Scammers are still trying to fleece people out of their hard-earned money with a text on so-called ‘Covid certificates’.
With nightclubs re-opening and more and more venues and other facilities, as well as travel, asking for proof of ‘double jab before entry’, we have had multiple reports from people in the Armagh area who have been targeted.
A simple text message informs a person that they are now “eligible to apply for your Covid Pass proving you have been vaccinated against Covid-19”.
The text also contains what appears to be a genuine link to the NHS to register for this pass.
But this is a ruse!
One Armagh woman who contacted us said: “I received the message and after entering the details it asks for a payment of £4.99.
“The website does in fact look genuine so people may unknowingly enter their card details.
“I hadn’t heard of anything regarding a Covid Pass so was initially a bit suspicious but after putting in my name it asked me to enter card details for the payment of ‘£4.99’.”
She quite rightly proceeded no further.
The payment, it would appear, is not always the same but the scam is essentially the same otherwise.
Another to contact us said his elderly mother had been asked to make a payment of £19.99 after innocently following a link sent by text message.
He said: “It really seems so genuine and looks legit, but once they start asking for money and looking details to process payment the red flag went up.
“It’s lucky I was with my mother at the time when the message came through. She could very easily have been fooled, as I’m sure so many could.
“I just wanted to let others know so they can pass it along to their own families and friends to stop them falling for it. It seems real as it’s not the biggest amount of money they could have asked for. After all, surely conmen would be seeking a lot more?
“But I’m quite sure if she had gone to make a payment of £19.99 she’d have lost a damn sight more than that from her account once they had her details.
“It’s really important to be wise to this type of thing as they are becoming more elaborate and realistic every day.”
