one.

[Jacksc06]

Thanks Jackie.