mac4mac.co.uk

I'm not putting this under the mundane heading, because for me this isn't mundane. And I'm not interested in mundane things, even though that seems to be the most used thread in this forum these days


This morning around 3 AM, I had an unsolicited text message, I wasn't expecting it but I read it.

It appears to come from the NHS. But does it?

It said I have been exposed to the Omicron variant and I must order a test kit specifically for that, otherwise I might have to be grounded. "movement restrictions and compulsory isolation" That seemed a bit bizarre.

Anyway I blithely entered my personal information - my name including middle name date of birth full address including postcode - it had informed me I had to pay for the postage - which was 99p. The government covers the cost of the rest of it. They said.

Then it proceeds to the pay 99p part. Now it wants my full card details including the CVV code on the back. Just for the postage you understand.

My question is. Is this a scam? When I put this web address in my browser it does have links to the NHS and it looks like the NHS. Is it?

I have not entered any card details yet.

Another puzzling thing is I don't have any app on my phone that is active that tells me when I'm near other people who have Covid. So how would anyone know if I was near somebody who had it?

It doesn't compute in my small brain. Skreeechh!!. So I put the brakes on. I have not entered card information.


Any thoughts?

Here is the website as given on my mobile phone.

I would say scam, i get this going to that site.

_________________
Tony

iMac 24" M3 16Gb ram 512 SSD
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Community fibre 150MBdown 150MBup.

_________________
Tony

iMac 24" M3 16Gb ram 512 SSD
14.2
iPhone 12 64Gb Blue
Linksys velop
Community fibre 150MBdown 150MBup.

Sounds like a scam. If you want a test kit you get it from the gov.uk site. If the NHS was notifying you about exposure, I'd think that would be through the dedicated app. If anyone uses it these days.

I get the same web site as Tony when I clicked your link, it looks nothing like the .gov web site I’ve been using to order from in the past. The kits were free then as was the postage.

Most certainly a scam, my first move would be to delete the message

_________________
Ruth

White MacBook late 2007 - Snow Leopard iPhone 7 IPod Touch 2 Gen. iPad 6 Gen.
Nikon D5600 on

Thank you

For those that can't see where this link goes... Here's a text grab of what's on the screen

- - -

Health A-Z
Live Well
Mental health
Care and support
Pregnancy
NHS services

Home Health A to Z Order (COVID-19) Omicron PCR test kit

Order (COVID-19) Omicron PCR test kit

The UK has decided to deploy test kits in response to the risks of the Omicron variant. COVID-19 cases have soared by their highest number since the start of the pandemic as the Omicron variant continues to spread rapidly.

Due to rising cases among fully vaccinated patients, research has shown that it is still possible to catch and spread COVID-19 even if you are fully vaccinated.

Order your (COVID-19) Omicron PCR test kit below.
Information:

PCR tests are mandatory and failure to register could lead to movement restrictions and compulsory isolation.

Note: PCR test kits are free, you will only have to pay £0.99 for postage of the kit.

Proceed to order test kit

Find out more about this service or read more about testing and vaccination on the NHS website.

- - -

and screenshot

As far as I’m aware (I could be wrong ) PCR tests are not ‘made’ to test for a specific variant, but they can pick up on a variant from your result. As I see it you wouldn’t be asked to order an Omicron kit !

I also found this whilst I was looking around.

https://www.bracknell-forest.gov.uk/new ... am-warning

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Ruth

White MacBook late 2007 - Snow Leopard iPhone 7 IPod Touch 2 Gen. iPad 6 Gen.
Nikon D5600 on

I think you're right. I've just finished 18 months on the covid infection study, which closed for us at the end of March unfortunately. It was a good job to do, and well-paid, with everybody pleased to see you, (well, there was a financial incentive for them too). You can make friends and acquaintances with repeated monthly visits.

There is no such thing as a virus specific PCR test, (afaik) but they can detect which types of viruses are found. The blood tests can tell which viruses you've been exposed to by which your body has produced antibodies for.

I don't think any tests are mandatory. That's another red flag.
Compulsory isolation? - perhaps in China but I don't think here.

So all in all the wording of the page is quite wrong.

When it went to the pay page that's when it hit me. I think Stop would be a good plan at this moment!

But I'm sure this will/has caught many people off-guard, fortunately I stopped myself before I jumped off the cliff.

I think ‘stop’ is the best plan at the moment too

No doubt there are many people out there who have fallen for this and the many other scams going around, who wish they’d have just taken the trouble to ask for advice before having their bank accounts emptied.

_________________
Ruth

White MacBook late 2007 - Snow Leopard iPhone 7 IPod Touch 2 Gen. iPad 6 Gen.
Nikon D5600 on

I'm late to the party here, but...

nhs.book-testing-kit-uk.com - Breaking the domain down, book-testing-kit-uk.com is the domain, the nhs. is a sub domain of it.

For me, it has PHISHING written all over it.

_________________
James
Mac4Mac Founder
(use mac4mac as PW)

12.9" iPad Pro, Magic Keyboard, Pencil 2
21.5" iMac Quad Core i5 8GB RAM (Plex Server) ~ iPhone 15 Pro
AirPods Pro ~ Apple TV 4 (64GB) ~ Linksys Velop Mesh Wi-Fi

Another late arrival…

An acquaintance was brave enough to describe how thy were ripped off. An offer of free samples and just had to pay shipping. Filled in the online form to pay the small amount. They went to their bank site later and found there had been three withdrawals around £90 (apparently unlikely to be picked up as suspicious. Got on to bank security which moved quickly to cancel the card, which had a different number from the account.

So it would seem offers of free samples “just for postage” could be very expensive…

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