ALERT: Covid-19 text message scam 'preys on vulnerable and elderly', says Carlow TD
It is shocking
Fianna Fáil TD for Carlow, Jennifer Murnane O’Connor, has warned people to be extra vigilant of a text messaging scam which has been circulated widely online purporting to be from the health services.
Deputy Murnane O’Connor was commenting as the Gardaí asked people to delete a text which suggests the person has come into contact with someone who has COVID-19 and asks them to click on a link for further information.
She said: "This is a particularly cruel scam which preys on vulnerable and elderly people at time when they are very anxious.
"The text message tells the recipient that someone they came into contact with has tested positive for COVID-19 or is showing symptoms. It then directs them to more information at a link in the message."
Deputy Murnane O'Connor added: "If a person clicks on the link they are brought to another site and asked to input personal information. It is a scam and should be deleted immediately.
"The HSE public health team will not contact a person via a text message like this to alert them that they may have come into contact with someone. They will phone you as part of proper contact tracing guidelines.
"The people who orchestrate these scams, preying on vulnerable people in a time of crisis, should feel the full extent of the law.
"We recently learned that there has been a sudden upsurge in the number of new domains being registered and worryingly over half of those domains which contain the word ‘Covid-19’ have been created for criminal purposes so criminals are going to great lengths to scam people.
"Our cyber crime capabilities must be enhanced to tackle sophisticated scams like these."