Victims lose thousands in NHS Covid testing scam

Unsuspecting and vulnerable victims have lost thousands of pounds after government changes to Covid testing rules triggered a surge in scammers impersonating the NHS.

Free testing was phased out last month and most people must now pay for lateral flow tests – including carers of sick family members who have been advised to continue testing at least twice a week.

Criminals have exploited this change in the testing rules by “phishing” for bank details from unsuspecting people to steal huge sums of money.

High street bank Santander said it had received almost 300 reports of NHS testing scams this year. Victims had lost £5,800 each on average.

Katherine Hart of the Chartered Trading Standards Institute warned that the number of people falling victim

to this type of fraud had increased dramatically in the past two months.

Scammers send text messages asking victims to order a test and pay a small delivery fee but then use the details to call back later, when they pretend to be from the victim’s bank. They tell victims they are being scammed by a third party and must move their savings to a “safe account”.

In one instance a couple lost £20,000 after a fraudster used the personal details they shared in response to a fake NHS text to convince them to transfer funds to a “safe” account. Once the money has been sent the criminal cuts off all contact and often sells the victim’s details on the black market to other fraudsters.

Santander said scammers typically used excuses to try to justify why the “safe” account details had unusual names attached. The bank said account holders should never move money to an account unless they knew for certain who the recipient was. The criminals’ tactics are similar to those used in the prolific fake parcel delivery scams that spread during the pandemic and, at one point last year, accounted for more than half of scam messages in Britain.

If you think you may be being targeted by a scam, take a moment before parting with your money or information – a move that could keep you safe. Remember that it is OK to reject, refuse or ignore any requests; only criminals will try to rush or panic you. Contact your bank immediately if you think you have fallen victim to a scam and report it to Action Fraud.