Another day, another scam

No matter how bad the situation in the world becomes, some people will still try and benefit from the misery of others. Scammers, digital thieves with no remorse never sleeps, and always plan their next step to steal from others. Remember to always contact MyData when you are in doubt about scams and phishing emails.

One of the latest inventions from the cyber criminals is a fake email claiming the receiver has been selected for a vaccination based on their family genetics and medical history. The email should supposedly come from NHS, which is the National Health Service, and all the receiver had to do was click on a link.

The referral link would then transfer you to a place where you had to put in your name and bank details in order to establish your identity, but naturally, it is fake, for the scammers to get your information.

NHS, or companies alike would never ask for bank details or passwords in order to establish an identity. Furthermore, the vaccine is free, so under no circumstances should you provide bank details or password information when asked for it. The best thing you can do is never click on a link you don´t know, and if in doubt consult with your IT expert or security company.

It has already been confirmed, that several thousand people already clicked the link, but it is unknown how many actually gave their bank details on the online form.

Security companies are fighting a daily battle against the cyber criminals. They remove a threat; a new one will instantly appear. In this case, the fraudsters are trying to undermine a huge international effort to deal with the pandemic, by using the vaccine as a tool to get money from unsuspected people.

Since the virus outbreak, My Data has been tracking scammers, trying all the tricks in the book to cheat and rob people by sending text messages and fake emails around in order to obtain information they could use for their own benefit, and in April 2020 Google said it was blocking 18 million scam emails on the subject alone.

Read more here: https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-55811161