Police warn of vaccine scams

SCAMMERS have been defrauding people by falsely offering them Covid vaccines in return for payment, with some victims receiving unidentified jabs, the Welsh health minister said on Monday (11), echoing warnings from police in other parts of Britain.

“There are a number of scams involving Covid, including a particularly nasty one in which people have been tricked into paying for a Covid vaccine and then jabbed in the arm,” said Vaughan Gething, minister for health in Wales, at a briefing.

“I want to be clear, our NHS will never ask anyone to pay for a Covid vaccine. These are free. The NHS will never ask for your bank details and vaccines are not being delivered to your front door by people who have not been identified as NHS staff.”

The minister’s warning came after the National Crime Agency (NCA) last week urged the public to be vigilant, reporting that scammers were asking elderly and vulnerable people for payment in return for access to vaccines that were fake or non-existent.

“The current level of reported fraud in relation to the vaccine remains very low but is increasing,” said Graeme Biggar, director general of the National Economic Crime Centre at the NCA.

The City of London police reported last Friday (8) that a scammer had obtained £160 from a 92-year-old woman. He had jabbed her in the arm with what she described as a “dart-like implement” after he turned up unannounced at her home, they added.

A mass vaccination programme is being run across the UK by the NHS, which provides all care including vaccines free of charge.