Newark & Sherwood District Council

Unfortunately, a number of scams relating to the Coronavirus have been identified by Nottinghamshire County Council and the Police. These scams aim to take advantage of the most vulnerable in our communities at this difficult time and the Nottinghamshire County Council Trading Standards team is aware of scam activity relating to COVID-19 in Nottinghamshire.

These are as follows:

• Unwanted callers asking for donations to help those in need during this time
• Individuals making contact out of the blue claiming to be from official organisations and asking for payment for the latest COVID-19 information and treatments which do not exist
• Calls and emails offering miracle cures
• Door-to-door visitors claiming to be from the British Red Cross offering testing
• Individuals offering to do shopping and not returning with the bank card and groceries
• Emails posing as the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) and World Health Organisation (WHO)
• Emails claiming to be from HMRC offering a tax rebate due to the coronavirus
• Text messages claiming to be from GOV.UK requesting money for breaching stay at home regulations 
• Fraudulent messages to parents entitled to free school meals requesting bank details

How to prevent being scammed

While scams aren’t always easy to spot, Nottinghamshire County Council has provided these top tips on protecting yourself and your loved ones from scams:

• Always ask for identification from those who turn up out of the blue at your property, and if in doubt call the organisation directly to verify. 
• Be suspicious of requests for money up front and never feel pressured into handing any over
• Check with family and friends before accepting offers of help and support. Those who are genuine will be happy to wait for your response.
• Legitimate organisations will not contact you out of the blue to ask for payment. Make sure to remember this if you are contacted.
• If an email does not look right, never click on links or attachments. If you are unsure about whether an email is genuine, ask family and friends to make sure.
• Protect your financial information, especially from those you don’t know. Never give your bank card or pin number to a stranger.
• If in doubt, don’t be afraid to hang up, bin it, delete it or shut the door.