Sheffield council issues urgent ‘do not click’ warning over new Covid text message scam

There has been an increase in the amount of online scams across the country – with the Royal Mail, Council Tax, O2 and other delivery companies all informing customers that suspicious-looking emails and texts are not legitimate, and not to open.

Only last week, South Yorkshire Police informed people of a national insurance scam asking for personal information.

Now, Sheffield City Council have now informed residents that a new scam for over £250 is doing the rounds across the city – with a ‘do not click’ warning sent out.

The message purports to offer a grant due to impacts of COVID-19, and to the untrained eye would look legitimate.

The text includes a link to a website to claim your ‘grant’, but it is likely to include malware or a virus, and it is not wise to even click on the link as it is not authentic.

Sheffield City Council tweeted: “NEW SCAM ALERT We've been made aware of a new Covid scam where people are being sent a text message that says they're able to apply for a COVID-19 grant worth £277.59.

“If you receive this message, please DO NOT click on the link - it's a SCAM.”

Lynda Martin commented pointing out how to tell this kind of message is a scam.

She said: “The giveaway is the number of errors in grammar and vocabulary, etc.”