Don't fall for this Covid scam as fraudsters use grant offer to con people out of details

Durham County Council has issued a warning over the message, which claims to offer people a grant linked with support being offered as the coronavirus crisis continues.

The text message invites recipients to click on a link to claim cash.

A spokesperson for the council said: “Please be aware of a new text message scam which we have been made aware of.

"If you receive a text message offering a Covid-19 grant due to the current lockdown - which includes a link to ‘claim’ the grant and starts with 'GOVUK:' and ends with a link to 'govuk.com' - this is a scam.”

Anyone seeking more information on Covid-19 scams can visit http://www.durham.gov.uk/covid-scams.

Action Fraud also shares information about scam messages, offers advice and a way to report incidents via its website https://www.actionfraud.police.uk.

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