Scammer jailed for sending fake NHS text messages to people waiting for Covid-19 vaccination

Messages told recipients that their details were needed to determine if they qualified for the vaccination

A scammer who sent fraudulent text messages purporting to be from the NHS, banks and other trusted organisations has been jailed for more than four years.

According to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), Teige Gallagher, 21, from Haringey, London sent fake NHS text messages to people waiting for their vaccination in order to steal their bank details.

As part of the 'phishing' scam, Gallagher used links that directed people to bogus websites designed to trick them into entering their personal and banking details which could later be used to commit fraud.

In messages that claimed to come from the NHS, Gallagher told recipients that their details were needed for verification purpose and to determine if they qualified for the Covid-19 vaccination. For this, he also created web pages that mimicked the gov.uk website.

Gallagher was arrested following an investigation by the Dedicated Card and Payment Crime Unit (DCPCU) of the City of London and Metropolitan Police.

After seizing Gallagher's digital devices (several iPhones), the officials found thousands of phone numbers and other personal details of potential victims. His iPhones also contained messages purporting to be from mobile operators and Netflix.

According to the CPS, Gallagher used specialist tools to be able to send out bulk text messages to a list of phone numbers. He sent such messages for a period of at least five months between 1st October 2020 and 11th March 2021.

Following a detailed investigation, he pleaded guilty to committing fraud by false representation and for being in possession of articles for use in fraud.

Gallagher was sentenced at the Old Bailey on Wednesday to four years and three months' imprisonment.

"Gallagher wrongfully thought he could get away with impersonating organisations and sending out scam text messages, including ones related to the COVID-19 vaccine to commit fraud," chief detective inspector Gary Robinson, Head of the DCPCU, said.

"The DCPCU will continue to crack down on those seeking to exploit this pandemic to defraud the public, through close collaboration with the CPS, mobile phone companies and the banking industry."

Robinson also advised the people to follow the measures recommended by the 'Take Five to Stop Fraud' campaign and to "think before parting with any money or information in case it's a scam."

Earlier this month, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) said in its new report that it took down more online scams last year than in the previous three years combined.

According to the agency, a surge in coronavirus and NHS-themed cyber crime since the start of the pandemic led it to record a massive 15-fold increase in the removal of online frauds in 2020 compared with 2019.

The organisation said that its Active Cyber Defence (ACD) programme dealt with 122 NHS-related phishing campaigns in 2020, compared to 36 in 2019. Attackers used Covid-19 vaccine rollout as a primary lure in their text and email messages to steal people's personal data for fraud.

In June last year, legal charity Citizens Advice advised Britons to remain vigilant as scammers were trying to target more people during Covid-19 lockdown. The charity disclosed the findings of a survey showing that nearly one-third Britons had been contacted by scammers since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

Citizens Advice also said that it had seen an increase in the number of people who were calling the charity to report about fake claims from scammers about vaccinations, testing kits and government refunds.