Err… I beg your pardon?
Some members of the UK public will soon start receiving text messages and emails claiming to come from the NHS Test and Trace Service, as part of the country’s fight against the Coronavirus pandemic.
The problem is that many of them won’t know if the communication is genuine, or from a scammer.
UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock says:
“If you are contacted by NHS Test and Trace, instructing you to isolate, you must. It is your civic duty, so you avoid unknowingly spreading the virus, and you help to break the chain of transmission.”
I don’t have a problem with that. That sounds sensible.
But how should people confirm that the Test and Trace communication is genuine, rather than from a scammer or mischief-maker?
“John from Gloucester” had the same question last night, 25 minutes into the UK Government’s Covid-19 briefing:
[embedded content]
John from Gloucester:If I receive a call from someone who says they are from the Trace and Test scheme, telling me to self-isolate, how can I confirm that the call is genuine?
Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Jenny Harries:We have 25,000 tracers, if you like, available and they will start from a piece of information and it is highly unlikely with all the confidentiality around the data systems that you will be contacted inappropriately by anyone.
Now I recognise that many of us will be very cautious and quite rightly so about interactions from external organisations, but individuals will make it very clear to you that they are following for a particular reason and I think it will be ..
Support the originator by clicking the read the rest link below.
