Public warned to stay alert over Covid-19 vaccine scams

8 January 2021, 10:54

Scam warning: The public is being urged to stay alert
Scam warning: The public is being urged to stay alert. Picture: Action Fraud

By Asher McShane

The public is being warned to be alert to fraudsters trying to trick people into giving their details away with fake coronavirus vaccine scams.

Action Fraud warned on Twitter: "In the UK, coronavirus vaccines will only be available via the NHS. You can be contacted by the NHS, your employer, a local GP surgery or pharmacy, to receive your vaccine. Vaccinations are free of charge and you will not be asked to pay."

Derbyshire Constabulary also alerted people to a fake text offering a link to an "extremely convincing" false NHS website where people are asked to input their bank details to register for a vaccine.

Derbyshire Police issued a statement: "The scam message reads 'we have identified that your are eligible to apply for your vaccine' and then prompts you to click on a link for further information or to 'apply' for the vaccine."

"If you receive a text or email that asks you to click on a link or for you to provide information, such as your name, credit card or bank details, it's a scam."

Police today issued CCTV of a suspect they want to trace after a 92-year-old woman was given a fake coronavirus vaccine, before being charged £160.

Detectives fear the suspected conman may 'endanger lives'.

Trading Standards authorities have also issued warnings over the texts including links to fake NHS websites which ask for bank details.

More Latest News

See more More Latest News

Gemma Southall, 38, last seen in Norwich on Saturday.

Police launch urgent hunt for woman, 38, last seen in pink vest and flip flops missing since Saturday

Dame Judi Dench played M in several James Bond films

Who is Blaise Metreweli - the real life M and first female head of MI6?

British Prime Minister Kier Starmer arrives at Calgary International Airport, Sunday,June, 15, 2025, ahead of the G7 Summit.

Starmer threatens Putin with more sanctions if Russia resits ceasefire calls

Exclusive
Economic Secretary to the Treasury Emma Reynolds was flummoxed by questions about the Lower Thames crossing

Treasury minister unable to answer basic questions on £10bn infrastructure project in car crash LBC interview

Belinda Taylor, left, and Adam Harrison, right, died during a tandem jump on Friday.

Tributes pour in for 'selfless' mother-of-four and 'wonderful' skydiving instructor who died during tandem jump

An Air India flight takes off.

Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner flight forced to turn back with 'technical issue'

NATO Scramble RAF Typhoons Four Times In Seven Days To Intercept Russian Aircraft

RAF fighter jets scrambled six days in a row as fifteen Russian military aircraft intercepted

J.J. Spaun holds the U.S. Open trophy

JJ Spaun hails 'fairytale' victory as Robert MacIntyre’s US Open dream crushed

The trilateral Aukus partnership, believed to be aimed at countering China, involves building a new fleet of nuclear-powered attack submarines and co-operating in other areas of defence

Starmer has 'no doubt' Trump will back Aukus submarine deal despite ‘America First’ review

Falmouth youth fights for Transgender rights as Section 35 enacted repealing a Scottish Bill that would benefit the transgender community

Nearly 10,000 gender certificates granted as Gen Z applications soar

Israeli security personnel and first responders inspect an area hit by an Iranian missile strike on central Tel Aviv.

Israel-Iran LIVE: At least five dead and 287 injured in latest strikes on Tel Aviv as fighting enters its fourth day

Seven men who groomed two vulnerable teenage girls in Rochdale were found guilty of multiple offences last week

Starmer calls in 'Britain's FBI' to investigate grooming gangs after U-turn on national inquiry

Vance Boelter, 57, is suspected of fatally shooting the Democratic state representative Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark

Man suspected of shooting Minnesota politicians in 'targeted assassination' arrested after two-day manhunt

Firefighters work to extinguish a blaze after a missile launched from Iran struck Haifa, in northern Israel, on Sunday, June 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Rami Shlush)

UK warns against all travel to Israel as missile strikes continue into third night

Sources told US media that Israel had briefed the Trump administration on a covert operation to target Iran’s top political figure

Donald Trump rejected Israeli plan to kill Iran’s Khamenei amid spiralling Middle East tensions

A third of children’s sunglasses bought from online marketplaces including Amazon, AliExpress, Ebay and Temu do not provide the required protection and are unsafe, according to a Which? investigation.

Third of sunglasses sold online pose risk to children’s eyesight, Which? says