Covid vaccine scammers conned 'desperate' residents out of thousands of pounds

Fraudsters have scammed people who are desperate for the coronavirus vaccine out of thousands of pounds, police have warned.

The crooks have been targeting people with an elaborate swindle that dupes them into paying for the jab which is free on the NHS.

West Midlands Police said the con artists are looking to "take advantage of people’s desperation" to get the jab as soon as possible.

The force said it had received 26 reports of people being tricked into handing over cash after receiving a fake vaccine invitation since the turn of the year.

So far they have pocketed more than £3,500 from victims living in the West Midlands area, Birmingham Live reports.

The victims are contacted by the scammer who call, email or send them a text message.

Police are also reminding people to ignore the approaches of coronavirus scammers as the vaccine is only available solely through the NHS.

Officers are also warning people that by putting your bank details into an illegitimate website you "risk exposing your account to fraudsters".

They are also urging residents not to click on email links from unknown sources as they "could contain malware that will infect their device."

Chloe Guy, from the force's economic crime unit, said: "Although the vaccination programme is being rolled out at a rapid pace there are still some con artists looking to exploit people’s desire to be vaccinated."

"Although the vaccination programme is being rolled out at a rapid pace there are still some con-artists looking to exploit people’s desire to be vaccinated," said Chloe Guy, from the police's economic crime unit.

"If you receive an email, text message or phone call purporting to be from the NHS and you are asked to provide financial details or pay for the vaccine, this is a scam.

"You can be contacted by the NHS, a GP surgery or pharmacy local to you, to receive your vaccine. Remember, the vaccine is free of charge. At no point will you be asked to pay."

The news comes as the Prime Minister announced on Saturday that every UK adult should be vaccinated by July 31.

Boris Johnson has vowed that 52.8million people will be invited to have the jab two months ahead of the Government's schedule.

It raises hopes that the worst of lockdown could soon be over and the country can, finally, get back to some kind of normal.

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