LONDON (Reuters) – Scammers have tricked people into falsely offering them COVID vaccines in return for payment, with some victims receiving unidentified injections, Welsh health minister said Monday, echoing police warnings in others parts of Great Britain.
A large-scale vaccination program is being conducted across the UK by the state’s National Health Service (NHS), providing all care, including vaccines, free of charge.
“There have been a number of scams involving COVID, including a particularly nasty one where people have been tricked into paying for a COVID vaccine and then are stabbed in the arm,” said Vaughan Gething, Welsh health minister, 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 will not be delivered to your front door by people not identified as NHS personnel. “
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 exchange for access to vaccines that were fake or non-existent.
“The current level of reported fraud related to the vaccine remains very low, but is increasing,” said Graeme Biggar, director general of the National Economic Crime Center at NCA.
City of London police reported Friday that a scammer had been given £ 160 by a 92-year-old woman and stabbed her in the arm with what she described as a “ dart-like tool ” after showing up unannounced at her home. .
Britain is in the throes of a devastating spate of infections that has pushed the overall UK COVID-19 death toll above 81,000 and has led to the imposition of national lockdowns in England and Scotland and strict restrictions in Wales and Northern Ireland.
Reporting by Estelle Shirbon; edited by William James