Donegal Gardaí are advising members of the public to be aware of potential ‘smishing’ and ‘vishing’ scams relating to the new Covid-19 variant.
The con uses the names of HSE and The Department of Health
“The HSE will never text or call individuals requesting personal information and they will never request payment for a Covid-19 antigen test,” a garda spokesperson said.
The advice of Gardaí is to never disclose private information over the phone or through text messages and that if people receive such a phone call, they should hang up. In the event anyone mistakenly provides personal information in response to this scam then they should report the matter to their local Garda Station.
“Gardaí would also ask that members of the public make contact with any vulnerable friends or family to make them aware of these calls and text messages.”