THE Vale of Glamorgan Council has warned residents that bogus communications purporting to be from Public Health Wales’ (PHW) Test, Trace and Protect service are circulating.
These scams are designed to trick recipients into revealing personal information which can be used to obtain money.
A text message, which comes from a number listed as 07775 106684, asks ‘Do you have coronavirus symptoms? press 1 for yes and 0 for no.’
This is thought to be a phishing attempt to extract sensitive data.
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A contact tracer will never ask you to make any sort of payment, dial a premium rate number, provide your bank account details, give passwords or PINs, or download any software.
Vale of Glamorgan Council cabinet member for legal, regulatory and planning services, Cllr Eddie Williams said: “At this most difficult time, it seems unthinkable that someone might seek to exploit the pandemic for criminal gain.
“But, sadly, such unscrupulous individuals exist and they are operating in the local area, attempting to fool people into revealing personal information by suggesting they may have coronavirus.
“It is vital that people are alert to scams and make others aware that fraudulent text messages are circulating.”
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