Public warned over COVID-19 vaccine scams

Following an increasing number of reports around scams asking people to wrongly pay for COVID-19 vaccinations, Avon and Somerset Police are reminding people to be wary and to report any suspected cases to Action Fraud

Action Fraud revealed last week it recorded more than 1,000 reports nationally of phishing emails and text messages connected to the vaccine roll-out in just one day.

The scams fraudulently claim to be from the NHS and ask the recipient to click on a link to accept or decline an invitation to receive the coronavirus vaccine. If they click accept, they are asked to input personal information and their bank card details.

In the UK, coronavirus vaccines will only be available via the National Health Services of England, Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland. You can be contacted by the NHS, your employer, a GP surgery or pharmacy local to you, to receive your vaccine. How you will be contacted for your coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination – NHS (www.nhs.uk)

The vaccine is therefore free and at no point will people be asked to pay for one.