Coronavirus scam alert for Honiton – Care home targeted by fraudsters

Scammers are taking advantage of the Government's new Test and Trace programme, with the latest target being local care homes.

Devon County Council has flagged up the scam to help prevent Honiton residents and local care homes from falling foul fraudsters.

A county council spokesperson said: "We've heard from a care home manager about a scam that they've experienced about testing and tracing. It sounds like a variation of the last one we flagged, but it's worth the reminder."

Here is the message the county council received from one of the care homes targeted by scammers: "Here's what happened in our case. A text comes in stating that the person has been tested positive for COVID-19. Our care home manager in this situation had very recently had a swab test, which came back negative.

"However, they called the number as requested in the text to be told that they would need another swab, but that they would have to pay for it. Bank details were requested.

"This is a scam, and in this case it was reported to the police."

For avoidance of any doubt, the NHS Test and Trace service will absolutely not:

• Ask for bank details or payments
• Ask for details of any other accounts, such as social media
• Ask you to set up a password or PIN number over the phone
• Ask you to call a premium rate number, such as those starting 09 or 087