Norfolk Trading Standards have reported that they are hearing reports across the country of people being contacted out of the blue with offers of a coronavirus vaccination. The approaches have been made by text and from a recorded voice message on the telephone. In each case the recipient is required to respond by clicking a link in the text message or by pressing 1 when receiving the call. They are then asked to give personal information, as well as financial details to book their vaccination.

These contacts are not genuine and are a scam.

Criminals are exploiting the current situation to attempt to steal personal details and your money.

The NHS is currently offering the COVID-19 vaccine to people most at risk from coronavirus. These people will be contacted by the NHS.

There has been a surge worldwide of vaccine-related phishing email scams. We expect to see an increase in these in the coming days.

Phishing emails seen have contained malicious files that installed malware, or links to bogus websites to obtain the victim's information.

Protect yourself from vaccine-themed phishing campaigns by:

• Checking the email addresses on incoming messages and be alert to hyperlinks that contain misspelled domain names
• Being aware of highly emotive language designed to manipulate you
• Not supplying login credentials or personal information in response to an email; monitor key financial accounts regularly
• Keeping software and apps updated

You can report contacts you suspect to be a scam to us via our partners the Citizens Advice consumer helpline on freephone 0808 223 1133.